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Going back to 1978, things were as I remembered, with the first 7F races on July 1st, at Doncaster and Newmarket. The former provides evidence that an early race at 7F does a horse no harm, as it was won by the future 2000 Gns winner, Tap On Wood – he’d already won over 5F at Windsor.
By 1986, mission creep had seen the first 7F races staged in the same week as Royal Ascot. Beverley started things off that year with an auction race over 7F 100Yds, which attracted 17 runners. That was run on the same day as the Hunt Cup, June 18th.
The first 7F race in Britain this year is a week today, at Haydock and there’s a regular supply all though June. They include one of the daftest races I’ve ever seen in the program book.
On Sat Jun 14th, Chester stage a 7f 2yo Seller, with total prize money of £25,000! Race conditions state the winner to be sold for not less than £10k and any other runner can be claimed for £50k. I wonder if it’s occurred to them that any horse good enough to attract a claim at that price, will be running at Ascot the following week! To add to the lunacy, York stage a 6F 2yo seller with the same prize money on the same afternoon, but with a £30k claiming price.
Actually, the Chesham Stakes was run over 6F until 1996. From my racegoing days in the 70s and 80s, I’m fairly sure the first 7F 2yo race was never earlier than July 1st. The first race was generally the one at Sandown on the first day of the Eclipse meeting.
I’ll check back in a couple of old form books later.
As it wouldn’t allow that link for the race at Montpelier for some reason, I’ve downloaded the video and you can see it now here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CvKa-OxzRakrYkr1zqauEtJW7wwTwbMn/view?usp=drive_link
Coincidentally, I was asked yesterday if I could provide details of hurdler sent from the O’Neill stable to race in the US, called Zabeel Champion. He won a couple of races late last year and finished third behind Snap Decision in the race Miss Woodford mentions above.
One of his wins came at a track called Montpelier and it’s worth a watch, just to enjoy a course that makes Hexham look flat:
And for those interested, the full career of Snap Decision can be found here:
https://www.equibase.com/profiles/Results.cfm?type=Horse&refno=9687612®istry=T&rbt=TB
Griff,
Personally I have no experience of casinos, or the online equivalents endlessly promoted by the bookies. But I’d assume, that for now at least, visiting an actual casino is much the same as visiting a racecourse, where the system of checks has yet to make an impact.
Most of the very large fines imposed by the GC, running into many millions, involve cases in which somebody has lost large sums in short order by playing the online games, not by betting on sports. The fines collected help fund the quango, but the GC also doles out money to various ‘charities’ that purport to be either anti-gambling, or to work with problem gamblers to cure them of their addiction.
There seems to be little or no requirement for the recipients to justify the funding or show that their work produces results. Then again we live in a country in which the Home Office, responsible for immigration control, last year gave £6.9M to a charity that organises protests and funds legal challenges to the Rwanda scheme. So who is going to make a fuss about a few grifters living off the back of GC funds?
Griff,
It isn’t just racing being targetted, more a case of racing being caught up in a general campaign run by people with no understanding of the difference between skill based betting and the machines and online games that offer a quick fix with no prospect of long term profit.
The head of the Gambling Commission is a man called Andrew Rhodes. Since leaving university he’s had four previous jobs. First at the DVLA, then the Food Standards Agency, the DWP and finally as Registrar at Swansea University. So lots of relevant gambling experience on his CV!
But if somebody offers you a job that pays £180 pa plus all the usual public sector perks, you’re probably not going to respond by saying ‘But I know absolutely nothing about gambling’. The rest of the senior staff he manages, all have similar backgrounds. But they don’t let their lack of knowledge get in the way of their crusade, because of course, they know they are ‘doing good’.
Just to clarify on the bank issue, when I opened this account I made it very clear to them that my ‘business’ could involve handling large sums in cash and that four figure withdrawals (and hopefully similar deposits) would be necessary. I also made no secret of what the cash would be used for.
I actually made a large four figure cash withdrawal on Thursday, was asked only to produce evidence of identity (driving licence). The counter clerk did ask what the money was for, but made no further enquiry when I told him it was for betting on the racecourse. Obviously my account shows ample evidence of transfers to and from betting sites and again I’ve never had any problems with those. The bank in question is the one that doesn’t close branches and I use the facility within their large HQ a few miles from my home.
