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That is a great suggestion (may indeed have been mooted elsewhere on here in the last week or so).
Whitbread day has always been one of my favourite racedays and I’m sure the public would enjoy more of the same. Newbury, Ascot, Sandown, Doncaster. Up here Musselburgh, Ayr, Haydock, Newcastle. Must be lots of others.
I don’t think starting stalls for jumps would ever be practical over here. They regularly have to use a flag start for flat races at the Curragh because the stalls do be sinking into the ground! Given the sort of ground we race on during the winter, I couldn’t see it working.
Rickster, Corm pulled off another similar wry wind up of racing’s twighopping cousins two years ago if I remember correctly. In that thread, the concept of a 5f chase race was mooted to add to your mixed card.
Funny this should arise, because I was watching Ffo L…Foss L…Fos…racing at the Welsh course the other other day and thinking, ere, I could watch this type of racing more often if it didn’t take so long to end: Its like watching a film with subtitles.
The conundrum got me thinking that its inherent flatness and long straight, with its moonscape panorama and backgrounds of grass and, er, more grass, means that the course would be ideal for a 6f
Grand Stewards Cup
sprint hurdles handicap with a hurdle placed every furlong – except the hurdle itself would be half way between a fence and a hurdle to make it a stiff test.
Its a real levy burster this one – patience deprived speed junkies like my good self will shovel on the shekels, and so will the more sedate and considered wellymen amongst the tribe. Its the best of both worlds, chief. Innit.
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And where are the going to get cranes to lift the likes of The Dickler or Mad Max into the stalls ?
I think we have been managing fine without them and if it was someone else started this thread other than you David……..words like nuts, crazy and aff yer heid come to mind Rickster, Corm pulled off another similar wry wind up of racing’s twighopping cousins two years ago if I remember correctly. In that thread, the concept of a 5f chase race was mooted to add to your mixed card.
Funny this should arise, because I was watching Ffo L…Foss L…Fos…racing at the Welsh course the other other day and thinking, ere, I could watch this type of racing more often if it didn’t take so long to end: Its like watching a film with subtitles.
The conundrum got me thinking that its inherent flatness and long straight, with its moonscape panorama and backgrounds of grass and, er, more grass, means that the course would be ideal for a 6f
Grand Stewards Cup
sprint hurdles handicap with a hurdle placed every furlong – except the hurdle itself would be half way between a fence and a hurdle to make it a stiff test.
Its a real levy burster this one – patience deprived speed junkies like my good self will shovel on the shekels, and so will the more sedate and considered wellymen amongst the tribe. Its the best of both worlds, chief. Innit.
That’s no a bad idea. Especially considering some of the hurdles races I’ve seen lately. Everyone would be saved alot of effort if the races were only 6f long as opposed to races two miles long with the runners only getting going for the last half a mile.
Reading this thread I’m starting to think Haydock may be unsung pioneers. Mixed meetings & fixed brush hurdles (which to me are half way between a hurdle & a fence).
Starting stalls for jumps is the norm in Australia,New Zealand and Japan but over here is quite impracticle given some of the positions at various courses all over the country and plus this would have a huge reduction in field sizes again for various courses.
Regarding mixed i have always been in favour of them and we should have more from March to October and even Kempton could do 8 race cards in winter starting at 2pm till 4pm having 4 jump races then an hours rest before putting the lights up and if ever AW hurdle racing was to have a trial run then floodlit jumps at Kempton could be fun.
Max to keep you happy , we could also have mixed cards at southwell , I will omitt leafy as I think its now a glorified flapper
Cmon BHA more mixed cards please , it is a sure fire winner
cheers
Ricky
That is a great suggestion (may indeed have been mooted elsewhere on here in the last week or so).
Whitbread day has always been one of my favourite racedays and I’m sure the public would enjoy more of the same. Newbury, Ascot, Sandown, Doncaster. Up here Musselburgh, Ayr, Haydock, Newcastle. Must be lots of others.
Get thee to Mosshouses, Friars Haugh, Overton and Mosshouses, Hawick Moor and the Castleholm for proper racing.
I’d just have two starting tapes. Once they get past the first they are penned in, then they can slowly get to the second tape and away they go. Stalls just wouldn’t work in a month of Sundays. Too many runners, undulated starts, and potential for some not leaving the stalls.
The conundrum got me thinking that its inherent flatness and long straight, with its moonscape panorama and backgrounds of grass and, er, more grass, means that the course would be ideal for a 6f
Grand Stewards Cup
sprint hurdles handicap with a hurdle placed every furlong – except the hurdle itself would be half way between a fence and a hurdle to make it a stiff test.
Sorry, I got there many years before you. I pioneered sprint hurdle and steeplechase events in the 60s, when I was 8 or 9, racing Lego bricks across the living room floor and doing race commentaries.
Rob
Rob – I used an elaborate system of playing cards and dominoes plus dice. Horses names were hand-written on little pieces of paper. I recall Glanford Brigg winning one of my unofficial Grand Nationals.
I then progressed to Totopoly horses and even built my own racecourse using chipboard, half inch nails painted white (uprights), cotton thread painted white for the running rail. Of course by this time I’d realised that the flat was where the future was so didn’t have to bother with fences.
Pals used to come round and bet on these races but, with me as both bookmaker and dice-roller, rumours of corruption among those who’d played losing bets was rife.
I had a whole season’s racing, before drink and birds became my abiding interests, and, for the record, Henry Cecil won the 1,000 Guineas with a horse called Sweet Sorrow and a horse called First Time, trained by Bruce Hobbs won the 2,000 Guineas and the Derby but could only finish fourth when attempting the triple crown.
Those were the days!
Corm, Rob – I’m glad it’s not just me who whiled away younger hours with Lego and / or dice-baased racing games! Dunno what that says about the three of us, other than we could have done with getting out more as kids…
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.
Corm , great post , for me it was the real deal , by the time I was 10 , I had learned the art of scouring the on course books with a half a crown burning in my fist looking frantically for 7/2 when 3/1 was freely available
Ah those days before political correctness , racing in Ireland was mega fun , was a hardened punter by the time I got to 15 …, sadly thaT ethusiasm for the game is waning by the day ,,,but it was pretty good once
Ricky
Corm/GC
The bit about cards and dice games reminds me of Cricket club race night from a few years back. The disks we had were useless and kept sticking or jumping, so in the end I reverted to drawing numbers out of bowl, first number to 8 being the winner. I made a race type, distance and course and di a commentary on the race. My innovation went down well, though it’s much easier when the filmed races work!
That aside, Lego bricks for horses, racecourse on the living room floor, Tote Annual for course maps, Mill House always beat Arkle, Mum treads on a jump… race abandoned…, marvellous!
Adaptions such as running the Grand National at Cartmel were always interesting. Last one not feeling giddy wins!
Rob
Corm , great post , for me it was the real deal , by the time I was 10 , I had learned the art of scouring the on course books with a half a crown burning in my fist looking frantically for 7/2 when 3/1 was freely available
Ah those days before political correctness , racing in Ireland was mega fun , was a hardened punter by the time I got to 15 …, sadly thaT ethusiasm for the game is waning by the day ,,,but it was pretty good once
Ricky
I think we have been managing fine without them and if it was someone else started this thread other than you David……..words like nuts, crazy and aff yer heid come to mind 
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