Divided race Leic. tomorrow

Keep moaning and pre-empting if it makes you feel better

FFS

If an "18-runner" race had been run -

What are the odds of them splitting into two groups? ....

- and you then, still, get 'two races'.

If they did not split - then Draw bias would mean that HALF the field might as well have been, "NON-Runners."
-----------

So - what is - or where does that leave - your point?

Fine, so why have max. figures at all? Since we now have a bookmaker as head of the BHA,
and the whole sport is totally in hock to his friends, simply ask them what their optimum
field is and go with that. Incidentally, I for one feel that the vagaries of the draw is one
of the factors which add to the puzzle.

Interesting to see that the mile handicap at Redcar, which had a max. of 20,
is now two divisions of 9 each. We were told that 8-race cards were being stopped.
So is this going to be the norm. ?

Nerium, the BHA have a vested financial interest in the bookmaking industry's profitability - anyone that thinks this whole sport is not being manipulated from top to bottom to help achieve that commercial aim really hasn't sat down and though about it, imho...

And as you suggest, I expect the agenda will eb to get one out of the eight runner races.

Under the current Gross Profits scheme, the obscene part is that any trainer that does withdraw, is helping racing...

Thanks for replying, Millhouse. That's exactly the point I was trying to make. Once the BHA
accepted the premise that increased bookmaker's profits are the deciding factor everything
will be done to facilitate their optimum position. As far as they are concerned, more races...
more turnover..more profits. People have short memories, but only a few years ago we were
told that only Maiden/Novice races could be divided..That it was a no no with Handicaps, as
it would mess the system up, then suddenly, hey ho, we can do it.!
I'm using this divided-race subject to illustrate that now, whatever suits is OK.
I also wonder if anyone else on here remembers  3 or 4 years ago , after a big Handicap
was won by a 50/1 shot, that the RP reported Chief Handicapper Phil Smith as saying he had
been "encouraged" to frame races to produce such results.?

A major problem is the massive downgrading of handicap races allowing infernal 0-55 and 0-60 bands just to let the absolute dross race off their OR of 45/46. These lower rates horses should be encourages away from handicaps to sellers/claimers where they belong, by carrying weights above their long handicap in these higher rated races. Instead we seem to be encouraging mediocrity which is never a good thing.