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Only increase in gates is due to Live bands or 'Football fans enjoying a day on the beer during close season.
BHA blind/powerless to the constant corruption. Non triers/quiet rides/etc.
TV coverage falling.
Prize money so poor connections really should be taking their decent animals abroad.
Racing Press toothless at best. Useless more accurate.
Only time it makes the front pages is when a jockey is caught taking drugs or corrupt money.
Other sports moving with the times and supported by Sky.
Anti-hunting brigade getting more vocal and seemingly more powerful.
I won't include Wales and Scotland as their parliaments seem to have more sense than this bunch.
BHA blind/powerless to the constant corruption. Non triers/quiet rides/etc.
TV coverage falling.
Prize money so poor connections really should be taking their decent animals abroad.
Racing Press toothless at best. Useless more accurate.
Only time it makes the front pages is when a jockey is caught taking drugs or corrupt money.
Other sports moving with the times and supported by Sky.
Anti-hunting brigade getting more vocal and seemingly more powerful.
I won't include Wales and Scotland as their parliaments seem to have more sense than this bunch.
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NH racing is reasonably healthy.
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have sky ever tried to bid for racing
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They do have a hard core of fans agree FB.
And their owners, I suspect, enjoy racing for different reasons to the flat crowd. The Anti Hunt brigade worry me with NH racing. I never thought the Aussies would ban it but it's happened. |
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The future is bleak , wont always be a frankel to paper the cracks
How the hell do lower class owners make it pay  |
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FD,
If they did what's in it for them? I believe Racing pay Channel 4s muppets to put it on our screens. |
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If you want to see horse racing's future, now the bookmaking industry have been allowed to take control, take a look at greyhound racing now...
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thankfully the attendances at scottish courses seem to be standing up well and in fact increasing, perhaps not at ayr which has fallen way behind the facilities and quality of racing available at the other scottish tracks...we're also not so dependent on the 'live bands' and hunting has never been as prevalent, only in the borders area really, nothing north of perth where let's face it there are loads of foxes and open spaces!! which goes someway to show that hunting is more social and snobbery than 'animal management'!...however the lack of real knowledge of racing and lack of action by stewards/authorities may well kill off the sport for those who attend regularly i.e. not the ladies day or family day crowds who go once/twice a year and don't care and don't recognise the many non-triers and horrible rides which betfair forum reports on daily!!
the racing press and C4/RUK/ATR in particular need to report on this with real sharpness and not the likes of francome etc who defend absolutely every ride no matter the circumstances. OK I've not ridden a champion hurdler but I'd bet I've watched more races than francome and I know a non trier when I see one - him and others are culpable in this silence!! |
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to start with ...take out 20% of the fixtures and raise prize money.....bring in tough pens as seen in HK for corruption/quiet rides etc....
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Another danger is a lot of racecourses are worth more if sold off for housing.
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Only increase in gates is due to Live bands or 'Football fans enjoying a day on the beer during close season. Disagree...for one there's always been a close season in football, so why now any different...plenty of meetings with no bands have had very healthy attendances despite weather this summer...racing's a socially desirable thing to do
BHA blind/powerless to the constant corruption. Non triers/quiet rides/etc....i remember blatant Cumani/Gosden non-triers back in 80s/early-90s...you dont see them nowadays...dont doubt there's some cute stuff goes on at lower levels but i doubt i back more than 1 or 2 nonners a year, if that TV coverage falling....2 specialist channels and C4 covering more than ever Prize money so poor connections really should be taking their decent animals abroad....Yes, this is the real problem Racing Press toothless at best. Useless more accurate....fair enough Only time it makes the front pages is when a jockey is caught taking drugs or corrupt money....not strictly true, Black Caviar, Frankel and Kauto Star have all made front pages of broadsheets in last 12 months Other sports moving with the times and supported by Sky....Sky's been around for 20 yrs and i cant see how it's been an issue thus far Anti-hunting brigade getting more vocal and seemingly more powerful.[/b]....dont care about hunting |
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The BHA has given up. Bans for cheating will virtually become a thing of the past. Even if an owner/trainer is found guilty, a simple transfer of the horses/license to a spouse or family member will enable them to continue as before. They will not risk bad publicity so they will continue to turn a blind eye to the institutional corruption that exists in the sport below the top level.
