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"…the new grandstand was full and they even had to turn a few hundred away at the gates…"
that ain’t a huge success, that’s a organisational and pr balls up
How is it when the capacity is 32,000. They cant let more in than they are allowed, they already let another 1,000 in. Of course its a huge success to fill the place out, Doncaster isnt a huge area like some tracks it has main roads on two sides a protected a area and a school on the third and on the fourth are houses and a cemetrey it cannot expand and so the facilities cannot be increased other than building the grandstand higher.
The whole Leger four days have been a great success and a great spectacle to watch, I think This and the Ebor meeting saved the flat this season up until Goodwood the racing had been fairly mediocre.
A sell out with a meagre couple of hundred turned away can hardly be described as a PR balls-up Sberry.
Well done to Doncaster I say and may the fantastic Leger meeting go from strength to strength.
If you can fill a racecourse to capacity these days I would most definitely call it a triumph, no question. If any racecourse can do that it should be applauded and celebrated…
I was there today….it wa heaving (far more people than my last leger in 2001)
But atmosphere was superb. Plenty of drink flowing (although hard to get holdof) but no rowdiness that i saw
Racecourse attendances seem to be booming in the north (more so than in the south …where i am). Not sure why this is but its all good
Only problem at the moment that i would lose a bet that tomorrow was Sunday
I went to Doncaster for the first time on Saturday and my impression was that they had let far too many people in.
So much so that people who had paid for County Stand tickets weren’t allowed upstairs because the enclosure had exceeded the fire regulations capacity. That led to long queues of disgruntled punters waiting at the bottom of the escalator, stopped by bouncers, sorry stewards.
I have also never had so much trouble getting a bet on – even on Cheltenham Gold Cup day.
The organisers were fortunate that the weather was decent otherwise it would have been a real crush to get under cover. I left after the Leger and, judging by the number of people streaming out of the gates with me, I wasn’t the only one who won’t be going back on a Saturday.
But moans aside, the whole day did illustrate how popular racing is for a day out – and there wasn’t a hint of trouble despite the horrendous queues to get a drink (or possibly because of that!). I would go back midweek as the new stand is a good facility – but they need to look at the capacity.A sell out with a meagre couple of hundred turned away can hardly be described as a PR balls-up Sberry.
Well done to Doncaster I say and may the fantastic Leger meeting go from strength to strength.
Were you at Doncaster? Those people not lucky enough to enjoy access to Press/Owners&Trainers/Boxes must have had an experience akin to the Black Hole of Calcutta at times from what I could see. Mike Vince was asked repeatedly to call for calm over the PA amongst those literally stuck in the congestion. That IS what I would call a total organisational balls-up.
I love Doncaster and was glad to be back racing there, but another thing I’d mention is that there is no viewing at all on the round course until the runners turn for home, thanks to a combination of tree-growth and the hospitality village. This is acceptable at Newmarket where geography dictates it so but Doncaster need to remedy this quickly.I forgot to mention the appeals for calm! I know plenty of other experienced racegoers who were far from happy with the situation.
I also spoke to a couple of the old-school stewards who were unhappy at the numbers of people allowed in and apparently it was just as bad on Thursday.
I also saw a policeman marshalling the door to the County Stand bar, which I have never seen before!
I am from the north-west so am used to huge crowds at Chester and Aintree but this was something else. The course just can’t take that many people and I echo the comment about the poor viewing because of the tented village.
End of whinge now!love Doncaster and was glad to be back racing there, but another thing I’d mention is that there is no viewing at all on the round course
Totally agree
The members look horribly crowded but in the tatts, you can still get a decent view (of last 3 furlongs) and a bit of space in the old stand on days like this
I was there in a party of 10 booked for the county stand and could not even get back into the viewing area after the first race was told by the stewards and police that they had too many people in and exceeded the safety limits , this is just stupidty or racecourse greed , I have been going to the St Leger for twenty odd years and this was the worse experience of them all , bring back common sense
It would appear that things didnt go as smoothly as c4 and ATR would have us believe a work colleague of mine had the same problem with the box they had booked for £60, they couldnt return to it because until people had come out, Ive told her to write to Adam Waterworth MD at Doncaster, and so should others (hopefully he or someone at the course may read the posts on here) if you complain enough they will have to change it and get it sorted.
Or email them:
Absolutely laughable comments coming from Doncaster racecourse after what I saw/experienced and they’ll certainly be getting an e-mail from me…
I turned up 45 minutes before the first race and was stunned to find that grandstand was sold out. Nothing had been mentioned in the press or on the Morning Line – ‘healthy ticket sales’ was the official line.
I couldn’t even find a tout either which is unheard of so as I’d travelled from Middlesbrough, I had no choice but to join the queue for the family enclosure. I’m serious about my racing so stay well away from these areas but having travelled for a couple of hours, I wanted to see the Leger.
Once in there it really was nothing short of a shambles. Ages to get a drink, ages to get a bite to eat and very very difficult indeed to get a bet on.
Worst of all you had guys pissing up against the fence next to the food outlets because the portaloos that were apparently there in the past weren’t this year meaning the queues were terribly long.
Despite all this I managed to enjoy the racing that went on and to be fair I didn’t come across any of the drunken/yobbish behaviour that you expect these days at Saturday flat meetings.
I’ve been lucky enough to attend the last three Cheltenham Gold Cup’s, I was @ Aintree this year for all three days (walked up to buy tickets for all 3 days without any problems) and I was at Ascot for the King George & QEII meetings last year but I’ve never heard so many complaints at a racecourse as I did on Saturday.
What a difference from last year when the Leger was staged at York and you could just stroll around at will.
As people have said, it’s also unacceptable for a grade 1 track that you can’t see any action whatsoever on the round course until the runners turn for home, because of the tree-growth and the hospitality village.
I was planning to attend on RP Trophy day as well prior to Saturday but I doubt that now…
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