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The RP correspondent at Wolver, Dave Orton comments:
Where is Everyone?
The sparse turnout was most notable and begs the question; just how popular are these evening meetings?
With repeat sporting fixtures within a limited timeframe, the laws of supply and demand must operate.
Greyhound racing or US "meets" – with four or even five eracedays per week drawing on the same population, offers a classic example.
Both examples have racecourse admission prices at a level which enable enthusiasts to attend most of the meetings.
For this twilight experiment to be a success, then racecourses have to cut the price of admission to stimulate demand.
My local track, Southwell, had three meetings in a row on Monday to Wednesday. Even the die-hards went missing on the final day.
I know it’s only a tenner to get in, but with refreshments and bets, it soon mounts up. And the racing is hardly vintage, (though competitive and still a strong betting medium)
I sometimes think that Racing exists outside the natural economic laws which affect all our daily lives.
Is it time for free admission? Discuss.
Cheers and good luck
Max;)
Southwell is murder to get to via public transport though Maxillon – for a regular afternoon meeting you need to leave before the last or when it’s dark if travelling by train and it’s a good 2 mile walk to the bus (i did my dissertation on it lol)
I dunno about free admission, but a fiver is plenty for banded trash. £10, plus considerable expenses, to watch ‘pit ponies’ is a bit rich IMO.
<br>Actually Wolverhampton were only charging £1 yesterday, although it’s not much use offering cheap admission if nobody knows about it.
I was at Wolverhampton on Tuesday to watch Salute run in a twilight race and can confirm that there was a very small crowd – this may be due to the fact that the entire population of the West Midlands were out in their cars, as my painful journey home discovered!
AP
Hello,
Having visited and have knowledge of Race Tracks all over the world, I can safely say that the UK are easily the most expensive in the world :( <br> In the USA some tracks hand out gifts as you waltz in FREE..<br>Anyone that has been to Longchamp would know how cheap it is!<br>My visit of about 6 years ago, Arc Meeting, £7.00 covering both Saturday and Arc Day Sunday..also you can go virtually anywhere on the course!<br>I also noted the racing was "slightly" better than Lingfield, Southwell and Wolverhampton Dogs! ;)
Australia is similar to the USA, low admission and sometimes free!!
At the back of my mind I believe Towcester had " Free" Days, which were apparently very successful.<br>Courses can carry on charging for Saturdays, appears to be populated by Stag and Hen Parties anyway!, and on occasional Big Race Days, but Fakenham or Kelso on a Wednesday should be FREE!!!!
As I may have mentioned before my love affair with the Cheltenham Festival hit the rails after they started to charge £60 a day….disgrace!<br>I availed myself with a £40.00 Return ticket to Malaga for a week, and watched the Festival in the Sun with good food, cheap beer and literally scores of like minded race fans sick to death of being ripped off by Colonel Blimp and his cavalry mates!!
regards,
doyley
Alan, <br>I was there the previous Friday and sparse doesn’t do the crowd justice.<br>Hard to see the attraction in going to Wolverhampton at that time of night when you have the M6 to contend with on the way home – the bit near Ikea is a particularly enjoyable car park to sit in!!
Kempton’s crowds for the plethora of recent meetings cant have been at all good. i live nearby and yet cant be bothered.
But if very cheap or free i think they would get a fair number of curious punters. opening free day on the AW was mobbed. £11 for banded is a bit of a joke really
On a recent trip to New York I spent an afternoon at Aqueduct Racetrack. <br>I was seated on the second tier above the winning line with a betting terminal on the table showing replays and races from other tracks which I could also bet on. <br>Not to mention the waiter service bring food and drink all day to the table. <br>I can only imagine how much this would cost in the UK but it cost me $7 for myself and girlfriend.
I understand this is mostly funded by the courses being tote only but from an enjoyment point of view it was a great day at the races.
Towcester was free last year and is still free this year (even after completing the main stand). The summer meetings are absolutely packed and even the midweek or weekend winter meetings are really well attended. We went to watch Taj run at Lingfield on saturday and the crowd was sparse at best.
I imagine Towcester must easily make back the lost admission money on the drinks and betting. The betting ring is always full of bookies and the bars are always busy as well. I think some of the other courses should take note because in spite of the fact that the meets aren’t always of the greatest quality they are always really well attended. Admission fees are often prohibitive.. At the very least tracks like wolver should drop their admission to a fiver, which would encourage people to go. The cost also doesn’t encourage younger people in the 18-25 bracket who normally don’t have the money to afford a day at the races.
If Great Leighs have the foresight to be competitive with their admission prices, I can foresee me attending on a regular basis. I live nearby, and it will be a good night out.<br>But I cannot imagine the prospect of paying double figure prices for admission will persuade me to visit more than once a month.<br>It’s a buyers market, and you have to cater for what the buyer is willing to pay for sub-standard fare.<br>That sounds like a good plan for the festival doyley. You don’t need to be at the festival to enjoy the festival :)<br>Sun, sea and SkyTV is better than hounds, horses and hock deep mud :)
I wish Cheltenham were competitive with their young person/student prices.
Haydock this weekend – £8.50 as always<br>Aintree this weekend – £9 i expect (both of these are student)
Cheltenham – £22 Powder Puff Gold Cup (those aged 16-24).
In addition the transport from St. Helens to Haydock is £1 return, same from Cheltenham to the track was about £4.50
Twilight fixtures start at 4pm with the last "betting session" (how the BHB now describe horse races) at 6.20 which is ten minutes before betting shops currently are legally required to close. Their purpose is to relieve betting shop punters of their money at a time of day when there is not much else going on.
They were introduced, according to the BHB, "after consultation with the betting industry" They aren’t designed to attract racegoers
From autumn 2007 , when betting shop opening hours will be extended until late in the evening, twilight fixures will cease and be replaced by floodlit evening meetings at Kempton and Wolverhampton. Every Wednesday to Saturday from September through to December is the initial plan apparently.
richard
It is depressing and yet the BHB keep trying to purvey their claptrap about GB racing being the "best in the world"
richard
Richard – Venusian
Can I just ask what would make you happy? Less racing? Better quality racing? No A-W? A Tote monopoly? Racing concluding at 3.30? A change in the handicap system?
I’m confused. I’ve yet to see a post from you in particular, Richard, which projects many positives from your horse racing experience. Is the current situation really that bad?
Genuinely interested.
Max
I’ve made this point before and I’ll make it again…
If the quality at the top end is undiluted why is it a concern that there is more poor quality racing?
You can only have so much good racing, there’s only so many good horses, and I don’t think the big days are getting any worse.
If you like poor quality racing you’ll be happy there is more of it. If you don’t like it already, and presumably don’t watch it, why should it be a concern there is more of it?<br>
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Maxilon/Toneloc
Maybe one should ask do we need extra fixtures, who is the driving force behind this burgeoning garbage, and why?<br> I note from this morning’s Post that the BHB are advertising for "the development of new racecourses, or new racetracks within existing courses" knowing full well that the extra runners can only feasibly come from the bottom end of the spectrum, which inevitably means more dross and dilution of the sport as a whole.<br> Maybe it’s just me, but I can remember when greyhound racing used to be a meaningful sport, before it became run for, and by, the bookmakers?
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