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Sadly from me the answer is no, maybe like Coggy it’s just me getting old

Me too! First got interested in 1985 as a 17 year old (username winning the Triumph Hurdle was my first winning bet ) – became obsessive for the next ten years or so but interest has really dropped off in the last 5 or 6 years – hard to pinpoint why – too much racing too many other things to do – I even put my old Superform and H-in-T annuals in the loft recently

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Will this thread be re-starting on Sunday

I’ve been lurking all summer waitng for it

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Joking aside, completing the set is one of my "before I kick the bucket" list although still got a way to go. Waiting for the kids to grow up a bit

I know how you feel – I only had 8 to do (the five Scottish tracks, Hexham, Chester and Wetherby) but haven’t done any new ones for about 15 years and in the meantime more tracks have opened (Ffos Las) and some have opened and closed (Great Leighs) before I could get my act together!

Those of you that have "completed the course" do you make any effort to attend both codes for the dual purpose tracks or is that a step too far?

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I think he’s always concentrated on quality rather than quantity, even in his hey day.

My Horses-in-Training from that period are in the loft but I might venture up there and see what sort of numbers he had – probably find that he didn’t supply the information

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I agree 100% – such a shame as when he first started he was a breath of fresh air AND very accurate but those days are long gone I’m afraid.

I don’t mind the catchphrases "grabbed" , "kicked away" etc but he simply a) doesn’t identify the runners quickly enough (Lucky Mix in the opener is an example of this) b) takes so long getting his words out that the complexion of the race has changed by the time he’s said it

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I agree it’s a tricky ride.

I think for its previous yard the combination of headgear and Eddie Ahern made a difference – now the novelty of not being able to see anything to the sides/behind has worn off he’s back to his old recalcitrant ways

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Bruce,

I’ve been led to believe that you have no interest in/actively dislike horse racing. If this is correct how appropriate is it for you to be the editor of the only "industry" paper for the sport?

If this is incorrect, please clarify your level of interest.

Also, to what extent is the boorish "beer, birds, betting" personas of a large number of your writers influenced by third party advertisers eager to part that sector of society from its (relatively) high disposable income?

Thanks for your time.

Stuart

I’m not quite sure how you want me to clarify my level of interest. Let’s just say I bunked off school at the age of 14 to attend my first meeting at Windsor in 1981, since when I’ve loved the game, cried when Ekbalco died, still get a massive thrill when I see the first set of final declarations for the Tuesday of Cheltenham, have a weird thing about Trevor Hemmings’ horses, think Cartmel is heaven on earth, have taught my kids what 6-4 means, would attend every meeting at Plumpton if I could, counted a morning watching them come up Paul Nicholls’ uphill gallop as one of the best of my life, still haven’t forgiven Red Rum for what he did to Crisp, once walked six miles to get to Wincanton to watch Brown Chamberlain because I got off at the wrong station, yearn to sample Fakenham and nearly wet myself when Sea The Stars won the Arc. Does that get me a GCSE in racing? I don’t understand your final question. Sorry.

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