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If courses get paid for screening of their races they should be penalised the equivalent race fee for each race they cannot get off within 1 minute of it’s scheduled off time – this might at least make them try harder.
Yet again we start a days racing with races going off 5 minutes late and having just an average flat race clashing with one of the richest races in the country leading to split screens.
Shows what RUK thought of the new super-rich race, they didn’t even commentate on it live and stuck with Kempton
I agree
The Kempton race goes off late and is worth less than the Newmarket race and STILL gets commentating preference!
ATR are the same – I’ve seen Irish Graded Chases clash with class 5 or 6 races in England and the English race gets preference.
Simon with your passionate flag waving for all weather racing I would have thought you would have been happy with the decision to show the Kempton race.
Does this mean you have seen the error of your ways and are coming back to grass?
Obviously it’s a pointer for the future Paul, no point in showing some ill-conceived million pound race on a dodgy grass surface where the weather and draw make the winning of the race a random affair, when you can show some good consistent all weather stuff but no, that wasn’t the point.
I just think racecourses should lose any fee they earn for any race if they can’t get the damn thing off within 60 seconds of the official start time.
I would stake a month’s money on races going off at better times if this happened.
Although I can see where you are coming from it would be difficult to enforce.
Sometimes the delay is beyond the control of the racecourse. It can take longer than expected to load the stalls. A horse sheds a plate.A horse has been injured in a previous race. An ambulance having to take a racegoer to hospital. A medical officer not turning up.
Those are all reasons I have seen for late starts in recent weeks and all are outside the contriol of the course.
Of course there are some occasions where there is no obvious reason and they can be worth looking at.
There wasn’t any obvious reason for Kempton’s first to be five minutes late off.
Colin
first race was late because one runner went to the stalls late, they were late loading them because of this and something perfect didn’t want to go in – but 5 minutes is ridiculous.
i agree with Paul on unavoidable reasons but most races seem to go off late for no reason other than slack timekeeping.
fine ’em!
first race was late because one runner went to the stalls late, they were late loading them because of this and something perfect didn’t want to go in – but 5 minutes is ridiculous.
i agree with Paul on unavoidable reasons but most races seem to go off late for no reason other than slack timekeeping.
fine ’em!
Stalls loading is always a tricky one – for example starters try to allow enough time if there is a large field or a two year old race with many first time runners. However this tactic can backfire on the starter.
A case in point being the first race at Salisbury on 22nd May. A 16 runner ladies race, the starter started the loading process fairly early to give time for all 16 runners to load, some of whom had given problemms at the start.
Unbelievably every single runner walked straight into the stalls without any difficulty and the race went off three minutes early as a result. The starter couldn’t win on that one.
I saw a hurdle race in ireland at the galway festival at five minutes past post time, the starter was strolling toward his rostrom like a tart looking for business. Their was no excuse for it, I think that in cases like that the assistant starter should go up and reals the tape.
As for penalties for clear time wasting, sack the starter, pullthe tracks next fixture from the TV screens, fine them heavily.
Leaving aside instances like where a horse has spread a plate, it seems to me that the worst culprits are trainers who can’t get their charges into the parade ring in time.
In Germany, races going off 30 minutes late are the norm!! They start off on time, but as the day progresses, you can be almost certain that they’ll lose time! I was once at Baden-Baden, when the last race went off 42 minutes late!
Darren – AngloGerman
Leaving aside instances like where a horse has spread a plate, it seems to me that the worst culprits are trainers who can’t get their charges into the parade ring in time.
You’ve hit the nail on the head there. I act as Clerk of the Course at a number of racecourses across the country and horses being late into the paddock is the main reason for our races going off late. However, we aren’t often on the TV so it’s not such a big issue.
If a race is severely delayed for no apparent reason then racecourses are liable for a fine. However, there is usually a good reason and so there is no grounds to fine them. Just because there is no obvious physical reason on that can be seen by punters doesn’t mean there is something going on behind the scenes that needs to be dealt with.
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