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I am a doubly injected
Pfizer man and safe as
houses to anyone who
encroaches my two yards.I am a risk taker
but wouldn’t want to
take the virus head on
and its not that I
could nut it.I respect choice and
those that
have made hopefully
rational choices not to
have the vaccine but
I do feel they should
wear masks
and socially distance
when they mix.
Choices have burdens attached.Going back to the Derby
its all a bit sad to see
the great race straight jacketed into an unnatural Saturday and thereby lose
its identity and allure.
The day does matter to me,
That having been said
I’m happy that Red Alligator
won the National on a Saturday.I’m not quite with Alan
seeing it as a dead duck
but I don’t enjoy it like
I used to – but that may
be me turning into Victor
the vexed.I shall be wearing
tomorrow but will not forget
today as I did so enjoy the Derby – a special very personal Derby – a different Derby – a thrilling finish as always, but the strange fact I don’t know who won doesn’t seem to matter.I just about remember the Wednesday Derby – but I’ve always preferred Saturday now. I suppose we ran here in Ireland (and still do) nearly all our big races at the weekend outside of Punchestown, Galway and dare I say Listowel. What I’m trying to remember is how used they get four days out of Epsom when they started on the Wednesday? There was still only the three Group 1’s and even in two days the rest of the card feels padded out to me.
When it was a four day meeting, the Friday was often dire. I believe the “feature” race was a 1m 4f handicap named after Northern Dancer. I think this is now the race run after the Derby.
I attended my first Wednesday at The Derby in 1985, Slip Anchor’s year, and the Downs were packed.
Hundreds of thousands there.
Amazing atmosphere and it still felt like half of London took the first Wednesday in June off to attend.
But as a four-day meeting, containing three Group 1s, it felt the quality was stretched very thin over the four days.
Holding it on the Saturday doesn’t bother me tbh.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"I always thought it was a three day meeting Wednesday (Derby), Friday (Coronation) and Saturday (Oaks)
I recall it being the Derby on Wednesday, Coronation Cup on Thursday, a card full of maidens and handicaps on Friday and the Oaks on Saturday.
The main difference with the four day set-up was that the meeting included six races for 2-y-olds, of which four were run over 5F.
Not sure when it happened, but Epsom completely stopped running 2-y-old races over 5F. There’s no 2-y-old race now at April meeting and only the Woodcote Stakes over 6F survives of those original six at the Derby meeting.
Is The Oaks the sole example of a Group 1 race being moved from a time-honoured slot on a Saturday to a weekday?
I don’t know the answer to that Drone but that is going in the right direction.
If I was running racing I would have a three day meeting starting on Wednesday.In the 19th and 20th century they used to close the parliamentary session early so all the MPs who were meant to be running the country had time to head down to Epsom Downs and experience a real war.
Your of course correct Cork All Star, it was a four day meeting.
I only ever used to go to the Derby and Oaks days.
” However, in the face of dwindling attendances, the last Derby to be run in its traditional Wednesday slot was the 1994 renewal, won by Erhaab, and since then the race has been run on a Saturday afternoon. The move was not universally welcomed and was subsequently described by various commentators as ‘a mistake’ or even ‘a catastrophic blunder’. Nevertheless, at one point, in the face of declining TV audience figures, a Saturday evening slot for the premier Classic was mooted by the racecourse executive at Epsom Downs.”
Yes Channel 4 audiences were at 1.5 million only half those in the days of BBC coverage so Trevelyan wanted to move it later. Every hour later brought a million extra viewers. Her Majesty needed to be consulted. If she didn’t want to miss her evening cocoa then revenue took second fiddle. Without the Queen the audiences would supposedly reduce anyway.
It is a bit of a mystery to me why after 94 they moved it to the Saturday. BBC do not do adverts do they ? Was there an international TV revenue stream ? Rather puzzling unless the racing executive were in cahoots with the Bookmakers, who would have gained by the move.
Wednesday for me too, though I’m fully aware that it will never move back.
I agree with the comments that it doesn’t really matter now anyway. The demise of the race saddens me greatly. Long gone are the days where I would sprint home from school to try and watch it, those days where it was genuinely one of the Crown Jewels of British Sport.
It’s just another race now, and I just think that it’s a great shame what’s happened to it.
I think the obsession with speed in breeding, and the Prix Jockey Club alteration, may mean the race may end up over 10f. Wouldn’t be against it personally, its depressing to see Derby winners as NH stallions. It also would make the importance of a line to Galileo less important and help the race regain its competitiveness of old.
Well aware this will be an extremely unpopular opinion, tin hat wedged on!
BUY THE SUN
It’s actually not a new opinion.
I first heard it suggested The Derby be 1m2f (and the St Leger 1m4f) in the 1980s.
Originally the Classics were but stepping stones to the ultimate race – the Gold Cup over 2m4f at 4yo and beyond.
And when I was young, the path was still: Derby, Irish Derby, King George.
But increasingly post Epsom the commercial imperative is to drop back to 1m2f and get a Group 1 win in to avoid the NH stallion label.
It’s sad to me, but things being sad doesn’t make them any less true.
I completely agree with what Kris says about the race and its decline.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"I take the point about the Coolmore domination not being good for the race but wasn’t the Derby going to go into decline anyway as racing became more international?
In the Derby’s heyday, there was no Hong Kong or Dubai racing and no Breeders Cup.
It is not the be all and end all any more. The winner is not necessarily the best three year old. And with breeders being more interested in speed, they are not that keen on 12 furlong winners.
I was never a particular fan of the European aristocracy, or the globally wealthy generally, but watch The Derby in the 1970s and you see a myriad of different international owners colours.
The domination of Coolmore – a bit like the increasing big Club domination of football – is just, well, BORING for a lot of people.
Sport needs to be competitive or it loses its edge as a spectacle.
That’s why I am glad the European Super League failed (though I doubt we have heard the last of it) in football.
The racing equivalent might be a minimum Sales price of £1,000,000 to be eligible to enter The Derby, or being by a short-list of “Super Sires,” headed by Galileo.
I bet Coolmore would quite like that!
I am "The Horse Racing Punter" on Facebook
https://mobile.twitter.com/Ian_Davies_
https://www.facebook.com/ThePointtoPointNHandFlatracingpunter/
It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"All racecourses love Saturdays, Idiots paying admission fees to sit in bars watching the racing on TV screens. I,m sure most racing journalists must be in same bars because the f****** nonsense they write, always an opening on ITV with the other Morons. I just hope down in [HELL my new home] they don’t show ITV.
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