Striking A Duff Chord

In the past few weeks I have begun to wonder if I am a Racing or an Arts Correspondent as almost every race meeting I have attended seems to have a post-racing concert attached.

In the past few weeks I have had the opportunity to see a range of entertainers from international stars like Tom Jones and The Beach Boys through to tribute bands like Mowtown In Motion.

This coming Saturday sees what is fast becoming the Grand Daddy of the lot where Ascot have no fewer than ten acts from the 80’s performing after racing. Acts as diverse as Jason Donovan, Kid Creole and The Coconuts, Paul Young, Toyah, Altered Images etc. etc.

Undoubtedly these concerts are a success for the racecourses with gates increasing beyond the courses wildest dreams. It is interesting to note that courses also seem to be reluctant to release the attendance figures for their concerts.

Sandown usually attract around 3,000 for their mid-week evening meetings yet there were easily 12,000 at the meeting where Tom Jones appeared.

Newmarket’s Friday evening race meetings with concerts attract up to 20,000.

So you can see, even after paying the performers costs, why the courses are keen to have the concerts after racing as with such a captive audience associated catering and, especially, bar takings will go through the roof.

Also where the performer is a “name” it also gives the course an excuse to charge inflated admission prices . . . .at most courses where there is a big name entertainer performing after racing you will be looking at admission prices starting in excess of £30.

Therein lies the problem. Sticking a concert after racing and inflating the prices accordingly is going to alienate the regular racegoers.

With the notable exception of Newmarket, who do make an attempt to stage some half-decent racing on concert nights, many courses seem to program frankly appalling, low quality racing to accompany the racing. Indeed you are left with the feeling the racing is an irrelevance and the racing is staged to allow patrons additional drinking time before the concert begins.

Epsom seems to be the champion at staging sub-standard racing on concert days, take last Thursday when Blondie was performing after racing. By all accounts a huge turnout crowd wise, with tickets in excess of £30 but in terms of the racing the six races had field sizes of 5, 5,4, 6, 7 and 6 respectively.

Would any racing fan, not interested in staying for the concert, pay in excess of £30 to watch that racing?

More courses have, this year, clearly demonstrated that racing is of secondary importance to the concert.

Again Epsom is a prime example. If you do not know Epsom racecourse the land in the centre of the track is common land to which people have free access.

Canny locals turn up on concert nights and are able to watch the concerts for free.

To make life more difficult for these “freeloaders” who of course provide no income for the tracks, the Epsom management have this year turned the stage around so it faces away from the Downs thus depriving those of the centre of the course a free view of the concert.

That sounds reasonable but in doing so they have positioned the stage in such a position that racegoers in the stands are unable to see a fair chunk of the final furlong.

Even the commentary and press positions high on the roof of The Queen’s Stand have an obstructed view of the racing if the runners come stands side.

Epsom is not alone in the ill thought out positioning of stages obstructing viewing of the racing. There have, to my knowledge and experience, been similar complaints at both Doncaster and Newbury.

I have heard many complaints from regular racegoers about the adverse impact the concerts have on their experiences, yet the courses do not seem to care.

At Newmarket last Friday evening there was a boy band called The Wanted performing after races – the audience at the track was predominantly adolescent females. They had no interest in the racing but their presence made it almost impossible for me to work at the course. Indeed by the fifth race I gave up trying to fight through the crowds to get from the press room to the parade ring.

I can see, from a financial perspective, why courses have the concerts. They provide a welcome and no doubt substantial increase in income in these particularly tough times.

However in doing so the courses are risking alienating their core customer base, those racegoers who attend rain and shine, concert or no concert. I know of more than one racegoer who already have or intend to cancel annual memberships as a result of a courses policy with concerts.

The courses will undoubtedly retort the concerts will attract some new racegoers who would not otherwise have discovered racing. That may be true but are these numbers more than those who will be lost due to alienation?

It is interesting to see at least two courses this season Newbury (Rod Stewart) and Hamilton Park (Westlife) have been honest enough to admit the concerts are the cash cow and more profitable than racing. They held their concerts without having a race meeting attached, still attracted big crowds and everyone was happy.

Perhaps other courses should learn from their example.   

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Last Tuesday’s Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood was billed as the Duel On The Downs, in reality it turned out to be a Massacre On The Downs as it turned into a procession with Frankel putting in an awesome, imperious performance. Granted Canford Cliffs did not run to his best but even if he had there is no way he would have matched Frankel. 

We have been spoiled in the last couple of years. Many though Sea The Stars was a once in a generation horse, now it seems we have another great equine superstar to admire and watch open mouthed.

Goodwood Glorious?

Well as I mentioned in last weeks epistle I was making my first ever visit to Glorious Goodwood last Tuesday.

Was it worth it? Did it live up to the hype?

