A Question Of Time

Being a follower of mathematics and science rather than the arts it is probably no surprise that I am quite keen on time when studying horse racing form.

However timing of races is also one of my great bugbears. On the flat it is not an issue as with 99.5% of races an official electronically recorded time is given by the judge.

Occasionally the dreaded announcement “no official time was taken for the race” is heard and this results in inevitable groans in the press room as bags are explored and stop-watches pulled out so the race can be hand timed from the TV replay.

Yet in National Hunt racing time seems to be irrelevant as no official times are issued.

The times issued by the Press Association (PA) or included in the Racing post and Form Book are all hand times taken by race readers.

But how much credence can be given to these times and are punters getting an accurate picture of what the times really are?

The first point to note is, due to an attempt to cut back on costs, the PA race-readers work from home, so all the times they use come from the TV.

On course, most NH races are timed using binoculars and with a stop watch or even a mobile phone.

Now even timing on course is fraught with difficulties. Sometimes the start is unsighted from the stands - or someone decides to park an ambulance in direct line of sight.

Or, as happened to me in the last race at Cheltenham on Saturday, someone moves their head in front of my bins just as the tape went up.

Even seeing the tape can be difficult – most courses have bright orange tapes which are clear to see, but some courses have a light coloured tape which can be very hard to see, especially in murky conditions.

At Cheltenham and Aintree they still use the old fashioned starting gates with a single strand which can also be difficult to spot, although they do, thankfully put an orange marker at one end of the tape to assist those of us timing the race.

The other problem of hand timing on course is actually getting in line with the finishing post. At Towcester, for example, the press room is just under half a furlong from the line, whereas at Huntingdon it is well after the line.

On course it is not a case of timing the start through bins then the finish from the TV because you then have to factor in any delay in the pictures.

So you can see it is actually very difficult to get an accurate hand timing for races.  

Often there are two or three of us timing races on course, yet it is very rare for us all to agree a time, even to 1/10th of a second.

These are the race times for Cheltenham on Saturday, PA times will be from TV the other two were taken on course:

Race	PA Time	RP Time	My Time
12:55	4’ 08.7”	4’ 08.84”	4’ 08.9”
13:30	5’ 24.5”	5’ 25.36”	5’ 25.1”
14:05	5’ 15.6”	5’ 15.42”	5’ 15.4”
14:35	6’ 32.3”	6’ 32.44”	6’ 32.4”
15:10	5’ 02.7”	5’ 02.00”	5’ 02.8”
15:40	5’ 57.9”	5’ 59.90”	5’ 58.0”
16:15	4’ 06.7”	4’ 06.80”	No time taken

The first point to note is the Racing Post / Raceform times are shown to 1/100^th of a second, which is utterly meaningless when talking hand recorded times.

It is interesting to note there are a also couple of ricks in the timings - my time in the 13:30 and the RP time in the 15:10 are two that stand out.

These Cheltenham  time comparisons are actually pretty good - there have been a few examples where there has been a two or three second difference between the PA and RP times.

So be very wary of times in NH races and bear in mind in the UK they are all hand timed.

The Irish always produce official times for both flat and National Hunt races - surely it cannot be beyond the wit of man for official times to be produced for NH races.

So come on Racing For Change how about getting some official times for all races?

Don't Let The Facts Get In The Way Of Your Predjudices

It has been an interesting weekend in racing after Ascot’s attempt to remind racegoers about their dress code spectacularly backfired.

It was an episode that did damage to Ascot but in my view it was more telling in revealing the true nature of many in the racing press, revealing an underbelly of hypocrisy and vitriol.

Indeed the whole affair is a classic example of certain members of the press, who have their own agendas, making a volcano out of a molehill.

Let’s begin by taking the emotion out of the events and look at the cold facts – I realise many will not actually like hearing the facts as it will contradict their nasty, pernicious prejudices.

Ascot has introduced a stricter dress code for 2012 which, for the Premier Enclosure, states:-

Gentlemen should wear a jacket and tie, smart trousers or smart jeans, no trainers. There will be an announcement on the day allowing jackets to be removed, should the weather be hot. Ladies should dress for a smart occasion; hats are encouraged but not compulsory.  Children should be dressed smartly.  

