Racecourse A-Z Part One

On one of the racing forums there has been a debate about the relative merits of our various racecourses, having been to every UK course on at least three occasions I’m probably in a good position to compare them.

So here is the first of a three part blog with my thumbnail sketches of our racecourses, welcome to racecourses A-F.

(If I happen to annoy any racecourse managers – it’s nothing personal, I’m just giving my impartial view)

Aintree

One of the courses known to non-racing fans. A massive site it has a buzz at the national meeting but at the other meetings it has a forlorn feel as when only 5-6,000 attend they seem lost in the vast acreage.   “Ladies Day” at the National meeting is one of the most terrifying  experiences known to man.

Viewing of the Mildmay course is good but terrible on the National course, even with industrial strength binoculars.

Visit the National meeting once to experience the place, otherwise best avoided. 4/10

Ascot

Controversially redeveloped I was one of those initially anti the changes, now I’m probably its biggest fan.

The amphitheatre parade ring has to be amongst the best in the world, even Longchamps.   

Viewing is good, especially if you have Premier tickets. It can be oppressively crowded at the Royal meeting though and it isn’t that cheap, although they do have a free day in the spring.

The racing is generally  of a good quality.

It can get boozy and intimidating at some of the big meetings. 9/10

Ayr

Ayr is a funny course. They have spent vast sums of money refurbishing the inside of the stands but externally it looks tatty. It’s another of those courses where there is a buzz on the big days but can feel quite forlorn on the quieter days.

Viewing of the racing is good but for me it’s a “take it or leave it” course.  4/10  

Bangor

The course which famously does not have a grandstand, which isn’t a problem on a nice sunny day but a big disadvantage if the weather is inclement.

Viewing is from sloping banks and, unusually, the finish is down the side of the course relative to the enclosures.

Having said that there is a good atmosphere and you can see the racing.

It would be a lot better if it switched from left to right handed  and have the finish in front of the enclosures but that’s being picky.  7/10

Bath

The highest course in the country and don’t you know it as it is almost always windy there. It also had no irrigation system so the word firm invariably appears in the going description, although with some fantastic turf management they manage to take the sting out of the ground.

To me it’s a schizophrenic course.

The midweek meetings can be a real delight with moderate crowds and a good atmosphere. Weekend meetings can be hell on earth with boozy coach parties descending from across the Welsh border,where the course can be overcrowded and intimidating.    Midweek 6/10  Weekend 2/10

Beverley

It has to have the narrowest enclosures in the country which can make the place feel more full than it probably is.

It usually attracts a decent crowd, even mid-week. It can get a bit lively at the weekend meetings. A good honest to goodness course. 6/10

Brighton

In days of yore it had a seedy reputation thanks to Graham Green’s Brighton Rock and it has to be said it still has a seedy feel to it. The Grandstand has certainly seen better days. There are some stunning views from its hilltop position with the Channel below.

It is also the only track with a housing estate in the middle of the course. It attracts good holiday crowds but I would only call it an OK type of course.  5/10

Carlisle

I think Carlisle is an underrated course. The topology does mean there are a couple of areas where racing cannot be seen with the naked eye.

It has an excellent, testing, jumps track and I prefer it as a jumps rather than flat course. The one “disadvantage” is it is located in the wettest part of the country which can result in testing conditions for both participants and racegoers. 7/10

Cartmel

Cartmel can be a Marmite course, you either love it or hate it – me I love the place.

In a beautiful setting the atmosphere is fabulous. OK the racing is moderate and there isn’t a single point at the course where you can see all the action but that’s not the point.

The crowd are in the centre of the course and the prime pitches next to the fences soon go well before racing.

Set in a delightful village it’s the place for a perfect day out 9/10

Catterick Bridge

What I would call a “bread and butter” course and that isn’t meant to be derogatory. The racing is moderate but there is a knowledgeable local crowd. It doesn’t get overly busy but there is generally a good atmosphere.

