this thread suggests to me there are many who look fondly upon smaller , mainly jumpimg ,tracks that still have a certain charm  . if you come across a book called ' courses of action ' by aylwin sampson then bag it . it was published in 1984 and apart from the entertaining text describing the character of each racecourse ( all uk at time ) there are stacks of lovely b/w sketches in there . the double page one of hexham is wonderful. even nottingham looks good !

A couple of people I know and trust have described Arena's intention to close Fontwell and sell it for housing as being an "open secret".

At the last Newton Abbot meeting Martin Cruddace (Arena supremo) was spotted in conversation with John Brown (ex-Arena employee and now CEO at Newton Abbot). Who knows what they were discussing? A transfer of fixtures? An Arena buyout? How to ruin a venue with even more beer tents, stage sets, bouncy castles?

I don't know what to make of Arena. You look at the deliberate rundown of Fontwell Park and they are clearly the enemy. The policy of transforming the bus from the station into a commercial enterprise is annoying (£4 return from Barnham, £6 from Bath, I don't know what from Chepstow as I prefer to walk).

On the other hand, they did re-open Hereford, which must have been 100/1 against. About a quarter of the meetings there are horrible, with beer tents erected right in front of the last fence. But midweek fixtures like yesterday's are absolutely fine. It could have been 1995, rather than 2025, and that's a compliment.

Then there's the incredible value of Membership - join one course as a Member and you get in all their other courses for free, plus several dozen reciprocals with other courses (good ones too - days at Newbury, Cheltenham, Ascot, etc. for Bath members).

And they do run my favourite course, Brighton. No complaints about anything there. Even the big screen is brilliant, as it's the one course in the country where none of the track is obscured by it. The fact that the free shuttle bus is only available for the August meeting doesn't bother me, as the walk down Trafalgar St, across the Level and up Southover St and Race Hill is glorious. Makes me feel like a teenage student in Brighton again.

Take your bike on the train to Cheltenham next time, Ronnie. That's what Stephen Little does; that way he's able to splash out on dinner from that chip shop by the station after racing.

He also still takes the bike on the train to Ludlow, which I've never quite understood, because there's a free shuttle bus on offer.

Then again, he probably doesn't understand why I still take my bike to Castle Cary station and cycle up to Wincanton racecourse (I just love the ride through the Blackmore Vale). I remember cycling back along a deserted lane from there thirty years ago, when suddenly a car containing Little's staff overtook me at speed, about six inches from my right calf, with a jeering Ashley leaning out of the passenger window and letting me know what he thought of cyclists.

Happy days. Stephen Little criss-crossing the country with a small army of floormen, laying insane bets to anyone at market prices, each way always available. Now it's a highlight if there's a Baldfred shop on the way to the track which doesn't restrict us to SP only.

A friend of mine from student days in Brighton turned 66 last week, and has already made use of his OAP bus pass. I was born in 1961, so I don't become an OAP until I'm 67, which is great, because it means I've got nearly three whole years to make fun of his OAP bus pass.