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This Saturday sees the first ever Saturday running of the July Cup. As recently as 2004, the July Meeting was a Tuesday-Thursday affair. It’s been a Wednesday-Friday meeting since then and the flight to the weekend has now been made complete. And, of course, we’re only a few weeks away from the first Wednesday-Saturday Ebor Meeting, with the Ebor itself taking place on the Saturday.
It’s a deplorable trend as far as I’m concerned and I’ve argued against it many times but the argument is lost. I will be very interested, however, to see how things turn out this Friday and Saturday. Friday has Flat racing taking place at Ascot, Newmarket and York in the afternoon and at Chepstow, Chester and Newbury in the evening. On Saturday, it’s Ascot, Chester, Newmarket and York in the afternoon and Hamilton and Salisbury in the evening. Will there be enough decent horses and jockeys to go round? And the crowd figures will be interesting. Newmarket have today extended the deadline for their “online booking discount” for this week’s meeting which suggests that advance sales have been disappointing.
At the heart of Saturday afternoon, the big races come thick and fast:
3:15 York John Smiths Cup £150k
3:35 Nmkt July Cup £400k
3:45 Ascot Summer Mile (Grp 2) £100k
All those three races are being shown on C4, as is the 3:55 from York. Fit in three advertising breaks, three inane post race jockey interviews and the ‘eyecatchers’ and there isn’t going to be much time for any post race analysis, especially as they go off air at 4:05 (which in reality means 4:03 to allow for ads and trailers before the next program starts).
I’ve asked before and still have never had a credible answer – so once again, what is the exact point of all this concentration on Saturday afternoon.
Is it to increase the racecourse attendances?
Is it to increase betting turnover?
Is it to ensure the terrestrial TV coverage?
AP
I would think they’d have a better chance of TV coverage on weekdays. Aren’t most football matches on Saturdays?
Over here some track managers have been trying to move major spring/summer stakes from Saturday to Sunday. The trick is that stakes are generally the second-to-last race on the card, by which point the young college students that the tracks are trying to attract will have moved on to
other
things. On Sunday they’ll stay longer and bet more. Frank Stronach has been trying to do that to the Preakness. That’s less likely to happen than a primetime Kentucky Derby under the lights.
I’ve asked before and still have never had a credible answer – so once again, what is the exact point of all this concentration on Saturday afternoon.
Is it to increase the racecourse attendances?
Is it to increase betting turnover?
Is it to ensure the terrestrial TV coverage?
AP
All good reasonable questions ap and no surprise that C4 don’t answer since their shows are now designed for the non-racing fan. It seems to me that C4 think that if the racing isn’t on a Saturday then no-one will watch it
sods law dictates of course that the magnet cup
will be late off so dont expect much build up to the july cup on ch4.
i thought that last saturdays eclipse coverige on ch4 was terrible with little build up and im begining to wonder that as the levy board are paying ch4,they are telling them how and what to show.
i also watched the morning line for the first time in months,its so sad that its now unwatchable for racing enthusiastes like ourselfs.
if racings big plan is to get us all to pay £20 a month for ruk then its nearly working with me
I’ve asked before and still have never had a credible answer – so once again, what is the exact point of all this concentration on Saturday afternoon.
Is it to increase the racecourse attendances?
Is it to increase betting turnover?
Is it to ensure the terrestrial TV coverage?
AP
All good reasonable questions ap and no surprise that C4 don’t answer since their shows are now designed for the non-racing fan. It seems to me that C4 think that if the racing isn’t on a Saturday then no-one will watch it
Unfortunately agree.
I’ve asked before and still have never had a credible answer – so once again, what is the exact point of all this concentration on Saturday afternoon.
Is it to increase the racecourse attendances?
Is it to increase betting turnover?
Is it to ensure the terrestrial TV coverage?
AP
I always assumed it was all those things, plus sponsors wanting maximum exposure. And Ch4 are probably right that people – enough people – won’t watch live on a week day other than very big meetings; that will discourage Ch4’s advertisers. Supposedly racing is expensive to cover so it makes more economic sense to show repeats/cheap programming.
What I’d like to know is, what happened to the original concept of Sunday racing, which was to put on top quality racing?
Supposedly racing is expensive to cover so it makes more economic sense to show repeats/cheap programming.
It doesn’t need to be. C4 do not need two presenters on course or two paddock commentators, or two betting reporters, not to mention a huge production team.
They do not need to use an independent production company with additional cameras, they could use the Racetech / SIS / TurfTVfeed Feeds (which are invariably better than the arty farty shots you sometimes get)
They are increasingly taking the on-course commentary. e.g. York this Friday and Saturday, so no need for separate commentators. They have even used "BBC commentators" both Barty and Hunty have been on C4 in the recent past
With the additional capacity now available on digital terrestrial television I am surprised none of the specialist racing providers have considered making a move to that platform – ATR would be the obvious one.
What I’d like to know is, what happened to the original concept of Sunday racing, which was to put on top quality racing?
Absolutely – don’t get me started on that one
Richard Hannon has had a rant on his website today:-
Hannon blasts powers-that-be for "week-end chaos"
Champion trainer Richard Hannon described this week-end’s revised fixture list, which sees July Cup day at Newmarket run for the first time on a Saturday and thereby clashing with Ascot, as "shambolic.