For a good no frills day at the races it is hard to beat 6/10

Cheltenham

The home of national hunt racing and its setting in a natural amphitheatre is one of the best in racing.

Home of the Festival it can also be a frustrating meeting with big queues everywhere, especially on Gold Cup day and moving around is difficult almost impossible at times.

It is a much more enjoyable experience at the other meetings, some of which can have racing as good as the Festival itself.

It is a course every NH fan should visit at least once. 8/10

Chepstow

It was once my local track and I was a frequent visitor but it’s a course I’ve never had a strong affection for.

The undulating straight track means viewing is terrible and it is a course which has a reputation for being boozy and having something of an edge.

One I wouldn’t be too upset if I never visited again. 3/10

Chester

I’m probably going to ruffle a lot of feathers here but I abhor Chester and if it were to close down tomorrow I would not shed a single tear.

The course itself is so tight many results are decided by the draw rather than ability, although that would not bother most who attend as they don’t seem interested in the racing.

The course seems to be frequented by patrons who are more interested in pouring as much booze down their throats as they are in watching the racing.

I have long said they could stage three legged donkey races at Chester and 90% of the crowd would be none the wiser.

It’s the most expensive over-prices course in the country but amazingly they still manage to sell out most meetings. 0/1 0

Doncaster

Doncaster is, in my view, the Cinderella of courses – it has so much potential but it’s not allowed to achieve it.

There is a brand new Grandstand but with what is effectively a woods in the centre of the course, viewing is very restricted for round course races.

Being part of ARC prize money is kept to a minimum and that results in generally moderate racing. Take away the St Leger, Lincoln and possibly November handicap and there isn’t much left.

It’s a shame as with some serious investment in prize money Doncater could become the premier track in the north. 6/10

Epsom

An anomaly of a course. I often say if Epsom applied to be a new course today it would never be granted a licence by the BHA with the nature of its track, yet it is home to, arguably, the most fanous flat race in the world.

Built on common land they have a problem that people can watch racing for free in the centre of the course.

The Derby meeting is a fantastic experience, especially on The Hill. Sadly other meetings lack atmosphere and quality.  

Epsom have moved to the concert format which means they can charge £35 admission and then put on absolutely dire racing. Derby Meeting 8/10 Other meetings 4/10

Exeter

What I call a locals course and a course which can attract some decent runners. Unfortunately being high on a hill it also attracts swirling mists which can ruin a potentially good days racing.

Having said that an enjoyable course to visit. 7/10

Fakenham

Unless you happen to be a local the course is miles from anywhere. However wherever you do live the course is worth a visit.

Compact it always feels busy and although the crowds are only around the 2,000 mark it always feels fuller.

The course has a strong, loyal local following – it must be the only course which seems to have more members than paying public. The crowd is knowledgeable and welcoming and I would call Fakenhan a proper NH grassroots course. 9½/10

Ffos Las

If Fakenham is the most difficult course to get to in the east then Ffos Las must hold the same accolade in the west. It seems to take forever to get to, even once you leave the M4.

Facilities are basic but the course itself is good and viewing is good.

Mobile phone signals are hit and miss at the course. 6/10

Fontwell

I’m going to have to declare an interest here – this is where I first attended a live meeting.

Fontwell is quirky with its figure-of-eight chase course but, for me that adds to its charm. There are fewer better placed to watch racing than in the centre of the course in a chase at Fontwell.       

Another course with a good local following, if I could only go racing at one course this would be the one. 10/10

A Different Weeks Racing

Well 2013 is already a week old  and I’ve managed to go racing three times already, none of which were actually in my original plans for this month, all of which were the result of the bad weather we have experienced this winter.

I traditionally start the year with racing at Cheltenham, for a National Hunt fan a great way to begin the year, even though it isn’t their strongest supporting card of the season.

This year the meeting was called off with plenty of notice so I had time to divert …… to Fakenham.

