our stalls handlers..........

a total sh1tshow

10 mins for that load

This is painful and ridiculous. Compared to France, Hong Kong and Australia we seem to be very poor. Consistantly poor in fact.

Said it for ages, should be more stall handlers, and also get them actually loading rather than waiting around...

Inglewood was in for nearly nine minutes and it looked like he was having to be held for part of that time.

Tbf, I think the winner was in for a while too, but who knows how it can affect their performance?

1st 2 winners thirsk today double carpet & a bullseye

american are so much better think they are 14 stone plus

It’s like watching the road workers !

They need a trip to The Curragh to be trained properly.

I think it's the starter who is the main problem. They are far too tolerant on badly behaved (trained) horses. With races going off every few minutes on busy days, it's ridocolous for betting turnover and of course unfair to the other horses.

Correct Brian. This is a problem that is easily, easily solved. Were starters to order horses taking excessive time to load to be NR's, very, very soon owners would gravitate towards trainers who educated their horses properly. Trainers would rectify their (often) lax attention to this aspect and concentrate on ensuring their horses were less recalcitrant. I had a small share in a horse with George Boughey a few years ago and witnessed him training it to go in, and come out, of the stalls. It was relentless. Some trainers, I am convinced, simply don't give a flying F about this. They soon would if their stables began to empty because owners didn't want to waste a fortune going racing only to see their horse withdrawn.

So this has shifted from stalls handlers to starters to trainers, what next COC'S?

Most are bone idle walking around and leaning on the iron…..smoking and walking the other way……

Overated imv……they’ve worked with horses since day one tbh,should be easy enough tbh…

The views of a Lorry Driver

Said it before, in America and Australia there's so much racing going on they HAVE to get them off on time, it's essential. Here with work riders, ex jockeys (Mark Pitman even!) doing the job they take their time - no-one is putting any pressure on. French handlers seem to be recruited from Sumo clubs and the horses go in, no argument.

The Frogs are usually late off

Merka don't adhere to off times, neither do France but all the stalls are not the same and the horses in Merka trained on track and mostly don't need manhandled into gates.

I don't get the obsession on here with off times but often it appears some trainers have not done thar job properly.
the load should be fairly quick but there should be no hurry to start or hurry to go behind stalls.

Merkan orses seem much better behaved at gates, Aus racing is  very punctual and I like the vets having one taken out and trotted up, here noone seems responsible for whether one runs or not, is  it starter, jockey, connections?

The Stalls are bigger in the USA

The horses are also accompanied by a pony in America so no comparison.

Breadnb:I take it you never worked in a bookies when most punting was done there. Off times were usually as advertised. And it made a diff. I call as my first witness Ronnie Rails.

As per, how far behind will Ascot be today I wonder....

The usual 9L,but as it is only the Shaggar Cup I don't care,stu.

here we go again...12 unraced 2yo fillies never seen a set of starting stalls before

There is a World of difference with putting them in the Stalls at home with a couple of others and their first day at the Races with plenty of others

Problem is that we are mostly dealing with low grade racing where there is a large amount of horses that have problems, the amount of runners in these races with problems compared to weekend runners in better races is apparent to see.

Aug 10, 2026 -- 2:43PM, uptheirons wrote:

There is a World of difference with putting them in the Stalls at home with a couple of others and their first day at the Races with plenty of others

watched maidens @ saratoga the last few weeks, full of unraced horses & v few problems like over here

so its how they train them or, more precisely, how they aren't training them

They seem to get the most trouble from the Rags or from trainers who seem to have a winner every blue moon.

The Stalls are far wider in the the USA,wonders and many are Trained at the Tracks

many are Trained at the Tracks

yes...it shows

Complete and utter apathy from The Starter. Should be an enquiry.