- This topic has 32 replies, 24 voices, and was last updated 9 years ago by
.
- Posts
Following on from the Kempton thread these are the courses I would shed no tears for if they closed:-
Bath – the lack of watering means the ground is frequently too firm and there are too many drunken coach parties at the course
Chepstow – appalling viewing and full of drunks
Chester – a hateful track frequented by scouse piss heads with no interest in racing. The track is too tight and viewing is appalling
Epsom – if anyone planned to build a course in that location today they would be laughed out of court. Too undulating, a terrible camber and, apart from one meeting in June, it has low class racing and no atmosphere
Newmarket Rowley Mile – a soulless concrete monstrosity with appalling viewing. The only thing saving the July Course is it’s character.
Redcar – every time I go there I end up with streaming eyes from the air pollution, mostly from the chemical works.
Southwell – OK if you fancy a day out in an industrial estate
… too many drunken coach parties at the course
… full of drunks
… piss heads with no interest in racingIf drunken oiks are the sole criterion, every racecourse in the country should be shut.
Personally, I’d close all the AW tracks and ban summer jumping. Go back to the good old days: flat during the summer and jumps during the winter with proper breaks between the seasons.
Sorted.
I know this might sound radical but I would close lots of racecourses.
It surely is a case of supply and demand and I would be interested to know how many courses could stand alone without subsidies etc.
I would regionalise racing and have maybe thirty courses spread relatively equally throughout the country( England, Wales and Scotland) to attract bigger crowds and make them more commercially viable. Fifteen flat and fifteen jumps courses should just about do it and the bigger meetings would subsidise the lesser midweek ones to a degree.
Also the race planners could be a little more considerate of North South divides and make sure that at weekends there was racing available to most of the country within a reasonable radius.
Like I say it is radical but racing needs to be brought forward into the twenty first century!!
I await massive criticism!!
I would say that some courses are a lot worse for drunks than others. Only been to Newmarket and Epsom on that list strangely enough and would not entirely disagree
I would nominate aintree. I’m no fan of the national and find it a ugly spectacle. The course is a strange place which doesn’t feel national Hunt at all. Viewing is very ordinary too. Most disappointing course I’ve visited
Never been to the grand national, do you get the usual racing festival toilet antics?
Women peeing in the blokes sinks, and groups of lads coming out the same cubicle all sniffing a lot?No courses should be closed because as much variety as possible is desirable. Jumping should be reinstated at Windsor and Nottingham.
The chief complaint among the small sample of posts so far on this thread seems to be about the behaviour, largely alcohol related, of a section of racegoers. I imagine this section largely comprises of those under a certain age and I think this reflects a similar trend in society in general. I don’t see how racing can solve this problem which will only worsen if the BHA and its terrestrial broadcaster is successful in the vital aim of attracting new young enthusiasts. Not a pleasant thought but not a reason to close courses.
Paul, you attack what you perceive as the politics of envy (in the article by Tom Kerr, who seems to come from a traditional working class background, directed against the stewards of JCR, who all seem to be personally rich) and now you have a pop at a couple of courses because they are situated in industrial areas which if closed would deny workers in those industries a local leisure opportunity. Isn’t that something similar in reverse?
My least favourite course is and always has been , Chester .
Years ago , I described it as ” nothing more than glorified dog track . ”
I retain that opinion .
For that reason alone , get the bulldozers in .
Gambling Only Pays When You're Winning
I have to stand up for Newmarket Rowley Mile being my local track and a place that I absolutely love visiting.
350 years of racing history, the 2000 and 1000 Guineas, the Ceserawitch and the Cambridgeshire, I don’t find it soulless or a monstrosity and when I watched Frankel winning his 2000 Guineas I had the best view from the upper stands anyone could wish for. The atmosphere was electric.On reaching the racecourse the parking is superb and access to all areas of the racecourse within a short walk . You can always get a good view of horses in the pre-parade, paddock, and going to post.
Newmarket is also steeped in history back to Old Rowley himself and some of the Worlds best horses have trained and are still trained on it’s gallops. We are lucky enough to see a lot of these horses race at Newmarket as 2 year olds before they even become Champions and the Rowley Mile is a true test of speed and stamina.
I agree with those that say no racecourse should close and that includes Kempton, I hope they fight tooth and nail to keep it in the name of all those jockeys and racehorses that made history there. Once it’s gone it’s lost forever and can never be replaced.
Things turn out best for those who make the best of how things turn out...None of them. Don’t like a course? Don’t go there then. So what if people want to go racing and have a few beers? We can’t all be pro-punters or racing purists. Said people work hard and if they wish to let off some steam by doing their brains on the horses and having a few jars of lager then who are you or anyone else to stop them?