Saturday’s meeting was the first to use the new dress code. Now Ascot could easily have turned away racegoers who did not comply with the new code but instead took the decision to advise racegoers who did not adhere to the code.

Once a racegoer had been advised of the new code a sticker was placed on their badge to indicate they had been advised. The sole purpose of the sticker was to indicate the racegoer had been advised so that stewards would constantly be stopping the racegoer throughout the afternoon.

One can understand the reasoning behind the approach. Now we all know hindsight is wonderful but Ascot clearly did not take account of the fact there were people who would exploit the situation to suit their own particular prejudices.

A significant number of the racing media and media in general  are what I would call Champagne Socialists, the sort of people who despise Ascot and all they perceive it stands for, yet they are more than happy to live what many would call privileged lives and, of course, accept Ascot’s generous hospitality.

For them this was a dream story, the type of story which would appeal to their chums in Islington as well as the poor oppressed “working classes” whom they profess to support but would never be seen dead with.

Of course social media like Twitter allows stories like this to gather legs as well, and it was soon a trending topic.

The trouble with social media is it allows stories to disseminate unchecked, the facts are the first to suffer and it is the extreme views which get picked up on.

Very soon there were Tweets flying around comparing Ascot’s stickering of racegoers with the labelling of Jews in Nazi Germany.

I would like to think I am thick skinned and there is very little which offends me. However having a Jewish antecedence and having relatives caught up in the Holocaust I found those comparisons deeply offensive.

However this error of judgement by Ascot gave our leftie media friends a perfect opportunity to stick the boot into elitist Ascot.

Even the Racing Post managed to report the matter emotively, its Editor Bruce Millington declared it “a hugely important story.”

It is not an important story, to quote Aussie Jim McGrath it is a “silly season” story, it’s most likely an important story for Millington because it enables him to engage in some toff bashing.

Talking of “silly season” what was with those stupid orange stickers they wore on ATR yesterday morning – were they trying to make some kind of point – to me it was simply a puerile, pathetic, immature cheap stunt.  

You only have to look at Tweets and forums to see this has little to do with dress codes but has more to do with class prejudice. The politics of envy is still rife in the 21^st century.

Turning back to the original issue I personally welcome Ascot’s stricter dress code and I wish more courses would have similar codes.

 It has nothing to do, as some will claim, with exclusion. Even at Ascot racegoers who do not wish to wear a suit or tie still have access to the excellent Grandstand enclosure which gives access to the parade ring and good race viewing.  In other words they have a choice.

If racegoers want to dress informally that is fine but why should they deny others the right to dress up and have an exclusive earea they can share with like-minded racegoers?

There is plenty of vitriol being aimed at Ascot yet I see none directed at, for example, Thirsk which has a strictly enforced tie rule in their Premier enclosure.

Or how about Goodwood which has a very strictly enforced dress code which includes the same notice about permission being granted to remove jackets as Ascot has.

I would not advocate a strict dress policy at all racecourses, it clearly would not work at single enclosure courses but at those which retain multiple enclosures what is wrong with having some standards?

Some say they would not be seen dead in a suit and tie, that's fine. Personally I would not be seen dead in jeans but we all have our own likes and dislikes. Why can't both sides be catered for though?

If people do not want to adhere to a strict dress code they have the option of voting with their feet, if enough do so the commercially astute courses will soon amend their dress code. 

Ascot state the rules come at the request of racegoers and the fact the Premier Enclosure at Ascot is sold out most meetings suggests there are enough racegoers who are happy to comply with dress code.

Why does it have to be dragged down to some kind of spurious class war, elitism or snobbery.

If media colleagues wish to attack Ascot that’s fine by me but if they are going to do it why don’t they front up and declare the true reason, namely a political axe to grind and ranting about their own prejudices, rather then make something out of what is in reality a non-issue.

By the way does anybody know how many orange stickers were issued on Saturday – let me tell you – it was less than 50. 

Have Camera Will Travel

There are some weeks when very little happens in the world of racing which makes writing a blog a little bit difficult.

So this week I have taken a look through some of the photographs I have taken on racecourses over the past year and I thought I would share a few of my favourites.

Obviously I'm not a professional snapper but I hope I have captured some of the atmosphere of the sport we love.