I previously dealt with a small sub branch of HSBC during the 90s when all my betting was done in cash. The regular staff there were always friendly, but also convinced I was running a team of girls in Manchester Rd, the local red light district. Hence the piles of grubby, well worn tens and twenties I would deposit! When that small office closed, I found the town centre facility less welcoming, which prompted the move to my current bankers.
“But then I wonder why there are not more clashes.”
Well there 20 different designs allowed for the body, 12 for the sleeves and 10 for the cap. So that’s 2,400 options for starters.
Add in a choice of 18 different colours, plus the ability to use one or two colours on each of the design parts, and the range is almost infinite.
Moore is serving one day of a two day suspension he was given for careless riding at Sandown two weeks ago. I’ve no idea what the rules are these days that allow him to choose the days when he doesn’t ride.
“An enquiry was held to consider interference approaching 2 furlongs out involving ENDOSSER (USA), unplaced, ridden by Ryan Moore, the winner, GOODWOOD ODYSSEY, ridden by Kieran Shoemark, and MONSIEUR MELEE, placed fifth, ridden by Oisin Murphy. Daniel Tudhope, the rider of PREPSCHOOL (IRE), placed third, was also interviewed but deemed not to be involved. Moore was suspended for 2 days for careless riding as he allowed his mount to drift right-handed when insufficiently clear causing Shoemark to take a check and Murphy to be briefly tightened for room on the running rail.”
There was a Cooper runner from Ireland in the 2011 Oaks in a field which also included the Godolphin filly, Blue Bunting.
Her runner, Siren’s Gift, ran in a very dark blue with a pink sash and cap.
O’Brien has won 5 of the last 6 runnings and 8 of the last 11. Moore has had more winners round Chester than the other four jockeys put togther. Capulet has by far the best form from his two Group race placings last year.
Jayarebe got a flattering wind assisted success at Nmkt and he remains the only winner Meehan has managed this year from 26 runners. Someone above mentioned for Meehan, “stable out of form” – you’d need the memory of an entire herd of elephants to recall the last time he was in form.
Drone,
Nail on head – I was busy at Salisbury on Sunday, brightening the afternoon for a couple of rails bookies.
Of course the next problem will be getting my bank to dole out the readies on demand.
CAS,
Lots of info here, including a picture that shows the ‘grandstand’.
http://www.greyhoundderby.com/Wye%20Racecourse.html
The tall man you can see in profile top left of the stand – that was the judges box!
I spent a Monday afternoon there one day in 1968. Saw Bob Champion, still an amateur then, ride the winner of the novice chase for Toby Balding. And Jimmy Uttley ride a winner over hurdles – Uttley was purely a hurdles jocckey, never rode over fences.
To say that the place was basic would be an over statement. In essence, it was a farm field with a large cowshed disguised as a grandstand. There were sheep grazing in the centre of the track, with an electrified wire fence to stop them wandering onto the course.
The course was almost a mile round, like a slightly shrunken Plumpton, uphill past the stand to the finish, downhill on the far side.
I enjoyed the train ride, but not long after I changed jobs and was working at Heathrow, so never went there again.
Relevant to any decision I guess, would be what happens to the stable itself. Henderson recently said in interview that he had to keep a full complement of horses to make it financially viable and that alone would be a huge issue for anybody that took over the yard.
And there’s no obvious heir apparent – no son ready to take over as happens at so many stables. I can’t think of any up and coming trainer that would want or be able to buy the site – unless it appealed to somebody as a base for flat horses.
Here you are Mark, all the info you could need:
https://www.hippodrome-lateste.com/
It’s on the south west coast not far from Bordeaux. Big training centre for thoroughbreds and trotters as well as the racecourse.
View the gallery of pictures at the top of the page to see the one of the cartoons on the wall by the paddock.
Trainers need to have a stable sponsor in order to enable their owners to take advantage of scheme that refunds VAT paid on purchase and training costs.
Non betting companies that got involved in such deals when the option first became available, seemed to find that there was very little commercial benefit from their deals. So in the last decade or so, betting outfits became the only viable option for several bigger stables.
Given the entire sport is subsidised by bookmkaer payments to the Levy Board and to the courses in media rights money, that betting companies regularly sponsor races and also sponsor TV coverage, I’m not sure that a logo on a jacket is a major issue.
