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6 meetings and 50 races between 2.00pm and 6.00 pm – Did everyone enjoy it? At least Leopardstown had the sense to run their Champion Stakes in the evening, well done them.
Quality race after quality race every few minutes with no pause for breath and no chance to reflect or analyse what you’ve just seen. The majority of the time the rest of the week we are treated to rubbish racing with all the quality stuff squashed into Saturday afternoon, it truly is appalling from the powers that be, I mean just look at the stuff they serve up every Sunday for us.
Eddie – agree 100%. Mr Fallon says the same, so does Hughes, Johnston etc etc.
Has anyone seen or heard any response from the powers that be – BHA / RFC? It’s a shambles but if they can justify their strategy then fair enough perhaps….I’m not sure they can though. Change is needed and fast. We need guys in charge that can look at the bigger picture.
I have tweeted Rod Street this morning on same subject, hopefully he’ll communicate back to me.
The word to sum it up is ‘farcical’. However whilst punters keep paying to fill in the grandstands at Saturday meetings, in their eyes, they are completely vindicated.
Very true JJM,
I’ve been in favour of the best races being on a Saturday, to let the working public watch and bet. But it’s been taken too far. eg The July Cup should be on Saturday, but only if other racing is moved. Why not move York’s John Smith’s Day or Ascot’s Summer Mile day to Sunday? A Sunday that only had Perth, Southwell and Stratford; all three jumping cards.
Racecourses want to race on Saturday because it brings more racegoers through the gate. So it may not be all the BHA’s fault.
Value Is EverythingIt’s fecking awful, they’ve ruined the game. While all the drama and excitement of the big sprint at Haydock was taking place, a £150k heritage handicap was being run at Ascot. I couldn’t even tell you what won it never mind how it did it.
Used to enjoy working out the big handicap. It’s a shame with so much top quality racing on a Saturday. I’ve almost stopped betting in Flat handicaps on a Saturday these days. It takes too long to work out a 25 runner handicap. When I can work out three or four non-handicap races in the time.
Value Is EverythingMaybe Rod Street’s next survey should include the following questions.
Has stacking Saturday’s with more Class 1-3 races resulted in you betting on more races?
Has stacking Saturday’s with more Class 1-3 races resulted in you betting more or less GB Pounds on British racing?
If we add more Class 1-3 races on a Saturday will you bet more?
It all comes to a climax in terms of numbers on October 1st as part of our reconfigured Autumn. 15 Class 1 or 2 races will top the table for a single (flat races only) Saturday this year. It’s possible July Cup day still deserves an overall prize for congestion.
Yet, despite the desire to showcase more big races, the Doncaster Cup and Joel Stakes, which are part of the QIPCO Champions Series, (it still exists, btw) will be on Friday’s.
A situation initiated by the racecourses, firmly supported by RfC, waved through by the BHA. Well done to all.
A smiling William Derby tells us the switching of The Ebor to a Saturday was a great success and good for the levy as it resulted in a 75% increase in turnover on the race but fails to say where this money has come from.
My best bet is a re-distribution from other races and in fact the important factor in the whole equation is how much less/more is turnover on the week as a whole including one less days racing on terrestrial television and one less days quality racing midweek. I suspect the answer is less turnover for the week due to the one day less midweek plus the quality congestion on the Saturday.
Please Mr Derby if interviewed on the subject again confine yourself to saying what you did was best for York racecourse instead of keep citing levy as evidence unless you can come up with more facts and figures to back up your comments on increased turnover and levy.
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