Cheltenham, "people" that cheer fallers

This is the problem when the racecourse pimps itself out for parties of people who have no clue about our great sport.

I know every sport has its fair share of hangers on and people there for a pi55 up but I really detest what Cheltenham is becoming. Full of idiots who are there to be seen rather than watch the racing.

I nearly punched a prat the year Kauto nearly broke his neck. He cheered like he'd won the bloody lottery.

This seems mainly to be a Saturday trend that increased noticeably in the mid 80's.I'd say it's a NAP that the majority of these characters do all their betting on other sports when away from the track, thus not contributing towards the levy.

must of layed it

Cheltenham wouldn't have let them in, if they had sandwiches in their bags.

You get this at every racecourse. As a racing fan and having ridden horses it does seem ugly, however with the introduction of exchanges i cannot help but feel if someone is on the current second or leader etc then wether we love horses or not the money factor comes in and so rightly or wrongly if fate comes a calling then such is life

I dislike it too, but feel 180 has part of the reason: folk profit from losers.
Another thing that bad emotion causes is jeering and cursing at jockeys who have fallen.

I agree that there are a lot of revellers at the tracks nowadays.

There was someone on here yesterday  that put up a .... .... when it fell.

I remember standing next to a "Matalan" suited cretin at Cheltenham when Kauto came to grief. He and his clone grey shiny suited half wit friends all let out this cheer of delight. One glare from me showed them up for what they were. Day trip cowards. I have loathed that type ever since.

If my horse is clear second then I do hope that the leader falls. I'm sure I'm not alone in this, yet I don't expect many people will admit to it as there's a stigma attached, and folk like to be holier than thou.

Just read your post Mr Eboue. I agree 100%.

You may think that but you would stay silent and wish no harm. Mr Eboue has it right, its about non racing fans who have backed a rival horse, i have actually confronted the prats many times.

Without doubt, IS.

I also remember Aintree ,1998. One Man crashing through the fence on the far side in The Melling Chase. All on the track appeared to know immediately the consequence of that fall. All on that track were virtually silent. All except one stupid woman who hopped around like a demented banshee when Opera Hat won her a tenner! Except for her, I would say that you really could have heard a pin drop. A day I will never forget.

Dumb Britain.

If my horse is clear second then I do hope that the leader falls. I'm sure I'm not alone in this, yet I don't expect many people will admit to it as there's a stigma attached, and folk like to be holier than thou.

A horse could die falling. Are you really saying your few quid on the race is more important than that? Hope for a soft unseat

You nearly got me there TheFear. I'll hope for a soft unseat from now on!

I wish no horse/jockey any harm.

Good

most of us cheer inside if the horse we have laid or a rival to our bet falls.

it is only the tits who let it all out.

It is no different from a packed bookies in the 80s when a loud cheer would go up from
the idiots when a horse fell leaving the favourite to win.

That's what I meant. You put it into words better than me. ^^^

If the favourite falls and is the only danger to mine, I'm happy but a deadpan, oh there's a shame, is much cooler. No one wishes the horse harm. Horses fall all the time, lets ban jump racing then.

Reg, it is always the idiots who do it, then and now.

the same one's who think every jockey is crooked and every race where the favourite fops has been fixed.

*flops

When annie fell at chelt the only cheers were from the bookies I would have won a lot but I still worried for the horse guess to make money u have to be ruthless.

whenever i watch the re-run of Dessie's 1989 GC victory, i always hear the idiots cheering when carvills hill departed

I would like to think that a lot of it is down to naivety.

Perhaps they think a faller is nothing more than when a mate trips up and falls flat.   I guess most of us would laugh at that.

It was Ten Plus that fell in Dessies gold cup.

i loved Ten Plus.

its not naivety
its ignorance
when our connor fell a couple of years ago I had to get away from a fellah who actually punched the air with delight
later in the day i pulled him up on it
he apologised to be fair and then said "thats your pocket talking though isnt it ?"
sheer ignorance , poor horse was killed FFS

i know ten plus fell but carvills hill fell earlier on

Bookies must be ignorant when they cheer and the next day in the rp they crow we got the fav beat. For them of course its their livelehood

was in a bookies a few years back and 2 guys near me were having a chat about jockeys and how good or bad they were  and one of those virtual races was on the screens steepleview or something    ,one says to the other those jockeys are much better than the british jockeys ,they never seem to fall off

i remember a chav tw@t going sprawling down the sandown stand steps after he had cheered the fall of a horse

I loved Ten Plus,too...he was going well when he fell...realized he'd died pretty soon...must have been soul-destroying for Fulke Walwyn...I was physically sick

1988 at the Gtand National was the first time I ever experienced it, I had never heard anyone screaming for a horse to fall in my life , yet here were 2 guys in front of me shouting their heads off for a clear leader to fall ,thankfully it didn't and I overheard one say ,Fook it thats another quid down the drain. These people dont understand the consequences , the life threatening possibilities to both horse and jockey ,this should be highlighted by the commentator before the off of each race at festivals imo..

I agree with workrider, and I'm sure the consequences of a fall are never considered by these people.
People pay their money and if they choose to display their ignorance then they do.

Take the scene at a boxing match when one of the fighters has been knocked out.

The cheering is unrestrained with no thought at all to the seriousness of the injuries that might have been sustained by the loser.

I can see little difference between that, and displaying delight at seeing a horse fall at a fence when one has backed another in the same race.

If I thought every horse that falls was going to die I would be campaigning to ban the sport. I don't know the percentage of fatal falls but I hope it's pretty small.