Racing's last hurrah...

The issue with the Spring Mile is simply a knock on from the lack of higher rated runners in the Lincoln. Three years ago, the lowest rated runner in the feature was running off 96 - tomorrow the bottom weight is rated 86. I'd guess that the last five or six that got into the Lincoln were amazed to find themselves in that rather than the consolation race.

Where have all the 100+ mile handicappers gone - sold abroad as you say.

2 runner hunter chase at Ascot on Sunday, where have they all gone ?

Proper racing back tonight with only race less than 3 places to be paid.

The Knight you pose some interesting questions , although I'm inclined to think a little differently re the small fields , I doubt the main reason is selling abroad , I'm involved with a horse who won a 2yo maiden at the Curragh last year but were offered a lot less then we were willing to sell for , so not every horse is been sold abroad . I fully agree with you about the obsession of people pleasing ,especially pleasing those who neither care yet the BHA bends over backwards to please these people to the detriment of our wonderful game...It seems if you KNOW anything about racing you need not apply...

Excellent news.

I'm not sure how many of the issues you listed the BHA have any real control over. They're fighting their corner on the Gambling Review but the decision is Government's. On prize money they are tied to a Levy by Government Act and also to the 10% of bookmaker profits though again they seem to be lobbying for this to be increased. Poor prize money and now shortage of runners does flow from the meagre Levy but racing has also been hit hard by Covid which is outside the BHA's hands. If anything I'm surprised prize money has recovered so quickly this year although I don't know if that's sustainable, probably depends upon on how the new media right agreements the racecourses have fare.

The BHA are it seems spending a lot of time on image issues but they have to as the anti-racing lobby is getting quite vociferous.

ThePies,

Looking at your defence of the BHA..well, what are they there for then?

They never had their eye on the ball with regard to levy / bookie profits coming from FOBT's. And the reduction of stakes on those dreadful machines put the boot into racing's prize money quite hard.

Also, they are not lobbying that much about the gambling act review either. Asking people to write to their MP is pretty tame. I did so and the reply was a standard letter mostly defending the review. Perhaps they are lobbying much louder behind the scenes, but they need to be because that is their role - to look after racing.

Of course, you are quite right about Covid and to be fair the BHA did very well to have it back on June 1st 2020, albeit under strict control.

But these 'image' issues are often plain daft. One thing we do in the UK so stupidly is to start listening to minority views and then start making more and more fuss about them in an effort to head them off - in effect furthering the publicity and cause of the minority groups. This is exactly what the BHA is doing, sometimes trying to put out fires where none exist.

As an example of the latter, I live 14 miles from Doncaster racecourse. It has been warm and sunny here for 7 days now, and that is after a mild and dry winter. So, how on earth can the Donny going tomorrow be Good to Soft? Probably because of sheer fright about horses picking up injuries on big Saturdays like Lincoln Day and so counter-acting that with over-watering.

To that end, I rarely miss a meeting at Donny and have seen one of the most stupid things EVER this winter with regard to where the placed horses go after the race. Most will know that at Donny the winner's enclosure is within the parade ring and so are the berths for 2nd, 3rd and 4th. For a reason that defies belief the 2nd, 3rd an 4th berths are now subject to being moved to where the public cannot access them. I cannot say why because it would betray a serious confidence over how I found out the information, but believe me if that is what the clerk of the course is worried about we really are in trouble!

What I want the BHA to do is grow a pair and start kicking back at the minority groups who have racing in their cross-hairs. But no, they simply scurry around trying to please them without realising the more they give the more they will be asked to give.

And don't start me over the BHA employing someone full time on 'diversity issues'. I saw their efforts here in action last summer at three Yorkshire tracks. It appeared the tracks had press-ganged random ethic groups into a visit. They rushed round behind them trying to explain all aspects of racing, handicapping, breeding and much else to some pretty bewildered people. It was pathetic. Now, nothing wrong with encouraging various ethnic groups to go racing with cheap / free tickets but not force the issue to the extent they appeared to be! It plainly did not work but, no doubt, it ticked the BHA's box.

