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I was looking forward to watching some proper racing (National Hunt) and can’t believe that there wasn’t any jumps racing scheduled in England yesterday or today??
Why??
There has been a lot written about the increase in Racing fixtures and the slow demise of Racing.
I wonder why the fixture list doesn’t spread the jumps meetings more evenly?
Surely having more racing at weekends dilutes the quality and means racing during the week is limited. I understand that more people are able to go racing at the weekend and that courses are thinking of their bottom line BUT having on average one jumps meeting a day during the week means that most of the horses will be ridden by the top jocks (apart from apprentice races etc) and the younger jockeys and journeymen pro’s who in many cases put at least as much back into racing (mattie Batchelor a good example!) are left on the sidelines and often drift off into other careers.
I would like to see the BHA do more to publicize Pony racing which is in a lot of ways the lifeblood of the sport.
I really am not convinced the current administration are forward thinking enough to keep this great sport afloat and would like to see more progressive thinkers bought into the fray. If you look at other sports that have recently suffered a downturn they have made changes
Cricket – 20/20
Boxing – Prizefighter Series
Formula One – Made the sport more competitive
even snooker introduced the shot clock and league system
while racing is left behind.I am not saying the solution is easy but it must be found and soon!
Cormack
As I am sure you must realise Pony racing has long been the lifeblood in Ireland and has started many a top pro on his way. Norman Williamson, Charlie Swan, Barry Geraghty, Nina Carberry to name but a few.In this country we are sadly lagging behind but in recent years Felix de Giles and Rhys Flint have both come through the ranks and it is definately an area growing in popularity.
This is my reason for pointing it out in the same way that regularly when I attend Point to Point meetings the crowds are quite often bigger than racing under rules!
I understood that this site was a racing forum and not just a betting forum. The idea apparently being intelligent discussion regarding all areas of the industry.
Regardless of your views it is a fact that the industry is struggling to attract younger followers who are grabbed at a young age by the glitz and glamour (and money!) of other sports. I appreciate the difficulties involved but it is not a coincidence that Race Nights with Music to follow are a sell out weeks in advance.
I realise that the real racing anoraks amongst you will point to the quality of racing being the key and all the traditions associated with a great sport BUT for alot of people this isn’t enough.
The point my thread was making is that the sport needs to be more radical if it is to continue to hold its position as one of the nations favourite sports and admittedly Pony Racing isn’t the answer in fact there isn’t a single answer just lots of small things that can be done to help increase popularity.
Glenn
According to the Chief Exec Nic Coward his remit is "to regulate, promote and represent Racing. Our challenge is to make sure that everything we do meets one simple test – what is best for British Racing".
This I think fits in with what I discussed in the earlier post.
I am not one of these that people that thinks racing is on its last legs I just believe that a lot more can be done to keep racing in its rightful position as one of the most popular sports in the country.
I was looking forward to watching some… National Hunt and can’t believe that there wasn’t any jumps racing scheduled in England yesterday or today??
Why??
I wonder why the fixture list doesn’t spread the jumps meetings more evenly?
It’s probably not entirely within the BHA’s gift to ensure that any of today or yesterday’s fixtures were jumps fixtures, any more than it was to ensure that one or more of the three on May 10th or July 12th were Flat fixtures.
It’s quite likely that no jumps courses actually bid for a fixture on either day this week, and no Flat venues on those two dates apparently deep into the core Flat season.
I would like to see the BHA do more to publicize Pony racing which is in a lot of ways the lifeblood of the sport.
A May 18th article in the
Racing Post
reproduced below would suggest the Pony Racing Authority (PRA) is generally happy with the way things are going, National Finals day at Aintree and all.
The programme is admittedly nowhere near as exhaustive in Britain yet as it is Ireland, but it’s advancing at a fair rate now, as evinced by the races you and I have both seen at increasing numbers of point-to-point venues.
gc
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Pony racing boss applauds BHA for recognising sport
By Racing Post staff
18 MAY 2009THE supremo of British pony racing has described the BHA’s decision to embrace the burgeoning sport at today’s Anglo- Irish Jumps Racing Awards as recognition of its importance to the health of jump racing, writes Lee Mottershead.
Becky Brisbourne and Hector Worsley, winners of the 2008 Charles Owen Pony Racing Finals, will be presented with prizes at the function, which is including the children’s sport for the first time..
Since its formal inception in 2004, pony racing in Britain, which is open to jockeys aged between 11 and 15, has proved to be a rich source of riding talent, with recent proteges including Rhys Flint and Felix de Giles.
This year’s series, which began in April and ends in October, comprises races staged at many of the biggest tracks, including Ascot, Goodwood and Cheltenham. The next contests take place at Newmarket on Sunday.
Rebecca Morgan, chief executive of The Pony Racing Authority, the sport’s governing body, said: "It is a real privilege and honour for pony racing to be formally recognised at the awards, which serves as a reminder of the role the initiative plays within the industry.