On the face of it going to Fakenham could not have been a bigger contrast but surprisingly racing at Fakenham has more in common with Cheltenham than you may think.

The biggest downside with a day out at Fakenham, unless you happen to live locally, is getting there. Dual-carriageways are few and far between in deepest Norfolk and the journey usually entails being stuck behind a horse box / lorry / tractor* (* delete as applicable) or if you’re very unlucky all three.

I have to admit setting off early on New Year’s Day was a relief as, clearly, the lorry and tractor drivers were having a lie in after the celebrations of the previous night and, for once I had a stress free trip to the course. It’s just a shame I cannot say the same about the journey home but that’s another story.

When you arrive at the course there could not be a bigger contrast with Cheltenham. The location is unapologetically rustic. Parking is in fields and I cannot think of a time where I have been to Fakenham and my car has not been plastered in Norfolk mud.

The contrast with Cheltenham is even more stark when you see the course itself. Whilst Cheltenham is open and undulating, set in a natural amphitheatre, Fakenham (being in Norfolk, where any land over 100m high is considered a mountain) is almost completely flat and incredibly tight, each circuit being only a mile.

So by now you must be thinking what has he been on, if he thinks there are similarities between the two courses.

Well the answer my friend is the crowds. Cheltenham is the one big course where most of those attending happen to be strong racing fans. Fans who appreciate what is happening on the track. Fans who are actually there to see and enjoy  the racing.

The same can be said about the crowds at Fakenham.  I know it’s a cliché that the smaller NH tracks attract the purists but Fakenham is the living embodiment of that cliché.

You won’t find the beer swilling stag and hen parties at Fakenham. What you will find is a loyal local following who know and love their racing and woe betide any jockey who rides out a finish a circuit early, or jumps an extra fence at the end of a race.

There is also a huge, non-racing, attraction at Fakenham if you are a lover of seafood. There is a chap from Cromer with a sea food stall, which has the best tasting shellfish you will find anywhere.

Going to Fakenham is an absolute delight, even though it is a pain to get to.

My second meeting of the week couldn’t have been a bigger contrast as it was Wolverhampton.

I had originally pencilled in a date in February for my annual visit to Wolves but with Southwell out of action, due to the weather, their meetings have been redistributed and as a result Wolverhampton was staging a 15 race card last Friday.

I thought that had sufficient novelty value to make it worth a visit.

Actually let me just make my position clear regarding artificial surface racing. I don’t despise it per-se. It has a place in the racing family, especially as it was originally planned, as a fall back when NH racing is lost due to inclement weather in the winter months.

However it has moved far beyond that, it now takes place all year and on many days it forms the majority of the racing. Now I accept there are a few decent races on the surface but it has to be admitted most of the AS fare is low grade racing.

However, for me the biggest negative is it is bland and boring. One of the greatest things about racing in this country is the diversity of the courses. They all have their own character. I’ve already mentioned Cheltenham and Fakenham, throw in the likes of Newmarket and Chester, Fontwell with its tight figure of eight and Aintree with it’s almost two mile National course and the diversity of our racing becomes evident.

Artificial surface racing, by contrast, is on a flat, basically oval, track with the only “diversity” being differing surfaces and Kempton being right handed. It is just so much of a muchness.

Anyway, I though Friday’s card would be different and it was and I have to say a 15 race card is too much.

It’s interesting to note that after race seven it was “all change” as we had new a new commentator, new judge, new starters, new stewards. Even the Racing Post changed their live reporter and race reader and most of the SP reporting team changed.

I soon began to realise why. By race eleven I was finding it hard to concentrate. Anyone following my race reports would have noted by then the reports were becoming even vaguer than usual, if that’s possible.

By race thirteen I had almost lost the will to live and by race 15 I was in a state of almost hysterical euphoria as I realised I had made it through to the last race, seven and a half hours after the first.

I did briefly wonder if my ambivalence towards artificial surface racing was clouding my judgement but I thought back to 13^th March 2008.

