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Here it all starts New Year’s Day at Cheltenham. Confirmed runners down 40% on 2023 and aside from Stage Star finding it difficult to get excited.
The more I know the less I understand.
And the 12.20 at Cheltenham, the first ever race at a Premier meeting, ends up on a split screen with Exeter…
Its just a race day like all other racedays
they put the “Premier” in it so they can charge a fortuneCharles Darwin to conquer the World
Ringing in the New Year and the so called new exciting era of Premier Racedays with all the pomp of something inbetween a wet fart and a loud whimper.
The big race, Cheltenham’s 6 runner 2:05pm Premier Handicap Chase with £56k to the winner is sandwiched ‘nicely’ in between Newcastle’s 2:00pm, a 12 runner Class 2 All Weather 2m Handicap worth £24k to the winner and Exeter’s 2:10pm, a 16 runner Class 4 2m2f Maiden Hurdle worth £4k to the winner ……the more things change the more they stay the same.
It’s nothing more than a **** attempt at avoiding making difficult decisions. They know there’s too much racing but can’t afford to do what is necessary.
There are a minimum of 3 meetings which could have been done without today. And the sad fact is we’re one down on where we were forecast due to Southwells abandonment.
I don’t actually have an issue on far too much racing on days like Boxing Day and New Year’s Day as the stands are packed at every meeting! But when we’re simply moving the shite about from afternoon to early morning or evening because the BHA are too afraid to do what required, that’s where the real issue lies.
Preaching to the choir here I understand.
The Premier initiative should not have been launched today. New Year’s Day is not typical – a public holiday with lots of meetings. Why couldn’t it have waited until the first Saturday of the year – traditionally a fairly low key day.
I also feel a little sorry for Fakenham today. It had a popular New Year’s Day fixture but was outbid for it by Southwell. However, with the recent flood damage, Southwell would have been racing behind closed doors even if it had been on – which it isn’t!
There is racing at Fakenham tomorrow but it must be a bit frustrating to have lost the New Year’s Day fixture in these circumstances.
The right hand clearly doesn’t know what the left hand is doing with the wooden tops at the BHA.
On the one hand their trying to sell these meetings as “premier fixtures” but on the other hand,meetings this month at Cheltenham,Sandown,Warwick and Haydock have been stripped of pattern races,replaced with lower grade handicaps.I got the impression ITV are none too supportive of it particularly Ed with some of the comments he made.
The more I know the less I understand.
What a shambles! No surprise with the clowns running British racing. You would have thought they would have wanted to start with a bang.
The chief executive of the Jockey Club Nevin Truesdale when interviewed yesterday, said the answer to small fields was to get more owners into the game. How long does he expect that to take? Nothing about there being far too much racing.
What hope is there when the leaders of the sport are spouting crap like that?That was in response to Ed saying instead of tinkering with racing they should address small field sizes. Good on ITV for not rolling with it and they made little reference to it.
The more I know the less I understand.
Premierisation is going to really mess ITV racing up too, if they are trying to avoid clashing with the big meeting its going to mean when the premier meeting gets cancelled like this weekend its virtually impossible for ITV to show any racing without significantly moving the schedule.
Is anyone interested in these live 10:20 races on the Opening Show?
Value Is EverythingChannel 4 had something similar in late 2002, showing one competitive handicap live at lunchtime (12.45) each weekday for a while.
....and you've got to look a long way back for anything else.
A lower than low key start to the whole venture and that is then followed up the next week by the whole meeting being abandoned……about sums the whole thing up really, a total clusterf*ck.
More smoke and mirrors premier raceday news in todays Racing Post.points out that the prize fund for The Hampton novice Chase is 100,000 from 75,000 but fails to mention The Lemington hurdle has gone.
The following Saturdays Peter Marsh is 100,000 from 75,000,but not a mention of the disappearance of the 75,000 Champion hurdle trial and the Altcar novice Chase.
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