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Sadly from me the answer is no, maybe like Coggy it’s just me getting old
Ever decreasing prize money and all the shunting of the top races to a Saturday are negatives, I preferred some of the quality spread throughout the week with quality racing on Bank Holidays as well as the Tuesday to Thursday festival meetings.
Think the sport is being poorly led from the top and all this nonsense about the whip, Grand National etc is really depressing.
Even minor alterations that have been brought in for questionable benefit such as 48 hour decs and switching the draw round on right hand tracks I just find irritating.
Maybe I am just getting old
I find it more enjoyable, purely because I think the big festivals are promoted much better than years ago, they feel like major events now. Cheltenham just goes from strength to strength, and even though I’m not a massive lover of the flat, the big festivals get the adrenalin pumping, they don’t slip under the radar anymore.
Also thing the new Champions day is a brilliant idea and one i hope racing will support.Obviously on the downside there is far too much low grade rubbish. We could lose at least 15% of races and I wouldn’t shed any tears.
Sadly from me the answer is no, maybe like Coggy it’s just me getting old
Me too! First got interested in 1985 as a 17 year old (username winning the Triumph Hurdle was my first winning bet
) – became obsessive for the next ten years or so but interest has really dropped off in the last 5 or 6 years – hard to pinpoint why – too much racing too many other things to do – I even put my old Superform and H-in-T annuals in the loft recently To the surprise of few, I suspect, my answer to the question raised is an emphatic MORE. In mile-high neon writing and everything.
Furthermore, I’m confident that there is still a bunch more enjoyment to be wrought from racing going forward.
The reason for that, when it all comes down to it, is pretty simple – even after 30 years of following racing, I’m still learning.
There’s still modes of racing to explore that I’ve rarely afforded the time of day previously (this last Arc weekend was the first I’ve ever done halfway properly, for example); still little nuances to find here and there; still new courses and territories to visit; still trends and systems whose veracity and robustness I’ve got to try out; and and and.
Racing with all thy faults, I love thee still
, as William Cowper might have written if he’d got out more.
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
I think I’m enjoying flat racing more and jumping less. Ten years ago I had no family or friends to share my interest in racing with so when I did go racing it was very special. I now have a partner that shares my interest and the opportunity to discuss it on a daily basis on forums such as this one. However, I go racing less and less because of the cost and I can no longer watch it on Ch4 during the week,unless it’s a big meeting. I suppose the main problems I have with jumping are the injuries and fatalities, but that is probably because I know about them; ignorance was bliss 10 years ago, I had no access to the information..horses just disappeared off my radar. There was an intoxicating joy during ‘The Dessie Years’ that I’ve never recaptured either.
What a disappointing result for the BHA & RFC in my little survey, only 42% of voters enjoy racing more than 10 years ago.
I would have thought the aims and objectives of the BHA & RFC were to attract new people to the sport as well as making it an increasing pleasurable experience for those already interested in the game.
This they don’t seem to be doing based on this little poll, would have thought you’d want to be getting something over 90% who are already interested in racing getting a better experience rather than under half of that.
I wonder if the BHA & RFC have done similar surveys and if not, why not?
I think overall its a no because:
I’m not betting as much as I used to 10 years ago;
Racing for Change – total and expensive waste of space;
Going racing is now much more expensive, and as everything is on RUK and ATR, I have lost the thrill of going racing;
As the top courses go out of their way to attract coach loads of people who have no interest in racing, but are just there to get drunk and behave like idiots, its spoilt the big race days by having to dodge these people and its no longer enjoyable.
) – became obsessive for the next ten years or so but interest has really dropped off in the last 5 or 6 years – hard to pinpoint why – too much racing too many other things to do – I even put my old Superform and H-in-T annuals in the loft recently 
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