This was the Thursday of the Cheltenham Festival, the day after racing had been cancelled due to high winds and in an attempt to stage the full Festival, ten races were scheduled that day.

For me Cheltenham is the highlight of the year, there are no bad races, it is racing at its supreme best but I also remember, even with what should have been a racing Nirvana, I was feeling jaded by the time race nine was reached.

I really do think it is possible to have too much racing in one go, even if it is top draw racing.

I can now see why it was “all change” after seven races.

The “usual” limit to the number of races of a card is eight and I believe that should be set in stone – having more just does not work.

My final meeting of the week was the Coral welsh National at Chepstow.

Originally scheduled for 27^th December it was lost to waterlogging and rescheduled for last Saturday.

I have to be honest and admit I was secretly pleased it was postponed. It is one of my favourite meetings of the year and family commitments meant I would not have been able to attend had it been staged on its original date. So the move was a, selfish, blessing for me.

It is Chepstow’s biggest day of the year and it’s one of those meeting I like to arrive at a good three hours before racing begins, just to avoid the crowds.

I have to say the crowds didn’t seem as big on Saturday and they didn’t seem to be as boozed up as usual, which was a big bonus in my book.

My only concern was escaping afterwards would have been more difficult as, historically, the race was run as the fourth race on the card to fit in with the BBC schedule, however this time it was the sixth race to fit in with Channel Four.

This meant many people would be staying later than usual – in the past the crowd began to drift away after the big race so there were fewer around at the end of racing.

In the end escape wasn’t too bad, I left the course an hour after the final race and it took about 20 minutes to get out.

Despite the dire conditions racegoers were treated to some great racing, with some dramatic finishes, none more so than the big race itself where Paul Carberry produced, arguably, the ride of the season to get Monbeg Dude home in front of the Welsh trained favourite Teaforthree, out McCoying the legendry McCoy in the process.

It was also good to catch up with Lee McKenzie, who was doing the on course presentation, and to spend some time with him putting the racing world to rights. I have to admit I miss hearing Lee’s commentaries on course and hope he will, one day, return to the commentators rosta so we can hear his trademark “theyyyyyyrrrrrrrrrreeeee offffffff”.       

Looking Forward To Chepstow

For the first time since I have legally been allowed to bet (and let me tell you that is more years than I care to remember) I shall not be having a bet on the Grand National this year, indeed I would be pushed to name more than half a dozen of this year’s runners without looking them up.

In the immediate aftermath of last year’s National my reservations about the race began to come into sharper focus.

I had thought, even hoped, with time my concerns would mellow but they haven’t.

Whilst last year’s race added a few nails to the coffin the final straw was the BHA review into the race and the prosed solutions.

The review was a typical fudge by committee even more that I believe the changes could even make the situation worse.

In their infinite wisdom the committee decided to make a couple of the fences easier. That, in my mind, is wrong. Making them “easier” will mean they will be treated with less respect, they will be approached faster and this will result in more falls, especially coupled with refusal to reduce the safety limit in the contest.

The one mitigating factor in this renewal is the long awaited rain will result in softer ground and, hopefully, the filed approaching the fences at a safer pace.

However too much rain and we have the danger of another Red Marauder contest, which in its own way was unedifying.

I really hope I am proved wrong and this turns out to be a National which makes the news for all the right reasons.

It is difficult to “walk away” from the National, after all it forms my earliest racing memory, watching Nicholas Silver win the 1961 contest, watching it on a fuzzy black and white television.

That was the second time the BBC had televised the race and it is, perhaps, a symmetry that the last Grand National I watched would turn out to be the second last the BBC will broadcast.

When I told one of my racing friends I had given up on the National he summed it up perfectly when he said:-

“The National is a funny race, I can easily see why people might fall out of love with it. For me it's a bit like a teenage crush. You don't want to admit when it's over and you never quite get over it.”