"The winners of the 2008 Charles Owen Pony Racing Finals will each be presented with an award, which is very exciting for them and a great recognition of their successes last year." Pony races, which have a long and successful history in Ireland, are also run during British point-to-point meetings, at which jockeys can be as young as nine.
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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.
Thanks GC for that intelligent response and I am glad you were able to dig out that report about pony racing.
It is a shame that more racing fans don’t get involved at grass roots level. There are a large percentage of people purely interested in the gambling side of the sport(which is to be expected) and I think it is important that more is done to involve them in both the amateur experience and also the re-training and re-homing of racehorses side of the industry.
The Horses and Jockeys and everybody else involved in the sport give such enjoyement and it would be good to see this reflected in the interest in other areas of the industry.
I know as soon as I mentioned Pony racing the majority of people stopped reading as they weren’t being given a tip or a chance to get one over on the bookies!!!
Peter,
A full page – no 22 to be precise – of Sunday’s Racing Post was given over to an article on Pony Racing by Lee Mottershead.
The main article was all about the characters involved. However there was also an interview with Rebecca Morgan, CE of the Pony Racing Authority, who talked about a 30,000 Levy Board contribution towards funding two pony academies at NRC and BRS where kids without ponies of their own can learn on a 12 week course and then compete. They are trying to take away the stigma of it being for rich kids and children of trainers and trying to broaden this aspect of the sport.
Thanks for that Adrian. Don’t get round to reading the RP very often at the weekend but good to know that it is getting more coverage and as you point out involving kids that aren’t just related to trainers or have pots of money.
Anybody got any other ideas(sensible!) for taking racing forward and making it more approachable for a younger crowd?
I’m thinking radical not just reducing entry fees or allowing under 25’s in free etc?
If you attended mid-week race meetings on a regular basis you would be aware of the excellent Raceday For Schools scheme whereby school trips are arranged to spend a day at the racecourse and the day is integrated with National Curriculum subjects and learning.
The day also involves the students staying to watch the first few races – I cannont think of a better way to introduce youngsters to the delights of our sport.
It is an initiative the BHA should be justifiably proud of,
If you attended mid-week race meetings on a regular basis you would be aware of the excellent Raceday For Schools scheme whereby school trips are arranged to spend a day at the racecourse and the day is integrated with National Curriculum subjects and learning.
The day also involves the students staying to watch the first few races – I cannont think of a better way to introduce youngsters to the delights of our sport.
As are the BHA’s initiatives in helping under privileged kids in Brixton or supporting Greatwood to
provide fulfilling futures for former racehorses and special needs children through their interaction in unique programmes of rehabilitation and education in a secure and caring environment
, to mention just two examples.
Imv, the BHA may be open to criticism on a number of issues but not for their work within the community and specifically their work with youngsters.
Also, I maybe wrong on this, so am happy to be put right, but I thought the popularity of Pony Racing in Ireland is very largely associated with betting….
My point seems to have got lost! I am aware that the BHA does alot in the way of community programmes and working with inner city children etc.
Hopefully in decades to come the kids that are meeting the ex-racehorses etc will come back to racing and be future supporters.
What I am asking are the ways of increasing the numbers of younger people(in particular) attending race meetings now?
In answer to the other point 90% of the racing I go to is midweek as my job only very occassionally permits me weekends off. I have never seen school children present and in the last year have been to meetings at Cheltenham, Stratford, Worcester, Towcester, Newbury, Leicester, Hereford, Ludlow and Warwick as well as quite a few flat race meets.
I am not BHA bashing as your very defensive replies suggest but merely pointing out an area where the sport is lacking in comparison to others.
In fact Paul similar to your own post on your website entitled "Who needs consultants?" which I believe talks about some improvements that you would like to see made.
Finally, I think maybe my title was a little vague and maybe makes this out to be an all out attack on the BHA which it isn’t and I will label more carefully in future.
If you attended mid-week race meetings on a regular basis you would be aware of the excellent Raceday For Schools scheme whereby school trips are arranged to spend a day at the racecourse and the day is integrated with National Curriculum subjects and learning.
The day also involves the students staying to watch the first few races – I cannont think of a better way to introduce youngsters to the delights of our sport.
It is an initiative the BHA should be justifiably proud of,
In fairness, although in theory it’s a good idea, I can’t help but feel that it is being organised in a bad way. Most of the school parties that I have seen racing on such schemes have been under the age of 10, many as young as 5 or 6. At that sort of age, they’ll probably be taking more interest in the grass lawns in front of the course that they can roll all over (trust me, I’ve seen it done many a time!!) than the actual racing or the horses. Get kids in as young teenagers; show them the facilities, the weighing room, jockeys changing room et al, at least by that age they are capable of taking it all on board and thinking in terms of ‘yes, I like this and I’d like to come again’. When it comes to the young age groups that are currently being shown around as part of this scheme they look on it as nothing more than a day out for a bit of fun, being incapable at their age of thinking "yes I like this and I’d like to come again and learn more about it".
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