Forum Replies Created
- Posts
Eddie Fremantle’s article on "Aussie" Peter Ellis in last Sunday’s Observer made for interesting reading-especially after I asked Ellis a few weeks ago which jockeys put the work in and walked courses. Ryan Moore got the thumbs up and Dettori a big thumbs down.
For the sake of semi-brevity I’ll restrict it to remedying the fixture-list mess:
1) The turf Flat season to start the Saturday after the Grand National with a seven day ‘festival’ comprising a two day Lincoln meeting, three day Craven meeting and two day Greenham meeting. Scottish National to follow on the Saturday.
2) Racing to be allowed on Good Friday to prevent the current fixture problems caused by the ‘moveable feast’ of Easter.
3) The turf Flat season to end with a two day Champions’ meeting at Newmarket over the last weekend in October.
4) AW racing to be confined to the turf close season.
5) A ‘core’ NH season to start on the first weekend in October with revamped two-day Charisma/Charlie Hall meetings at Kempton/Wetherby follwed by the first Cheltenham meeting the following weekend.
6) The ‘core’ NH season to run until the last weekend in May, climaxing with a valuable two day Aintree meeting to replace their un-noticed, un-loved Friday evening meeting currently held around that time. The Cheltenham/Stratford Hunter Chase meetings to be run on two evenings in the preceding week
7) ‘Summer jumping’ to start following Royal Ascot and be restricted to midweek evenings and Sundays until the school holidays when Newton Abbot will be allowed to race when they wish to cater for tourists from Torbay
‘Summer jumping’ to finish on the last Sunday in August with a triple-header from Perth/Market Rasen/Newton Abbot with one valuable feature event from each course: 3m handicap chase, 2m handicap chase, 2m handicap hurdle.9) September to be the NH close season.
10) During the evening racing sesaon:
Two afternoon, one evening meeting on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays.
Two afternoon, two evening meetings on Thursdays and Fridays.
Four afternoon meetings on Saturdays, no evening meetings.
Three Sunday meetings.
Negotiations to be held with the Irish racing authorites to ensure their race meetings complement ours (and vice versa) e.g them having an evening meeting on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays giving a total of two. And ensuring the race times don’t clash.
Outside of the evening racing season:
Three meetings a day, four on Saturdays. During the ‘core’ NH season at least one NH fixture a day, and during the turf close season at least two NH fixtures.
11) One blank Monday a month during the evening racing season to give all involved a rest from the daily grind.
…pie in the sky…pigs might fly…pipe-dream…on…and on…and on
Good post apart from one suggestion. And that’s running the Champion Stakes meeting on the same weekend as the Breeders’ Cup is now normally held.
I think this year was always going to be a difficult year for Sandown to get a big Eclipse day crowd.
Most years it’s up against Wimbledon but this year throw in Live Earth and armchair viewers get all 3 by staying at home and those who want to go out can have a once in a lifetime chance to see the Tour de France-for free and get loads of freebies that are flung from the caravanne in the 2 hours before the Time Trial starts.
I’m probably no longer a yardstick as i haven’t been racing in the UK since July Cup day last year but I intend to watch the 1st match at Wimbledon, then go and see Le Tour.
1 5 day badge for the Royal Enclosure (and it’s not much more than 5 days in Tattersalls) costs as much as Club House passes for 10 people to Saratoga (36 days)
And the folks there will drink as much as the dross at Royal Ascot-and barely an arrest or caution is made.
And it appears that Rags to Riches will stay in training in 2008-it was beginning to look like there would be no of the top 3 year olds left as both Street Sense and Hard Spun are being retired after the Breeders’ Cup.
Bring on the Alabama Stakes…
Looks like a good programme. But as Adrian said there are better options if you want to end up running a racetrack/a tote operation etc.
For that either the RTIP degee course at the University of Arizona or a similar course at the University of Louisville (and i think a new course at the University of Kentucky) are the best.
I haven’t set foot on a British racecourse since 2000 Guineas day last year-and i’m in no hurry to make a return.
I think it was John Gosden who wrote a piece bemoaning yobbery on British racecourses-about 6 years ago-and the situation is worse now.
Someone recently asked me why I go (and purchased a flat) to Saratoga-and I replied "Because no British racegoers go there"
Meant as a joke but…
October 24th and October 25th-maybe they can keep Lava Man going for another 18 months
No announcement on 09 and 10 until July. I thought they said they would always name the next 3 host tracks at the same time? Leads me to believe they are seriously considering he event moving out of North America for the 1st time
Jack Junior is entered in the Triple Crown races and leapt straight in at number 7 (relegated to 8 later in the day) in the graded earnings list that decides which horses get into the race if more than 20 want to line up.
Has any horse in the history of racing increased their career earnings in % terms as he did on Saturday. By 200 fold!
Asiatic Boy I think goes to Hong Kong for the QEII and then the Queen Anne at Ascot?
I think there must however be a connection as to the 3 for 42 and that the other 8 runners on World Cup day got beaten about a combined 120 lengths.
How about suggesting that the new Tapeta training surface at Al Quoz isn’t suited to a desert climate. What works for Michael Dicknson in Maryland might not suit horses trained in Dubai.
I wondered why we hadn’t hear where the 2008 Breeders’ Cup was going to be held. I think they said that they would announce the venues in batches of 3 but it is about time to announce the 08, 09 and 10 venues.
Especially as they announced this year changes-to an 11 race event.
On Thursday I read that Breeders’ Cup CEO Greg Avioli had told the 31st Asian Racing Conference that he hoped that the 2010 event would be a 16 race $30 Million dollar event.
Today I read that they’ve written to 31 tracks. 20 inside North America and 11 international "clubs" asking for bids for the 08-10 Cups.
I can’t make a list of 20 North American tracks that have the current capibility of hosting the BC and where are the 11 international venues? Hong Kong apparently is the front-runner… Obviously Nad Al Sheba, Tokyo must be up there
‘Summer jumping’ to finish on the last Sunday in August with a triple-header from Perth/Market Rasen/Newton Abbot with one valuable feature event from each course: 3m handicap chase, 2m handicap chase, 2m handicap hurdle.