So I’ll be spending Saturday at Chepstow although my attempts to avoid the National may well be thwarted as there is a massive 1 hour 5 minute gap between races three and four so racegoers can watch the Grand National – I may go into town and do some shopping. 

Common Sense Prevails

For all the criticism levelled at racing authorities it cannot be denied there is a new found level of pragmatism when it comes to decision making.

There is a willingness to reschedule lost Group Races and even a willingness to stage additional races to allow some of the top Festival runners to have prep races.

Yesterday the pragmatism went a step further following what could have been a farce at Chepstow.

For those who are not aware of the events in the EBF/TBA Free Racing post Form at totesport.com Mares Novices Chase, here is a brief resumé.

The three mile, six runner, contest was run in very testing conditions, where the going was very heavy.

By the time the runners entered the home straight only three were left in the contest with the leader Orana Conti some 70 lengths in front of second placed (and favourite) Moulin de la Croix with the outsider Ringsend Rose a further distance back in third place, coming home in her own time.

Orana Conti came to the open ditch and took a crashing fall, leaving the favourite in front.

Moulin de la Croix then approached the fence, hardly took off and ploughing through the top, unseated his rider Sam Twiston- Davies.

This left Ringsend Rose with Jimmy Derham on board the only remaining runner. (Remember under the new rules Twiston-Davies was not allowed to remount the favourite)

As he approached the fence Derham could see there was a stricken horse and two jockeys on the landing side of the fence. At the same time the vet was running across behind the fence to attend Orana Conti and a fence attendant in front of the fence was waving Derham round the fence.

Derham, therefore by-passed the fence, even though it had not officially been dolled of.

Ringsend Rose then went on to complete the race at odds of 28/1.

The immediate impression in the press room was the race would be declared void as, in by-passing a fence which had not been dolled off, Ringsend Rose had technically taken the wrong course.

In which case Ringsend Rose would be disqualified and the race would be declared void.

I should say at this point the view of the most senior member of the press room was probably prejudiced by the fact he had a substantial “investment” on the favourite and stood to have his stake refunded had Ringsend Rose been thrown out.

Equally, though, there was a group of punters just outside the press room who had backed Ringsend Rose and were hoping the horse would keep the race and were not too impressed with our discussions with the SP reporters when we opined the race would be declared void.

Indeed we were not the only ones thinking the race would be void as we saw more than one person collecting discarded betting slips in the hope of a payout should the race be declared void.

The Stewards deliberated for a good 20 minutes and by all accounts, although not officially confirmed, their deliberations included discussions with “Head Office”.

When the verdict was announced there was surprise amongst the “professionals”. Here is the verdict as reported by the stewards.

“The Stewards enquired into the possibility that the winner, Ringsend Rose (IRE), ridden by Jimmy Derham, had taken the wrong course. They interviewed the rider in the presence of the Clerk Of The Course, Mr Calvin Yates a fence attendant, Dr Leigh Davies a doctor and Mr Adam Jones the Acting Head Groundsman.

“Having heard their evidence, and viewed a video recording of the race, the Stewards were satisfied that Jimmy Derham had failed to jump the second last fence owing to exceptional circumstances, namely that he could see a fallen horse and two jockeys on the landing side of the fence and he was waved round to avoid them.

“They were further satisfied that he gained no advantage since he finished alone and therefore ordered the placing to remain unaltered.”

Speaking afterwards the Stipendiary Steward Simon Cowley explained, “"The rule covering this type of incident allows the stewards to let the result stand if the rider's reasons for taking the wrong course were satisfactory and all the remaining riders in the race took the same course.”

It was good to see a common sense decision made by the stewards, although there have been, as one would expect, the usual pocket talking whingers complaining on the Betfair forum (and presumably on other Forums as well).

A sad postscript to the race though. Despite being treated on the track by vets for almost two hours, Orana Conti eventually had to be put down. Although, on a positive note, it was refreshing to see jockey Tom Phelan remain with his mount all the time she was being treated.