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Beverley, Cartmel, Catterick, Chester and Haydock – all Northerly courses running on the same day, does no-one at the BHA’s race planning department notice how this crazy situation is? Or a better question does anyone care?
Crazy isn’t it.
I count twenty one meetings in the UK between Friday and Monday, on a summer bank holiday weekend, and the only meeting at a “London” track is Windsor on Monday. And no London clubs playing football either.
Wow.
They just haven’t a clue really. First thing that needs to be done is to have proper fixtures on a Sunday. No flat racing this Sunday at all. Surely that midweek Sandown card would have more popularity on a Sunday when people aren’t as busy?
Often see it too where there might be two race meetings in Scotland one day and no more Scottish racing for a week. Similar happens in Wales.Sandown tried Sunday racing between 1997 and 2003, but nobody came and it was a financial loser for them. They also tried various dates, including one NH meeting in November, and ended up adding a Sunday to the existing two day Eclipse meeting. That never succeeded in attracting more than 4,500 people through the gates over a three year experiment.
They gave up on Sunday racing completely after the 2003 attempt, set for the day after the St Leger, had to be abandoned when the jockeys refused to ride there as part of their ‘strike action’ against the rules on the use of mobile phones.
As for the fixtures this weekend, that’s down to the courses, not the BHA. If the courses in the south opt not to bid for fixtures over this weekend, the BHA can’t force them to race.
Metropolitan courses don’t attract crowds on Sundays but rural courses do: a robust enough generalization I think
The forebears of the BHA did have some say in race planning with their ’50 (or was it 40?) mile rule’ meaning that tracks within that radius were not permitted to race at the same time. This rather sensible stipulation – no doubt regarded as a restrictive practice – was abolished some years ago and the free-for-all we have today is the result
It wasn’t all wine and roses though as I do recall a Monday or Tuesday when the only two meetings were Hamilton and Hexham, much to the consternation of the Home Counties elite, or perhaps Mark Winstanley in the Sporting Life
As for moving the Brigadier Gerard meeting, that would be yet another nail in the diversity coffin. A little gem, so it is, leave well alone
By the way CR, they might just be warming-up for the 50C Footie season in Qatar but I think it’s all over in Blighty. Four months of blissful leather on willow and warm beer beckon
I suspect all 5 tracks will be packed this afternoon. Don’t know how the bidding process works but presume the 5 who bid the most get the fixtures? Who gets the money, the BHA?
Found it sad that everyone was drooling over Sandown on Thursday, surely it shouldn’t be that rare an occasion, it should be a much more regular occurrence.
As for the original question “Does anyone care”? Not really, a bit like the hundreds of non runners that the BHA do absolutely nothing about.
As has already been pointed out, despite the incompetence of the BHA, this one cannot be put at their doorstep. Courses can bid to stage racing now and there is little the BHA can do to stop them – presumably southern tracks were not interested in staging racing today.
To be honest the four tracks mentioned are sufficiently diverse they will all attract decent crowds.
The piss heads will head for Chester, those who like decent flat racing to Haydock and the Yorkies will go to Catterick.
As for Cartmel it’s so beautiful they could run three legged donkey races there (which they arguably do sometimes) and they will still fill the place.
As has already been pointed out, despite the incompetence of the BHA, this one cannot be put at their doorstep. Courses can bid to stage racing now and there is little the BHA can do to stop them – presumably southern tracks were not interested in staging racing today.
It’s hard to believe every single southern track is not interested in racing this afternoon, maybe they just didn’t bid as much as the 5 successful ones? Should that be the deciding factor? Don’t agree the BHA can do little, they could take lower bids and spread it out a bit unless they are quite happy with today’s scenario.
From Racing UK all 5 venues seemed plenty busy enough and plenty of runners at each too.
I can only assume that up until a few years back Phil spent his Easter Mondays lying down in a darkened room!
From Racing UK all 5 venues seemed plenty busy enough and plenty of runners at each too.
I can only assume that up until a few years back Phil spent his Easter Mondays lying down in a darkened room!
Plenty of runners!!!!!??? are you having a laugh barely any of the first hour races had more than 7 runners.
Luckily the organisers spaced the tracks out timewise well.
I can only assume that up until a few years back Phil spent his Easter Mondays lying down in a darkened room![/quote]
What’s Easter Monday got to do with my comment?? I was saying that it was crazy to have five Northern courses all racing in the same afternoon but nothing in the South of the country.
I quite miss the old days of having 16 meetings on Easter Monday, I once travelled to Wincanton though I lived nearer Kempton. I’m not questioning the number of fixtures but the bias in location.
Phil
My remark was meant to be tongue-in-cheek.
In all honesty I think you have a point, the balance of fixtures should be better. However, that’s the free market for you and, for better or for worse, the BHA are bound by it.
One point that nobody picked up on was the fact that all five meetings were on RUK in the afternoon. No much time for breath in between races…
Rob
That was my point regarding the football, Drone. I’d have thought perhaps there would have been scores of people who normally go to a game, at a loose end over the weekend, who may have gone racing instead. That said maybe the population of London decamps for the long weekend or traditionally holds fire until the big meeting next weekend and the racecourses know this already?
I see Fontwell had just shy of ten thousand yesterday, which would be a record for them. Hopefully Windsor will get a big crowd this arvo. Although look at that twenty grand handicap, six bleedin runners.
We’re under the influence of a prolonged Shamal at present, so low dewpoint dry northwesterly air, make the high thirties a cinch. When the wind turns easterly and brings the moist air out of the gulf, that’s another story…
Lawn sports and whippy-foamed fizz in a warmed plastic cup….eek!
That was my point regarding the football, Drone. I’d have thought perhaps there would have been scores of people who normally go to a game, at a loose end over the weekend, who may have gone racing instead. That said maybe the population of London decamps for the long weekend or traditionally holds fire until the big meeting next weekend and the racecourses know this already?
Ah right, got you now. I don’t know if racecourses bid for fixtures on an annual basis or for a fixed period of x years but if annual then it strikes me that this might have been an opportunity overlooked by the London courses with no soccer going on in the capital on Saturday. But you may be right, perhaps all the sparrers decamp to Brighton, Hastings and Bognor Regis for Whitsun; or crusin’ ‘n’ boozin’ back and forth to Calais
Is warm, or even cold beer legal in Qatar and if so is it served in pint dimple tankards? They’re making a comeback here. Yippie, the long hot summer of ’76 revisited 40 years on
Last race at Newcastle today scheduled for 9.10 pm, 20 minutes after the last race at Lingfield but only 2 minutes after the scheduled start of the Greyhound Derby
With a bit of intelligence and foresight Newcastle’s last race could have been at 9.00pm. Some folk just don’t have a clue.
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