The fixture list continues to fall in quality in order to maintain the saturation level that the bookmakers demand. Most meetings from Sunday to Friday cater largely for below-average animals and racing that is of little interest to the public. Young people are by and large betting on football, rather than racing. With the FOBT's on the scene also, the share of gambling money pumped into Horse Racing will surely continue to fall. Foal crops are falling yet the BHA will try to maintain a bloated fixture list rather than cutting it down and improving the quality and competitiveness. Even people who have punted on racing for years will turn their noses up at 8-races cards full of class 6 mince with divided 0-55s. The BHA and the Irish equivalents will continue to fail to co-operate in a way that could improve the levy by reducing race clashes. Go to a midweek gaff meeting and you will see there are very few racegoers under the age of about 50. Bookmakers all offering the same prices and trying to nick a bit back on here. As others have said, it is going to the dogs. |
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BB has summed it up perfectly, sadly.
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exactly Barton.....totally in agreement on the issue of corruption....
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Only increase in gates is due to Live bands or 'Football fans enjoying a day on the beer during close season.
attendances holding up well considering the recession and actually increasing in a few areas BHA blind/powerless to the constant corruption. Non triers/quiet rides/etc.... there are more IMO non-triers now than ever before - perhaps I'm watching more racing or perhaps I'm more sensitive to it now TV coverage falling....BBC yes but possible with internet to watch EVERY race from your front room Prize money so poor connections really should be taking their decent animals abroad....not sure this is a real issue although the reduction in CL5-6 races would be very welcome even if this meant less fixtures Racing Press toothless at best. Useless more accurate....-i think this is a factor in the general malaise and pessimism expressed here and elsewhere Only time it makes the front pages is when a jockey is caught taking drugs or corrupt money....not strictly true, Black Caviar, Frankel and Kauto Star have all made front pages of broadsheets in last 12 months - AGREE Other sports moving with the times and supported by Sky....Sky's been around for 20 yrs and i cant see how it's been an issue thus far - AGREE a non-factor Anti-hunting brigade getting more vocal and seemingly more powerful.[/b]....dont care about hunting - thankfully BANNED and long may it remain so and before any of you get out of your tree, I'm from farming background (sheep even which are the most impacted by foxes) and would NEVER support hunting |
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I love a good fox-hunting debate
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fooking animal rights blah now effecting the bull fighting here
 what next? fishing maybe? |
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should ban **** cats as well as pets, they kill a lot of birds you know
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sorry, got distracted. Yes, horse racing is fooked
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I want to know who the twot is who banned creamola....
Now that twot would get it.. |
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http://www.fizzshop.co.uk/
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i think they use it in kemo nowadays...
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themover: Not that shíte, the pudding..
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8,500+ betting shops wanting the fixture list kept high,but betting on horseracing in decline,so profits in decline,resulting in falling Levy,resulting in poor prize money.The books don't balance.
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Once they shut gaffs that get good crowds and keep ones open that attract nobody you know the games fecked.
Folkestone this summer has been a joy to go too, well attended, friendly, really good attendances as per usual.Yet thats shutting. Dross las should never in a million yrs be allowed to have flat racing and so many fixtures. What does kempton bring to the table for 99% of it meetings bar bookies fodder for the machine loons?? |
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Eventually the bookies will decide they don't need all these fixtures and start playing hardball over contributions to Horse Racing, then the game will be screwed.
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Again we agree, BB
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Roo, I would defend Kempton as it provides opportunities for trainers to run their young horses when the ground on turf is very fast/soft and the quality of the racing is better than a lot of the turf tracks.
Flat racing at Dross Las is utterly terrible, tedious, uncompetitive mince. I have never been to Folkestone, I think the quality of Flat racing is awful but if it is attracting decent crowds then you obviously have a point. |
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The future is bleak
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Apologist could see the present and see the future, nothing changes.
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What a bunch of miserable fookers.
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At least 11 yrs
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And nothing ever happens, nothing happens at all
The needle returns to the start of the song And we all sing along like before |
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Agree with penzance , at least 11 years
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I miss Folkestone it was badly let down by many who could have saved it.
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closed it down just before i was going to cross it off me list
is it houses now? most of the south east is. or more accurately flats |
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No mitolo that was one of the problems the local council wouldn’t allow planning permission for the amount of houses arc wanted to build ,they were going to then make the course a left handed course with the new stands by the a2 ,for 11 years the place became overgrown and knackered ,in April 2023 the council finally agreed to give permission for a new garden town to be built on the site ,it looks like there will be more houses than arc were denied permission for.
But that’s councils for you I would struggle to think of organisations as easy to buy. |
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nnnnnn
rotten boroughs. how i hate em. some people made fortunes at the expense of the public out of them |
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It’s a shame you never got there it was a lovely place to visit ,a nice fish pond by the parade ring ,good places to eat and attended by enthusiastic racegoers.
The 2nd to last fixture more of that made his debut. |