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I totally agree about too much racing today. There were 5 flat meetings today, but only 1 flat and 2 jumps last Sunday!
I am not keen on attending racing on Sundays, but feel that people who can only get on that day be given more meetings and better fare. The extra ones should be transferred from midweek.
Of course it won’t happen because the bookies want more midweek meetings plus 6 or even 7 on a Saturday and just 3 on Sundays.
What has happened to Bank Holiday racing? Next Monday there are only 5 meetings (3 in the north of England, 1 Midlands and 1 South). It doesn’t seem long ago (although I am getting old!!) when there were about 16 tracks offering racing, albeit some very poor fields. These were bumper days for the tracks though. I can remember going to Uttoxeter and Doncaster with my father and they were so crowded you couldn’t get anywhere near the rails. I’m afraid that the clientele that courses wish to attract now (corporate hospitality, drinking parties, music fans ..) are not the ones that want Bank Holiday racing.
I notice that
6
of Ann Stokell’s runners yesterday were the subject of either a Stewards Inquiry or the trainer being asked why they ran badly at Lingfield and Kempton.
This must be a record on one day surely!!
I think it’s time the BHA suspended her for "bringing the game into disrepute"!!
I see that Brown Pete was a non-runner in the 9.10 at Kempton. The reason for this was "no suitable jockey available". I have to be careful what I say here but how do you define "suitable"?? Incidentally the declaration was only made at 8.00pm.
Today has not been a good day for all-weather racing – roll on the turf flat season!!
Started off today full of enthusiasm for Cheltenham. Watched the Morning Line with a ridiculous "feature" with a psychic pig selecting the ill-fated Our Conor for the Champion Hurdle. Ted Walsh was clearly disgusted with the triviality of selection method. I miss McCririck’s appearance on Cheltenham Morning Lines when he used to interview the Irish lady bookmaker, Helen Martin. Today’s was a dis-jointed and frankly poor programme.
On to the main coverage this afternoon. A lot more stupid "features". Paul Nicholls and Nick Luck in a cinema with their feet up!!?? Rishi Persad in the Guiness Village trying to make his-self heard – he needn’t bother! Jim McGrath and Graham Cunningham being outraged by the timing errors. Anything involving Tanya Stevenson getting excited by any bet of a grand or more.
After a while I just started watching the races and none of the infill bits.
The official reasons for the 4 non-runners were as follows:- Heat in Leg, Bruised Foot, Not Eaten Up and Not Sound.
They were all declared non-runners between 10.15 and 13.49 (info from BHA website non-runner reports).
We can have opinions on the number of "nonners" in one race, and they are all legitimate reasons, but it is an embarrassment to the sport both at home and overseas.
Congratulations to Stand Guard and connections and as Robert Cooper said "to think Sir Michael Stoute let him go" !!
I can quite easily follow good quality racing without having a bet. Meetings can be more enjoyable I find without the pressures of placing a bet ie time spent studying form, trying to get best odds, if there are plenty of interesting back stories.
Low grade meetings though tend to get tedious without having a bet and ironically these are the ones to avoid betting on.
You don’t need to have bet on a football match to enjoy it, and to follow your team, and I know that football and racing are totally different BUT both are vying for customers in the leisure industry. But does racing want to attract people that aren’t betting!!??
Is it any surprise that AW attendances are slumping when there is a card like today’s at Southwell.
Open your Racing Post this morning and it looked like 7 races with 8 runners or more in each. Before the time of the first race it is down to 2 races of 8+ and those are a maiden and a seller.
I am sure that a lot of racegoers are like me in that they want to bet on horses at an each way price where they get 3 places for their money.
Unfortunately,Southwell is my quickest course to get to, but it’s attraction is diminishing rapidly and I now ask if it’s worth the effort to go when I can watch on ATR!
Is there any wonder that attendances are slumping at AW meetings, when there is ANOTHER meeting at Southwell with a long delay between races!!
I know that the right thing has to be done taking an injured jockey to hospital, but surely out of the levy that the course receives another doctor could be paid to be on standby.
I think the course is reaching a stage where it should be free admission at all but a few bank holiday and Sunday meetings. It’s hardly worth employing gate staff for the few hundred that attend and the couple of thousand that they generate.
Sadly, another fatality at Southwell today. The grand old handicapper, Hanoverian Baron, pulled up in the feature race there and it was later declared that he had died.
I notice he had only run there once before, over 4 years ago, when he was well beaten.
Probably not surface related today, but certain organisations will be asking questions soon.
I was amazed to read in Mark Johnston’s "Bletherings" (23 Jan 2014) on his website that until he was "enlightened" a couple of weeks ago he didn’t know there was an All-Weather Championship!!
He claimed to know about the upgraded races and Champions Day on Good Friday, but knew nothing of the championship and still at the above date knows very little.
If a trainer is saying this, is the concept working? I know that Simon Mapletoft was trying to generate some excitement in the series on ATR today, but try as I might I can’t get any great enthusiasm in the AW Championships. On one hand there is talk of a million pound raceday on Good Friday and then they went over to Wolves for a 2 runner seller (both horses from the same syndicate)!!
Is there another Curley connection with today’s market mover Piper’s Piper 5.00 Kempton, 2/1 from 20/1? Interestingly trained by Mandy Rowland , not far from where I live, at more of an equestrian centre than a racehorse training stable. PP was trained previously by John Butler as was Low Key yesterday.
The day after the "big coup" was pulled off. I have thought about this a lot and a telling personal reaction this morning was when I opened my paper to the racing page.
My initial thought was "is it a complete waste of time looking for winners, studying any form etc?". I am not tempted to bet today because of Mr Curley’s coup – quite the opposite, I am put off.
I may be in a minority with that view, if so I can accept that. but if not will the sport suffer long term if ordinary punters reduce their betting and in some cases stop altogether?
Racing needs the low level, regular punters who enjoy a bet with a chance of winning with all the usual risks taken into account. When winners like these come along, well beaten on previous outings and after long absences some may question their involvement in the game.
I understand that Southwell Racecourse are to hold an internal investigation into the two stalls related incidents. This was announced after racing yesterday by the Clerk at Southwell, Roderick Duncan.
He believed that there was no correlation between the two, but this is, i think, a wise move to rule out any possible faults and to show that action is being taken.
As an aside, it is reported that Mark Johnston was met with a few boos at the course yesterday following his comments that the track surface was ‘dire’ at Southwell – didn’t stop him having 2 winners though!!
Went to Classic Chase day about 6 years ago and been put off going since by the awful car park.
You had to drive over the course and then park in a boggy area.
I seem to remember many years ago being plenty of decent parking spaces on the outside of the course near the entrance.
Viewing at the track isn’t great either on the far side and from memory admission is a bit excessive for the facilities.
Roman Warrior, last Scottish trained winner of the Ayr Gold Cup I believe.
I saw him win at York, when I seem to recall he was a 3 year old, probably 1974. He was an absolute beast of a horse, one of the biggest to have raced, but boy could he shift!!
I think he carried 10 stone to victory in the Ayr Gold Cup and was trained by Nigel Angus. I have always loved the sprinters and I think a lot is because of this fella!
The racecourse is over 2 miles from the town centre, by the shortest route, which is a straight road built on the line of an old railway track. It seems never ending when you drive down it, so I wouldn’t want to walk down it, especially on a bad day (there’s no shelter).
There’s a station near the course at Rolleston Junction, which is on the Nottingham – Newark line but I’m not sure how frequent the trains stop there.
