windsor jumping tom ...

Windsor.
Sure Simon nott  will give a report.
Hope you are well just getting  ready  to go out to Chelsea  Bar in Cheltenham  won a good  few quid so the meal will taste even better.
Happy  Xmas everybody  from.
Ronnie.

Ronie laying all favs at Cheltenham is in clo ver

Surely one of the worst tracks in England , went about 2 years ago and was flabbergasted how they get such wonderful crowds , it can only be the beer because the place is one of the most run down tracks I've ever seen, it was the first day of the new season I went to use the loo and the door wouldn't close , yet they'd had all year to fix it ,shambolic. I watched Fitzy going back there after 19 years away and the back door was still broken after all that time, says it all about the place. Actually I hope tomorrow goes well for them , its nice to have jumping back there, even if its a kip...

the run down or shall we say olde worlde look prob gives it a nostalgic aura worky , spit and sawdust ! musta been 40 years ago since i last went jump racing at windsor great day out and remember walnut wonder winning there .

i wonder what the interest and attendances  would be if say maybe once or twice a  year a jumps or flat meeting was held with a "back to the 50s- 60s -70s theme ,do away with all the modern stuff  for a day ie  illuminated bookmakers boards etc  im sure the old gear is tucked away somewhere and go back to the old style chalk boards bookmaker satchels ,the old umbrellas with the firms logo printed on top etc ,racegoers and bookies staff etc dress in the clothes of the eras etc .

They need to check betfair to price up a coin toss. They wouldn't have the first clue about even trying to price up a race off their own bat.

the younger generation wouldnt have much interest !^^^

yeash prob correct there slicks

foyles , if you want to go back in time just go racing at ludlow in january !  you will have tweed blindness by 2pm and if you under 60 i'm sure they will let you in as a junior .

Ludlow would be a far more attractive proposition than Windsor, that's for sure.

just wondering what the attendances would be ,would it be popular ?  those old theme type events wartime ? railway  etc seem well attended .

youd imagine this forum would be loaded with likely lads who would look forward to the past !

you will have tweed blindness by 2pm and if you under 60 i'm sure they will let you in as a junior

punters been carried out on stretchers 3 out of 3 shorties stuffed

Not a National Hunt track more of a speed track

like haddock, aintree,fakenham,sedgey,catt, Donny, Kempton, plump.font,Newton Abb,  etc  basically everywhere bar chelt and sandown

Personally I think this is the worse,didnt like the old track this new track seems worse.

and another 4 shorties stuffed on the bounce

Use to be the same years ago,Baracouda only just scraped home here when he was at his best.

good for the gross profits tax

spent half a million on drainage and fences, yet only plan to increase from 3 this to 4 meetings next season.

Can't understand why they are going the wrong way round the loop into the straight.....surely would still be better as a figure of eight....

https://www.starsportsbet.co.uk/simon-nott-betting-blog-windsor-sunday/

Great read and plenty of lumpy bets !

Thank you to all 4,602 of you who joined us to mark a truly historic occasion as we welcomed Jumps racing back to Windsor after 20 years

Tictacman.
Thought  they were expecting  over 5000.
Thought  cheltenham  was quiet sign of the Times.
Got back 2 hours ago for the third time Oct Nov and Dec  have just put a claim in with x country  train over a hour late.got to Cheltenham  Station this morning  over 65% of trains  cancelled  NO POXY  DRIVERS A BLOODY DISGRACE.
Ronnie.

The issue is,it’s a more complicated job these days,like pilots.
So the private companies employ the minimum amount of drivers needed to be stream lined.

But then staff are forced to use their holidays up before end of year,plus there’s a lot of flu,covid about,so not enough drivers.
The shareholder dividends could of been used to employ more drivers if it was state owned,

The question is,
Is it a service or a business.thats the crux .

once it goes back completely into public ownership, drivers are effectively public sector workers, that's when a public sector pay scale should be enacted based on ability, experience etc, with pay caps, contracts re-drawn, enough of a train driver getting paid twice that of a teacher or a junior doctor for sitting on his lazy fat arse all day whilst computers drive the train.

Over 30 minutes late back from Windsor, so I've got a claim going in to First Late Western. I shouldn't complain really, though. The next three trains back to the West Country were all cancelled. From the moment Labour bunged the train drivers all that free money a few weeks ago, weekend and late-night train services have become a thing of the past. None of the staff has the slightest interest in working overtime any more.

Cheltenham was deserted yesterday. Still a wonderful place to go racing, of course, but if it can't get the crowds in for a meeting like that, on a Saturday, there's trouble ahead. Windsor, by contrast, had a jolly atmosphere today, no denying it. The problem was that if you had any interest in horses or horse racing, Arena did not want you there. Virtually the entire course was obscured by a big screen; and the only use for binoculars was to try and identify the horses in the paddock, since they paraded anti-clockwise, so you could only see the number on the handler's arm when the horse was on the other side of the parade ring.

Arena did the same sort of thing at Hereford on Wednesday. A marquee - empty and not in use - had been erected in order to ensure the home straight was invisible from both the stands, while the back straight was obscured, as usual, by a pointless big screen. (Pointless because who needs a big screen at a place as small as Hereford?)

I think Arena simply hates people who follow the sport, and rather wishes they would go away.

On the plus side, that magnificent khazi next to the bar at Windsor - the one with the fireplace and antique fittings which so annoyed workrider - is still there in all its oak-panelled, Victorian glory. And I can confirm that the door on trap one still doesn't shut properly.

Can certainly reiterate the Annual Members area at Cheltenham was desperately quiet..ofc Guinness at £7.80 a pint doesn't help

Windsor was traditionally an after work outing for Londoners, especially from the City (where the money was) hence Monday nights. I'd not be too worried about Sunday attendances from that point of view, although you would have hoped more would have made the effort just for the novelty of the first meeting back.

ronnie & screaming mentioned Cheltenham was quiet.

Yesterday I was at the O2 in London that was far from rammed, although more came in the evening.

There seems to be widespread gloom and despondency. It is not just a racing thing. People are afraid for their jobs and are watching the pennies in the run-up to Christmas (and even that festival seems low-key this year). There does not seem to be much optimism about.

So while people are either skint or depressed, or both, it is not surprising a day at the races is not always the highest priority.

And everything is so expensive now. Even if you have money, a family day out to see a musical or the big match, with a restaurant meal either before or after, comes to hundreds of pounds. That's for activities without a losing bet every 30 minutes.