Let It Snow

Just in case you haven’t noticed, or you are reading this outside the UK, it’s been snowing outside.

Apparently racing is “suffering” as a result with meetings being abandoned left right and centre, although I fail to see how a meeting can be abandoned if it hasn’t actually started, as far as I am concerned unless the meeting has actually commenced it is CANCELLED.

Even the supposed “all weather” meetings have been called off due to, ahem, the weather. Those of you who follow my web site will know I stopped referring to it as “all weather” racing a few years ago and I refer to it as “artificial surface” racing. Surely it is time the racing authorities took the same approach?

I’m very tempted to find some advertising material extolling the virtues of all weather racing and passing it to the Advertising Standards Authority to see what they think of the use of the term.

It isn’t simply a matter of semantics, it makes racing look absolutely stupid, having a product it calls all weather racing, when it patently isn’t, is absurd.

Of course, some would argue that racing is a past master at making itself look stupid, so it should not be any great surprise.

Reading some of the racing forums you would think the loss of racing is the end of the word – well it isn’t – life will carry on. For those working in the industry it’s an annoyance but an occupational hazard which has to be accepted as a fact of life.   

For those compulsive gamblers who cannot survive without their betting fix it seems the bookmakers are going out of their way to accommodate them with betting available on real horseracing from such diverse locations as France, South Africa, United States and even Chile!!

Let’s face it, who in the UK, with any modicum of common sense, would want to bet on racing from Chile unless they have a serious gambling problem?

Then again judging by the sheer number of “races” being shown people are obviously happy to bet on cartoon racing otherwise there would not be such a proliferation of it in the betting shops.

Looking at one leading bookmakers website, between 12:45 and 13:30 this afternoon there are no fewer than 22 virtual horse races being shown, in other words one every two minutes!!!

Another bookmaker has virtual cycling, tennis, horse racing, greyhound racing, football and motor sports.

Why would anybody in the right mind want to bet on these events? Talk about “a fool and his money.”   

Yes it’s snowing but it isn’t the end of the world. It’s highly unlikely anyone is going to die because there isn’t any racing taking place.

I’m old enough to remember the winter of 1963, where racing was shut down for months yet the industry survived.

OK I wasn’t old enough to notice the lack of racing – but I remember the months of freezing.

Listening to the news this morning I am astounded at the number of schools across the country closed as a result of the snow.

I don’t recall schools being closed back in the winter of ’63. In those days we were not ferried to schools by car, indeed most families did not even own a car – my parents never had a car.

We had to walk to school and even my infant school was a two mile walk which we had to do in all weathers.

Nowadays the "precious little darlings" have to be ferried to school by car, quite often even less than half a mile, usually by mothers with complete disregard for traffic regulations.

Heaven forbid children, or even the parents come to that, should have to use their legs and actually walk somewhere.

No wonder there is an obesity crisis amongst the children of today - especially as they are also pumped full of burgers and other junk food.