BHA Race Planning (sic) - p**s up in brewery department

three jumps and no flat on sunday in the middle of july.......

Outstandingly bad planning even by BHA standards.

next season worcester and stratford race on the same saturday.

Foxy, how do you know that info?

Whilst the above are all valid points, am I right in thinking that the BHA are in a catch 22 position as the fixtures are decided by the individual courses selecting when they wish to race or is that not the case...?

Exactly, Cork. The courses took legal action against the BHA for that very reason.

We have these threads so often, you'd think one or two of the posters who start them might actually read them.

From BHA website and you'd think they'd know (ha)

The BHA Racing Department is responsible for compiling the fixture list and all race programmes as well as providing international liaison.
The size and shape of the fixture list is determined by criteria prescribed the Levy Board, taking into account:

The maximum number of fixtures which can be run
The distribution of the fixtures, between racecourses and in relation to the type of races held
The balance of Flat and Jump races
The distribution of Evening and weekend fixtures
Within this framework there are two types of fixture:



Racecourse fixtures
Racecourses can request to swap and move fixtures with other courses, with the Racing Department overseeing any transfers, ensuring that the best interests of the Fixture List are met.



BHA fixtures
There is a fixture bidding process which allows a certain number of BHA fixtures to be offered on a leasehold basis.

Racecourses competitively bid against each other for a fixture. The Racecourse with the highest bid is granted the fixture subject to BHA Regulatory Inspectorate approval.



Race programme
The overall aim of the Racing Department is to produce a programme of races which:

Is designed to maintain the quality of horses in training, and the competitiveness of racing, by ensuring that horses are catered for broadly in accordance with ability over their entire careers
Maximises opportunities for the horse population at all reasonable levels of ability and over all distances throughout the season
Produces a satisfactory product in terms of off-course betting, in order to maximise the Betting Levy
The Racing Department needs to balance the programme to ensure there are adequate opportunities for all the racing participants whilst also satisfying racecourses, racegoers, bookmakers and media.

The Department ensures competitiveness by taking into account the horse population, field sizes, starting prices and competitive racing data whilst also working flexibly to allow it to transfer fixtures or major races at short notice and re-open races.

if the bha have no say when tracks can race.... how come we dont get 20 of them racing every saturday and none on a monday (for example)?

Beacause the Levy Board will only pay for a maximum number of fixtures, and the same applies to the money the bookies pay for the pictures. Without that money, the courses would have to run fixtures at a loss. The ones that race on a Monday afternoon do it purely for the money.

because they DO have total control - screaming got it wrong

I can never comprehend why both Ascot and Newmarket choose to race against each other -

- and it happens a few times throughout the season, aswell.

super saturday is here once again, the good news is that due to the 3rd/4th play off in the world cup at 3pm newmarket and ascot brought forward race times. york decided not to, with the july cup at 2-10pm, the john smiths cup at 3-40pm should get the build up and coverage it deserves.

Thank you, TheAnorak

You're welcome - intersting that in France, which doesn't have to worry about pleasing bookies, they had ten meetings last Sunday, but only one on Monday.

And only two meetings today, neither at a Paris track, but nine tomorrow.

It all depends on who pays the piper!

Aren't Ffos Las and Chepstow both operated by ARC? If this was a detrimental clash surely they would have swapped one fixture with another of their courses. Chester might be on the border with Wales but it's nowhere near the other 2.

wow incredible about france

population of France about equal to UK however three times larger by land mass - some of their provincial tracks have few meetings and because of bastille day tomorrow, this is major holiday period there, notwithstanding wc final on sunday, so these few days not truly representative but does show what can happen when there is tote monopoly, they all co-exist happily