Festivals

I took this photograph of Derby winning rider Mikael Barzalona at Royal Ascot. He had not ridden a winner but he still seemed pretty content with himself and life in general.

This was taken after the final race of the Cheltenham Festival. It just seemed to be the perfect end to a great week.

The near empty betting ring and the moon rising over Cleeve hill.

The Queen loves her racing and she rarely misses Derby Day.

2011 was all the more special as she had a runner with a lively chance, also it was not to be.

Here she is holding tight onto her hat as she listens to the National Anthem for the zillionth time during her reign.













Courses

This one was taken at Warwick, looking down the home straight and showing how close the course is to the town centre.

A view most do not get to see looking across to the stands from the 2½ mile start at Huntingdon.

 

Many of our courses have stunning rural settings and Ludlow is no exception. The low sun really shows the spectacular hills in the distance.

Another shot of Ludlow basking in the autumnal sun.

Equine Stars

The Queen unveiled a magnificent statue of Yeats at Royal Ascot this season, the detail is amazing.

We have seen plenty of close finishes in 2011 but this one at Ascot in July was pretty tight.

However if we are going to be looking at equine stars there was only one in 2011, the mighty Frankel . . . .

This was taken after he crossed the like at Ascot on British Champions Day

I hope you enjoyed the photographs!!

Blowing Away The Cobwebs

Well the first week of 2012 nears its conclusion and, compared with the last two years we have not done too badly at the hands of the weather Gods, with just two meetings ( Ayr – high winds and Chepstow – waterlogging) being lost.

The winds have been very strong this week and we are lucky more meetings have not been lost.

I was moaning about the cold wind at Huntingdon on Wednesday, it was a “lazy wind” in that it tended to go through rather than round you and no number of layers of clothing seemed to mitigate the wind chill.

If I was freezing cold with four layers, three of which were thermals, how cold must the jocks have been in just their silks? And I carry much more “natural insulation” than they do!!! It’s days like that you really appreciate how hard the jocks job is.

Anyway if I thought Wednesday was bad, it was like a balmy, breezy day compared with Lingfield on Thursday. Although no official inspection was called it must have been touch and go with the racing, as there were gale force winds blowing all afternoon, so strong that even I, at 14 stone, was almost blown over by one gust.

For those who do not know Lingfield it is on the approach path for Gatwick airport, being just 6 miles from the end of the runway. For saddos like me who happen to be aviation mad racing fans, it is a win-win location.  Although the undisputed king of courses for combining racing and plane spotting is Woodbine in Toronto, the pair being less than two miles away from one another but I am digressing.

The point of mentioning the proximity of the airport is to actually underline how strong the wind was, as even Boeing 747’s were swaying in the wind as they came into land.

How the jocks coped with that I do not know and as if the winds were not enough as the first two races started the heavens opened with heavy showers. Brave lads these jocks.

The bravery has been underlined by AP McCoy who after a crunching fall and a couple of days in hospital was talking about “being back in a few days” despite braking a couple of ribs. If that was you or I then it would be a case of milking it for as much sympathy as possible and a long spell on the easy list.

The New Year began with a great days racing at Cheltenham and a day for some old favourites to shine.

2009 Grand National winner Mon Mome looked to be back to his best when runner-up in the 3¼ mile chase, only to be trumped some 35 minutes later when the old rascal Calgary Bay also rolled back the years to take the Victor Chandler.

Although the latter race was spoiled by the loss of the very promising Hidden Keel, a particularly devastating loss for trainer Charlie Longsdon as the horse was undoubtedly the stable star and looked to have a bright future.

Also a special mention in that race to commentator Richard Hoiles for very quickly picking up the fall of the favourite Havingotascoobydo, who managed to come down at the only fence on the entire course where fallers are often unsighted for the commentator.     

 

Finally on a non-racing matter, I was saddened to hear today of the passing of Bob Holness at the age of 83. Most renowned for the television series Blockbusters, of which he presented over 1,200 episodes. He was also an actor and a radio broadcaster.

Years ago when I worked at the BBC I was involved with Children In Need on Radio Two and I had the pleasure of meeting and working with Bob Holness and he was a lovely, delightful man with no ego, unlike many top broadcasters.

 It’s a cliché but he was a true gentlemen.