Neither alcohol nor drugs (both mentioned in this thread) are cheap so before you throw accusations at age groups or sections of society ask yourself who has the bigger problem with these. You’ll find traces of Colombian Marching Powder in the toilets of racecourses just as you will at Lord’s or Wimbledon.
Not sure what Chester being a ‘glorified dog track’ is supposed to mean. I guess you’d bulldoze all dog tracks then, along with the oldest course in the country.
Epsom’s uniqueness is what should be treasured, not used as a reason to abandon it. It’s problem is that it can seem an empty place on ‘normal’ racedays.
I agree with all Triptych says about Newmarket. The advent of large screens mean the viewing of early stages of the race is no longer a problem.
I guess going down to 15 courses of each code would mean some turf tracks wouldn’t stand the level,of racing but the idea of regionalising more cleverly than the inadequate north/south model currently adopted is good. Fixtures should be allocated not by tradition (although that should be a factor) but by ensuring an even spread through the country by region.
Only been to Chester once and it’s the least favourite of all the courses I’ve visited. But it’s a popular attraction in the area so why even think about closing it.Epsom’s uniqueness is what should be treasured, not used as a reason to abandon it. Its problem is that it can seem an empty place on ‘normal’ racedays.
I agree with all Triptych says about Newmarket. The advent of large screens mean the viewing of early stages of the race is no longer a problem.
I guess going down to 15 courses of each code would mean some turf tracks wouldn’t stand the level,of racing but the idea of regionalising more cleverly than the inadequate north/south model currently adopted is good. Fixtures should be allocated not by tradition (although that should be a factor) but by ensuring an even spread through the country by region.
Only been to Chester once and it’s the least favourite of all the courses I’ve visited. But it’s a popular attraction in the area so why even think about closing it.It’s a shame if any course has to close as someone will be affected. Whether that’s a punter who enjoys going to his local course or an employee at the course who will lose their job.
The problem with closures is that, unless the fixture list is also reduced, this means more use of the other courses. Due to the good old British weather, the ground may not recover and fixtures could be decimated, especially if we have a particularly wet year like 2012.
So really I wouldn’t like to see any close but as they say business is business and although the sale of Kempton will give a much needed boost the JC coffers, within 15-20 years they will be back in the same position having to close yet more courses.
Chester! Horrible track. The draw is, arguably, the cruelest of them all. As Himself said “Get the bulldozers in”
Way too negative a subject and to suggest it’s a somehow natural follow-on to the debate about Kempton is wide of the mark
Some of us might have taken the non gut-reactionary pragmatic view that to lose Kempton would be less bothersome than losing some other Grade 1 track but, speaking for myself anyway, it patently does not mean I want it to close; on the contrary I’d be chuffed if it were to remain open
As I wrote elsewhere, it’s pleasantly surprising that the vast majority of courses extant fifty years ago are still going strong – or perhaps limping along – today, given the large number that closed earlier in the 20th century; and I also opined that we should endeavour to enjoy them while we can as the gallows at the end of this lengthy death row are hoving in to view
Despite your sabbatical Paul it seems you’re still thoroughly jaded by far too much of a very good thing. You and I know perfectly well that heaving crowds, drunks and bad behaviour are largely reserved for Saturdays or specific ‘festivals’; and that lucky old us, for whom the term ‘working week’ is strangely alien, can go racing on a whim whenever we want
The Rowley Mile might be a bleak spot, Redcar might be smelly and Southwell breezeblock-grim but aren’t we privileged to be able to go there and moan about them on a peaceful Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. All racecourses are wonderful, relatively speaking
Tough life innit?
Way too negative a subject and to suggest it’s a somehow natural follow-on to the debate about Kempton is wide of the mark
Some of us might have taken the non gut-reactionary pragmatic view that to lose Kempton would be less bothersome than losing some other Grade 1 track but, speaking for myself anyway, it patently does not mean I want it to close; on the contrary I’d be chuffed if it were to remain open
As I wrote elsewhere, it’s pleasantly surprising that the vast majority of courses extant fifty years ago are still going strong – or perhaps limping along – today, given the large number that closed earlier in the 20th century; and I also opined that we should endeavour to enjoy them why we can as the gallows at the end of this lengthy death row are hoving in to view
Despite your sabbatical Paul it seems you’re still thoroughly jaded by far too much of a very good thing. You and I know perfectly well that heaving crowds, drunks and bad behaviour are largely reserved for Saturdays or specific ‘festivals’; and that lucky old us, for whom the term ‘working week’ is strangely alien, can go racing on a whim whenever we want
The Rowley Mile might be a bleak spot, Redcar might be smelly and Southwell breezeblock-grim but aren’t we privileged to be able to go there and moan about them on a peaceful Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. All racecourses are wonderful, relatively speaking
Tough life innit?
This
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.