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I’m not actually annoyed at the meetings being called off (athough I am frankly stunned that the 15th is the best Kempton can do) but the whole will they/won’t they thing that we’ve got in place is an embarassment to the sport.
I mean let’s seriously ask ourselves, if Kempton was unraceable today, there was never any chance of it being raceable tomorrow was there? Not unless they took the turf to the Bahamas during the night.
Couldn’t agree with you more, AC.
I posted two comments on this subject (Page 2: Anyone live near Kempton / Page 20: King George, (Kempton)) expressing my pessimism about the King George being staged over the festive period.
I echoed your second paragraph during the last couple of days. If the severity of the frost led officials to cancel the Boxing Day fixture forty-eight hours in-advance, how did they expect the ground to improve, to such an extent, that it would be raceable just twenty-four hours later? Even the most optimistic forecast would not have allowed this.
It has certainly been an interesting learning curve for the Kempton officials, and anyone else who wish to deploy frost covers in the future – they appear to have done more harm than good over the last few days. Cheltenham have been somewhat grateful about the snow on the track, insisting that it has acted as ‘a very good insulator’.
Of course, temperatures and conditions have varied across the country, but if Kempton had been more realistic they could have removed the covers earlier and given themselves a good chance of staging the event around the time of the New Year.
For what it’s worth, Kempton have an afternoon A/W meeting scheduled for January 4th. Nothing stopping them from staging the race (and the other major races) if the NH course is deemed raceable. Sandown also have a meeting scheduled for January 8th. The race has been staged there in recent years, so why not this years renewal?
If we are hit with another blast of this weather in the days leading up to January 15th, then it’s goodbye King George and goodbye Kauto’s chance at history.
In my opinion, this is the most important, potentially historic race since Best Mate’s third Gold Cup and, as mentioned in a previous thread, if an opportunity presents itself to run the race before Januray 15th, it should be seized upon.
Quite a good idea and but after running the first two jumps races who would stay for the following 7 Polytrack races.
Southwell couldn’t have raced on Boxing Day as it was a Sunday, and the total number of Sunday meetings there is restricted under the terms of their local council licence. This is to limit the number of Sundays disturbed by race traffic in the surrounding villages – when they do race on a Sunday, the normal access via Rolleston is closed off.
There are also limits placed on the total number of meetings per calendar year at most tracks by local councils, so putting on extra meetings at short notice in December is always likely to be a potential problem.
AP
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It’s been quite funny reading the nonsense from "grown men" who can’t seem to accept that the weather has been very cold (in winter, of all times) and racing, along with other sports, has been hit badly by the weather.
No one dies if a meeting is abandoned. If the weather means that races like the King George are lost, then so be it.
What does anyone think they are going to achieve by venting your spleen on a forum just because the weather has been incredibly bad this winter?
DS
A few things which may have escaped your attention:A/ This is a Racing Forum, so it should be unsurprising there’s adverse comment, on one of the sport’s biggest days of the year – when there’s no racing.
B/ Being "grown men", most of its members are conversant with the current weather situation, its effect on sport generally, and on horse racing in particular.
C/ If races like the King George are lost, it’s again hardly surprising that the above membership would express a view that it should be re-arranged, given not only its annual importance in the racing calendar, but also – in this particular year – its potential contribution to racing history. It’s also fair comment that the situation was widely predicted, and, with just a little foresight, could have been ameliorated somewhat by the provision of at least one decent AW meeting.
D/ It’s common knowledge that punters have very little voice in racing matters, and fairly well recognised that TRF is one of the better places for that body to air their grievances with at least some hope of racing’s rulers actually reading, if not always responding.
Of course, being an open forum, it often attracts those with little constructive to say, some of whom try to big themselves up with supercilious nonsense, but that’s a price well worth paying, if threads like this eventually make a difference.
Happy Christmas!
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So you don’t want them to put any turf racing on "until it warms up". What if it warms up, and allows a couple of days racing, before another snowfest? You’d have waited until it warms up, then made a decision to put racing on, only for it to freeze over again. Missing the chance for a couple of days racing.
So you think it would be a bad idea moving a race from today to January 15th (for example)? It could warm up next week only to be freezing again by then & if that were to happen, we could probably wave goodbye to the King George altogether.
That’s a very valid point what if it does freeze again?
I really don’t get this The Irish moved a meeting from Boxing day to Thursday while Kempton decided to move the King George 1 day believing there was a warm spell (for this time of the year) on the way.
Yesterday Kempton said the following
""We would need daytime temperatures tomorrow to be above zero quite early in order for the covers to be removed in time for the 11.50am start, but that just isn’t going to happen. There is no chance of the frost coming out of the ground on Monday. Milder temperatures are not arriving in time, so even a contingency of considering racing on Tuesday isn’t possible"
Well unless the Met are puting completely false information up on there website there has been no frost and temps have been above freezing during the night and will continue to be so until thus evening.
