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For those who are not aware this race was run in atrocious conditions yesterday.
Electrical storm and torrential rain that started as the horses were in the parade-ring (I think!) made it a very unpleasant experience for the 2-y-o fillies, the majority of them making their racecourse debut.
Two horses refused to enter the stalls (who could blame them?!) one of which was the favourite. The form of the race can probably be ignored, even though the winner was quite impressive.
Should the race have been allowed to go ahead in such conditions?
In this country, storms that bad rarely last long, wasn’t there a case for postponing the race for a while.
There are precedents in other sports (golf immediately comes to mind), has it happened before in racing, I have something going around my head about a snowstorm at Cheltenham!!!
Would there have been any great practical problem in postponing the race until the worst of the storm had passed?
There would certainly have been quite a few positives if that had happened.
Colin
I was very surprised the race went off, especially when the electrical storm kicked off – not only for the safety of those racing but also for the cameramen as well.
Notwithstanding the electric storm the conditions were the worse I have seen.
Taking into account all the runners, bar one, were making their debut then common sense should have prevailed.
I’m sure they will rememberr their first racecourse experience and not for the best reasons.
Even if they’d held the race back the horses would have been still stood around in the storm at the start, are you better off standing around in it rather than running? Best to get on with the race imo.
Although not a factor for running the race, a delay would have led to race clashes with other meetings as well.Had they waited is there not a better chance all the runners would have competed in the race, including the favourite?
I am actually surprised the race was allowed to start even on human safety grounds – I thought the cherry picker with the head-on camera would not have been usable during an electric storm.
"Even if they’d held the race back the horses would have been still stood around in the storm at the start, are you better off standing around in it rather than running?"
I suppose it depends on at what stage of the preliminaries the storm started.
If it started before they went down to the start they could have been taken back to their boxes.
I think it would have been a truer run race if the start had been held up and possibly/probably all of the horses would have started.
The concern of over-lapping with the other meetings would have been top of my list of concerns, there have been plenty of occasions when that has happened.
Colin
they were at the start when the storm started – it was just spits and spots as they went down.
in these days of health and safety i am amazed it was run in the storm that was taking place
I think Colin is absolutely correct though he has subsequently been informed that the storm started as the horses were on the way to the start. However, his arguement that the race shouldn’t have went ahead is spot on imo.
The horses were on the way to the post this time, but surely there must be something put in place where the authorities know when a storm is on its way and delays the race until it has passed. It works very successfully in golf for obvious reasons. The last thing you want is a golfer in the middle of the fairway with an iron in his hand when a bolt of lightning strikes. But please tell me the difference between a jockey, with his feet in the irons, sat on a horse in a starting stall (that I guess is made of iron/steel when a bolt of lightning strikes – isn’t this just as dangerous as the golf scenario?
Golfers are often taken from the course and then back on it within an hour. I know an hour delay could cause havoc with a race programme – but I was under the impression that safey must always come first.
Mike
Thought trees were the problem with golfers more than clubs.
Safety is paramount in racing and I’m sure they wouldn’t have carried on if this wasn’t the case. Can’t recall any trainers or jockeys complaining at the decision.I’m certain trees, or falling trees, are extremely dangerous in golf when there is a thunder storm. However, I’ve seen many courses that don’t have trees but still remove golfers when there is lightning about as I personally couldn’t imagine anything more dangerous than holding a piece of iron/steel/metal in your hand while lightning is about.
Retief Goosen was struck by lightning when he was just 15 whilst stood with a club in his hand. He is lucky to be alive by all accounts as his shoes and clothes were burn instantly to his skin.
Mike
While this idea of delaying the start because of the stormy weather might seem sensible at first glance it would be far more difficult than you may think.
To return the horses to their boxes would involve a walk or , if they were lucky, a box ride back to the stables which are about a mile away. If you left them in the pre-parade ring then they would be surrounded by trees which nearly everyone avoids during thunderstorms for obvious reasons.You then have the runners in the next race who will be well on their way to the course before the race involved begins, so where do they go?
Also, when horses are being exercised in the mornings it is easy to be a couple of miles from home when a storm begins so you have to endure it.
This is not an unusual event.While it is not ideal, jockeys, lads and everyone in racing knows the score regarding the weather and we have all been on the bad end of it many times. It is a hazard, of that there is no question ,and if it can be avoided it should be, but sometimes it must just be suffered.
Best Wishes,
GWelcome to The Racing Forum, greektown.
I take your point about not being practicable to take them back to their boxes, I didn’t realise the stables were that far away at the July Course.
Colin
Hi Greektown,
All your points are absolutely correct but what I was referring to (apologies if it didn’t come across this way) was for the authorities to have something in place (like they do in golf) that notifies them when lightning is due. They don’t wait until the lightning is striking before they remove the golfers from the course, they remove them about half an hour in advance because they know the dangerous weather is coming.
Mike
Hi seabird (great name !) thankyou for the welcome. MikkyMo , no apologies necessary. The thing with all this is that once the horses start travelling to the course from the stables for the first race there is a constant movement of horses to and from the course, or,they are already there. They are usually in the pre-parade ring half an hour before their race time. This means that at any one time ( apart from prior to the first ) there will be runners for two races at the course at the same time. That is, for the race in the paddock and the next race. Horses will also be in preparation at the stables and some may be being led over to the course . Many , probably most, are boxed over nowadays but some may still be led from the course stables which is on the "Links" , halfway back to town.
These conditions would be easier to deal with at tracks like Haydock where the yard is right by the paddocks. At some tracks like , for instance, York and Nottingham there is a particular window between races when horses can safely travel across or down the track to the paddock areas. These conditions can be a logistical nightmare if there are holdups in the system.
Having said all that, I agree entirely with the safety ideas that people have posted. It is just a little more complex, depending on the track, than it at first may seem.Best Wishes,
GI see that I have said that the horses are usually in tha pre-parade ring half an hour before their race time. That should read three quarters of an hour.
Apologies and Best Wishes,
G
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