The boss, steaming on Tuesday morning as he strived to find jockeys for all his entries over the congested 12-meeting two-day period, said:"It is total chaos and a complete joke, and, whether it was the idea of Race Planning or Racing For Change it is utter nonsense.
"There are six meetings both on Friday and Saturday, and, with jockeys being suspended willy-nilly these days, who do they expect is going to ride all these horses.
"Furthermore, nobody seems to give a damn as to how we are going to find sufficient staff to send to all these meetings, and it is also unfair on the owners, who, quite rightly, expect either Richard jnr or I to be at the races with them.
"But we can only do one meeting each in the afternoon and the way the timings have been scheduled racing will be half-over by the time we get back to Salisbury (Friday) and Newbury (Saturday) for the evening sessions.
"I was against moving the July meeting in the first place. It was always the tradition that they race on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, then they switched to a Wednesday start, which made Friday tricky, and now Newmarket, who, as if things aren’t bad enough, also stage the July Sales between racing, don’t kick off until Thursday, which makes things virtually impossible for the week-end.
"All the quality is squeezed into the week-end, which is wrong. We are racing for peanuts at the bread-and-butter meetings at the start of the week – the menu is low-grade and benefits nobody except the bookmakers.
"Trainers aren’t happy and nor are the jockeys, who can’t cut themselves in two, so which bright spark came up with the idea to change things round should be handed the dunce cap and told to stand in the corner of the room!"
By contrast, next Saturday is distinctly low key with the three flat meetings at Newbury, Newmarket and Ripon in the afternoon, featuring one minor Group 3 sprint, a couple of Listed races and the Super Sprint for 2-y-olds.
Perhaps York could arrange a swap with Ripon next year, moving the John Smiths Cup away from the July Cup to provide a quality centre piece for a Saturday that otherwise depends on the Market Rasen Summer Plate for excitement.
AP
Frankie Dettori on the fiasco –
"We had a beautiful tradition of spreading the big races out through the week. Now everyone can only think of one day and we are far too centred on Saturday".
Couldn’t agree more, just look what’s scheduled for Sunday, Perth, Southwell and Straford. The people running the game are fecking useless, I can’t stand that Stephen Wallis at Newmarket, he spouts so much crap and what leadership have we seen from Roy & Co?
There is also a knock-on effect on the flat jockeys championship. Ryan Moore is not keen on low grade races in midweek so the fact that top races are squashed into Saturdays should give him fewer winners than previously.
Perhaps York could arrange a swap with Ripon next year, moving the John Smiths Cup away from the July Cup to provide a quality centre piece for a Saturday that otherwise depends on the Market Rasen Summer Plate for excitement.
Suspect that may be intended as a leading question APR, but anyway…
…that would mean York racing on successive weekends as the ‘Summer Music’ beano or whatever it’s called is due on the 22nd/23rd
The old city needs at least a week to recover from the
apres-ski
of the Magnet meeting, and whatsmore it would mean the carboot sale being cancelled for two saturdays on the trot, which is a no! no! no!
This coming Saturday is a real mess and it’s good to see racing professionals railing against it
Ascot-Newmarket-York head-to-head-to-head…need one say more
- Total Posts 17716
This Saturday’s mid-afternoon concentration is indeed a shambles. Dettori is quite correct. Why not have at least one of the three leading meetings the following day, and another as an evening fixture?
I note that Mr Street is yet to respond to his
Celebrity Q&A
questions…
frit
??
I agree with the concentration of good racing around the weekend but also agree that this could be managed much better. As others have suggested, what about having an evening meeting (Saturday and Sunday) and a big Sunday afternoon fixture.
Football has slowly moved from all the fixtures being played at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon to a spread of differently timed matches throughout the weekend. I think it’s a model that racing should adopt.
- Total Posts 17716
Football is moving the opposite way to racing, in that, apart from spreading its appeal over the whole weekend, it usually has at least one match of interest on each day of the week.
While racing may appease it’s casual audience by cramming all its eggs into the Saturday afternoon basket, there’s a danger that such condensation may disenchant its core support throughout the week.
Can only speak for myself, but without the occasional quality race, midweek racing is hardly worth a second glance.Football is moving the opposite way to racing, in that, apart from spreading its appeal over the whole weekend, it usually has at least one match of interest on each day of the week.
Each
evening
of the week, Reet, which makes a significant difference
While racing may appease it’s casual audience by cramming all its eggs into the Saturday afternoon basket, there’s a danger that such condensation may disenchant its core support throughout the week.
Can only speak for myself, but without the occasional quality race, midweek racing is hardly worth a second glance.I think that’s the point. Midweek afternoon racing can never appeal to a broad audience because most of us are at work.
If racing was broadcast in pubs and clubs every evening (with maybe a Tote terminal in every one for people to place a bet) then I’d be amazed if racing’s popularity (and betting turnover) didn’t rise.
Can you imagine Premier League matches being played in front of a few hundred supporters on a Monday afternoon? Of course not because why would anyone stage a premier spectator sport at a time when the spectators were least able to attend?
Obviously, there are honourable exceptions to that (eg Wimbledon) but that’s a once a year event and people are happy to take time of work to attend. I’d be happy for the major racing festivals to remain as midweek events for the same reason.
The run of the mill racing has to be held when people can attend without being inconvenienced ie evenings and weekends.
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