WTF are these people all about? Would have been almost certain to be able to run the race this week if they took the covers off now but they put it back to the 15 th of January and cross their fingers it won’t snow again in January………are they mad!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Apparently it’s the sponsors Hills who’ve insisted that the race remain at Kempton so given the fact that the BHA meekly comply with what bookmakers ordain that is Newbury, Cheltenham or Ffos Las (would love to see the KG there) ruled out this coming week.
So with one hand tied behind their backs the logical alternative the BHA and Kempton should have considered given the ‘window’ of mildish weather we’re promised up until New Year would have been to slot an extra meet at Kempton this week. Can’t understand why they haven’t done so, particularly as my seaweed and pine cone are forecasting a return to ‘proper winter’ again after next weekend.
In a normal winter concerning oneself with ‘it may be snowing and/or freezing on January 15th’ would be daft as it likely wouldn’t be but this winter it appears to me that it’s a shade of odds-on to be, so every effort should be made to get as much racing on while able to – viz the coming few days
It’s only horseracing we’re talking about admittedly, not matters of life and death but in our own little microcosm it is ‘important’ that we give Kauto Star every opportunity possible to have a bash at a fifth KG.
For goodness sake the words King George and Kauto Star even made the front page of the BBC website and Ceefax index pages following the abandonment.
The interest of the public-at-large has been kindled. This is racing marketing itself as it should – a great race featuring a great horse. Undersell it at your peril BHA etc etc
Get it on this week for chrissakes
I’m giving up on the jumps in future I will concentrate on the turf flat and thats it.
The jumps season is getting ridiculous horse after horse having the odd run before being put away for Cheltenham, the weather destroying a large part of the season and then we have to wait over two weeks for the re-arranged King George.
Basically there’s the open meeting at Cheltenham then the odd reasonable race before the diluted Cheltenham festival.Boring!
And the RFC cretins tell us we need a "narative" for the FLAT!
Lunatics and asylum springs to mind.
England is at the same latitude as Alaska, but is kept temperate by the jet stream. Global warming warms the Atlantic/Arctic Ocean thereby weakening the jet stream and freezing the UK for half the year.
.More the Gulf Stream than the Jet Stream methinks, though both influence each other
The unusually cold weather here this winter has been caused by the jet stream arcing further south than is normal causing our climate to become dominated by the cold Scandinavian High Pressure bloc and its associated Continental weather systems rather than the typical warm Azores High and its associated Atlantic weather systems
Given the obvious balancing fact that if it’s unusually cold in one area then it must be unusually warm in another I believe I’m right in saying that the eastern seaboard of North America as far north as Greenland and as far inland as Hudson’s Bay have basked in unseasonable warmth (relatively speaking) due to the mild Atlantic weather systems being ‘shoved’ up that way rather than taking their usual track across the pond to us
Whether this, and to some extent last winter in NW Europe, are a portent of what will be the norm in years to come I’ll leave to those foolhardy enough to make dogmatic predictions on long-term weather patterns
I see it’s -26C in Fairbanks, Alaska. Good old UK: crap weather, nice climate
reet hard
27 Dec 2010, 02:57
DEEP SENSATION WROTE:
It’s been quite funny reading the nonsense from "grown men" who can’t seem to accept that the weather has been very cold (in winter, of all times) and racing, along with other sports, has been hit badly by the weather.No one dies if a meeting is abandoned. If the weather means that races like the King George are lost, then so be it.
What does anyone think they are going to achieve by venting your spleen on a forum just because the weather has been incredibly bad this winter?
DS
A few things which may have escaped your attention:A/ This is a Racing Forum, so it should be unsurprising there’s adverse comment, on one of the sport’s biggest days of the year – when there’s no racing.
It’s not adverse comments, it moaning
B/ Being "grown men", most of its members are conversant with the current weather situation, its effect on sport generally, and on horse racing in particular.
Reading the majority of comments on here, it appears that these "grown men" can’t accept that the weather has beaten a lot of things, not just racing (airports, roads, other sporting events etc). The moaning from various posters (on here & other forums) comes across like a spoilt child moaning that they can’t have any more sweets!
C/ If races like the King George are lost, it’s again hardly surprising that the above membership would express a view that it should be re-arranged, given not only its annual importance in the racing calendar, but also – in this particular year – its potential contribution to racing history. It’s also fair comment that the situation was widely predicted, and, with just a little foresight, could have been ameliorated somewhat by the provision of at least one decent AW meeting.
While it’s disappointing if the King George is lost, it’s hardly the end of the world, is it? There are much more important things in life to worry about. As for "foresight" as per usual on a forum, foresight is only mentioned AFTER the event, not before. Can I ask what experience, if any, do the members of this forum have in running a racecourse or looking after several acres of turf, to keep it in tip-top condition?