Sorry, but I think the BHA are poor and frequently let down the sport we all love.

Three races at Newcastle tonight running for a first prize of ££2,970.

Tells you all you need to know about British racing and certain track owners.

Jimmy Lindley died this week. He probably never raced for less.

Are the 2nd, 3rd and 4th still in the parade ring?

On field sizes
Big fields do not guarantee competitive racing.
A look at Ireland would tell you that a Mullins horse in a maiden hurdle is likely to go off even money. If youre lucky.
Uk horse racing is dependent on the bookmakers levy and the books demand lots of handicaps. So punters dont get too many odds on favourites.

At the moment the only races that can guarantee big fields are sprinter/miler hcaps on the flat and staying hcap chases over jumps.
You cant have a card made up of just those type of races.
Tho lord knows plenty of courses seem to try.


I should think over the next ten years or so we will witness the demise of the traditional bookie shop. Which will have a knock on affect on racing. You would hope that whatever arises out of what is going to be a challenging situation the british horseracing authorities take a hard look at their program book.
For me there is no need for so many low class handicaps. In the States, their system of optional claimers and allowance races offers a simpler pathway.
They also promote their pools betting over there, which leads to big dividends. Which ought to appeal to the lottery punters here.

lincoln /silver lincoln
in a historical open handicap as well as the 8 runner consolation race in lincoln it self we had
5 x 50,s shots
2x 80,s shotsa
125 shot and a 150,s shot,
which probably meant 7 or 7 100 plus shots on betfair,

full field in name only

The Class 6 handicappers are numerous and those are the horses people own and spend thousands of pounds keeping them in training and many stable staff employed in the industry. The idea that these horse can rise to a mark of 80 is laughable in most cases and people need to face reality. Heritage handicaps are just a one day a week thing and not many trainers have them.

I think Mr Always Trying might find things a bit more difficult if he didn't have a load of 0-60s and 0-70s in which to run his 80-rated horses.

to be fair loads of mjk 80 rated horses were once bred/paid 100,s of thousands of £,s to be 100 plus rated horses,
he,s failing downwards or like people with huge fortunes turning it in to smaller fortunes

I'm speaking from experience here, that the only horse I've ever owned was one I bought as a yearling for £3,000. She was never rated higher than 60, but I managed to get four bad races out of her.

But without the knowledge that there were those bad races out there for a 60-rated horse, I would never have taken the £3,000 punt on her in the first place, plus all the associated costs. And I don't think anyone else would have either. So what would have happened to her? And what breeders would bother in the first place, unless there were those incentives for people to buy ones which turn out as small as my one was? No breeder sets out to produce a 60-rated horse who fetches only three grand. It's just too expensive a business to do that. But the fact is that they do happen, and there needs to be a race programme and a market for them.

thelatarps 27 Mar 22 18:04 

Do we really need the stigma of class 6 tho?



Clearly you don't seem to care about the thousands of people employed in the industry looking after these horses let alone how many meetings we would lose. Stigma? what a disgusting way to describe something that gives so much pleasure to so many people.

Ok, fair enough latarps.  But my point is that there are some classes of Racing that I personally dislike but appreciate that others enjoy it and with regard to the future something needs to be done about prize money distribution and the influence and domination of the bookmakers.
This industry needs to be able to operate without the dependance on bookmakers and move to a better Tote system and of course exchanges to keep more of the revenues within Racing.

A fascinating post TheAnorak!

I understand that if betting is allowed on races, there have to be strict rules and essential costs of security and so on. The beauty of point to points is that they are available to those on a much lower budget and, although there are rules, they do not cost millions to administer. No such cheaper version of flat racing exists here. The costs of flat racing have become higher and higher while prize money has risen much more slowly if at all. Without foreign owners, it would fold very quickly.

Was that a reconnoitrer - or dummy run - for the forthcoming Glastonbury - Reg ?