D/ It’s common knowledge that punters have very little voice in racing matters, and fairly well recognised that TRF is one of the better places for that body to air their grievances with at least some hope of racing’s rulers actually reading, if not always responding.
ah, the poor old punters don’t get a voice line. Do you really think anyone from the betting industry reads this & thinks "ooh, we better change things, the punters are posting on a forum and they don’t like what we’re doing"? The people who come out with that nonsense really do need to grow up & come back to the real world
Of course, being an open forum, it often attracts those with little constructive to say, some of whom try to big themselves up with supercilious nonsense, but that’s a price well worth paying, if threads like this eventually make a difference.
And it’s about time these people (who really should have their keyboards taken away from them) grew up & realised that while they have every right to have an opinion, they really should keep it to themselves & not post it on the world wide web!
Happy Christmas!
Ditto
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And it’s about time these people (who really should have their keyboards taken away from them) grew up & realised that while they have every right to have an opinion, they really should keep it to themselves & not post it on the world wide web!
Particularly those
" whom try to big themselves up with supercilious nonsense"
without adding anything to the debate, eh DS?
Pretty sick of it myself now. Never realised how much I loved the King George this time of year until after boxing day- very depressed!
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Of course, being an open forum, it often attracts those with little constructive to say, some of whom try to big themselves up with supercilious nonsense, but that’s a price well worth paying, if threads like this eventually make a difference.
Personally, though being perfect and thus having little need to "big myself up", I do count myself as one of the spouters of supercilious nonsense
par excellence
; and I rather take issue with the idea that this Forum is here to "make a difference".
TRF provides me (in Aristotle’s words) with plenty of "entertainment with instruction": and though we’ve all got our own ideas about why TRF is here, and why we contribute, I would have thought that "making a difference" was, realistically, far down the list.
And I rather hope, actually, that it
doesn’t
aim to make a difference!
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England is at the same latitude as Alaska, but is kept temperate by the jet stream. Global warming warms the Atlantic/Arctic Ocean thereby weakening the jet stream and freezing the UK for half the year.
I think you mean the
Gulf Stream
. These ocean currents work in the way you describe, but as yet there is no evidence that we’re undergoing anything other than the kind of cold-hot sequence familiar from the 1960’s. If you read Shakespeare, you’ll learn of harder winters by far than anything we’re experiencing, with skating on the Thames a regular diversion.
So no evidence so far that "global warming" is freezing the UK.
England is at the same latitude as Alaska, but is kept temperate by the jet stream. Global warming warms the Atlantic/Arctic Ocean thereby weakening the jet stream and freezing the UK for half the year.
.More the Gulf Stream than the Jet Stream methinks, though both influence each other
The unusually cold weather here this winter has been caused by the jet stream arcing further south than is normal causing our climate to become dominated by the cold Scandinavian High Pressure bloc and its associated Continental weather systems rather than the typical warm Azores High and its associated Atlantic weather systems
Given the obvious balancing fact that if it’s unusually cold in one area then it must be unusually warm in another I believe I’m right in saying that the eastern seaboard of North America as far north as Greenland and as far inland as Hudson’s Bay have basked in unseasonable warmth (relatively speaking) due to the mild Atlantic weather systems being ‘shoved’ up that way rather than taking their usual track across the pond to us
Whether this, and to some extent last winter in NW Europe, are a portent of what will be the norm in years to come I’ll leave to those foolhardy enough to make dogmatic predictions on long-term weather patterns
I see it’s -26C in Fairbanks, Alaska. Good old UK: crap weather, nice climate
The eastern seaboard of North America is mostly trapped under 1-2′ of snow at the moment, but I get your point. Can’t say it has been unseasonably warm this winter, if anything it’s been colder than usual.
I’ll tell you what, I never thought I’d be celebrating a five furlong seller at Southwell but it’s almost been like the Grand National itself today so starved am I.
If Ffos Las makes it, I’ll go and give their Clerk Of The Course a big kiss meself (or get the missus to do it)
Give them a Grade One. It is Christmas after all.
Fingers crossed for Leopardstown tomorrow.
Hopefully JP will send Binocular over for the December Festival Hurdle later in the week. No point in having him stood in his box until the middle of January.
You can all forget Jan 15th also in terms of Kempton.
It didn’t take a genius to work out weeks ago that Kempton on the 26th was in danger and it doesn’t take a genius to work out that Kempton on January 15th is in serious danger. Even the simplest of FREE, long-term weather forecasts tells you that January is going to be even colder than December.
Jump racing should just be scrapped until February at least. How some tracks can delay calling a meeting off – when the course is frozen and the three/five day weather forecasts shows temperatures aren’t going to rise above zero – is beyond me.
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