Sadly the answer to both was a resounding no.

The one positive is I managed to get to the course avoiding the worse of the traffic, entirely due to Lee McKenzie’s route which he has been using, probably, more years than either of us would care to remember.

In hindsight I should have turned back as soon as I arrived at the course as what laid in wait was evident in the car park. There is usually a large amount of free space in the car park that is assigned for members of the press. When I arrived, over two hours before the first race, it was almost full to capacity.

Indeed I was asked to park towards the outer extremities and was requested to reverse into a parking space with my boot as close to the tree trunk as possible. Sounds easy but the manoeuvre entailed reversing up a somewhat steep slope, which meant a somewhat fast approach, with a rapid stop as the tree trunk loomed. To add drama to the parking there was a distinct burning aroma coming from my clutch as I reversed up the slope.

Walking through the car park I was confronted by a sea of cars with the distinctive blue “P” label in the windscreen, indicating a lady or gentleman of the press being the owner of the car.

My worse fears were realised when I finally arrived in the press room, which at Goodwood is not insignificant in size. Not only was every space taken, people were crammed in almost three to every two places.

Needless to say most of the seats were occupied by people who wouldn’t normally be seen dead at a run of the mill midweek meeting.

Realising how impossible it was going to be, I stopped a bemused (and also deskless) John Hunt and asked to borrow his Racing Post to see if there was another meeting I could get to. Alas the only other meetings were Beverley, Perth and Worcester and even my driving is not that fast.

Just as I was about to slink off, somebody produced some more chairs. Accepting I wasn’t going to get any desk space I found a pitch next to the photocopier, which had the bonus of a spare power socket so I could plug in my laptop, and made my home there for the afternoon.

I managed to grab a few newspapers to rest my laptop on so I didn’t get second degree burns as it rested on my legs. At least I was able to file reports on the racing.

I had always been led to believe that Glorious Goodwood had something of a special atmosphere. To be honest the atmosphere was little different to any other Goodwood meeting.

Now don’t get me wrong, the atmosphere at Goodwood is always pretty special but I was disappointed that the atmosphere at the Glorious meeting wasn’t even better.

Of course one thing which cannot be faulted is the quality of the racing.

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We are coming to the end of the concert season for racecourses. It now seems obligatory for courses to hold at least one post-racing concert a season.

Some like Newmarket, Epsom and Haydock are turning it into a cottage industry.

It used to be that virtually every concert was by a tribute band and, even now, tribute bands form the core of the post racing fare.

Increasingly headline acts are also performing and JLS have performed at more than one post racing concert this season.

There is no doubt the concerts get bums on seats and racecourses will have attendance figures they can only dream of in other circumstances.

But are these concerts actually any good for racing?

When the tribute bands perform admission prices generally remain the same or attract a small premium.

When the “headline” bands perform prices go through the roof. Newmarket have been charging £32 for their Newmarket Nights concerts, Epsom have been charging £32 and Sandown £35. Even children, usually admitted free, are being charged admission.

Well the courses are selling out most concert nights, so from their point of view they will consider the exercise a success, especially when you add on extra bar and food income as well.

However these meetings do nothing to attract those who just want to go for the racing.

In the last week I have been to three meetings with bands performing Sandown (Razorlight) at £35, Epsom (Madness) £32 and Newmarket (James Morrison) £32, yet on all three evenings the actual racing was what can only be described as absolutely dire.

The dedicated racegoers, with no interest in the concert, cannot be expected to pay over £30 for six low grade races.

Also how many of those going to the racing a) actually bother to watch the racing and b) will go racing again in future?

There is also another issue and that concerns horse welfare. I wasn’t at Epsom the week before last when JLS were performing but by all accounts the course was packed with pre-pubescent and teenage girls screaming their heads off, not only during the concerts but during racing.

There were genuine concerns the screaming could have spooked the horses.

If racecourses want to become concert venues as well as racetracks then all well and good – but why not keep the two separate?

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I get very annoyed when the armchair critics start criticising commentators and I am quick to defend the men who call the horses.

Asides from the jockeys they have one of the most difficult jobs at the racecourse.

The quality of commentating in the UK has never been higher and, thankfully, mistakes are few and far between. The trouble is when mistakes are made there is no hiding place for the perpetrator.

Even the best commentator can have a bad race.

At the last Ascot meeting Richard Hoiles, arguably the best current commentator, almost missed Frankie Dettori ploughing a lone furrow against the stands rail …. It wasn’t only Richard who missed it, so did the cameraman, director and those of us watching from the press balcony, so mistakes can happen.

However, occasionally, there are mistakes that commentators make which are inexcusable and that relates to not doing their homework and getting the basic facts right.

At Newmarket on Friday evening the commentator was also doubling up as the course MC, something I thought they were not meant to do. He seemed more concerned about “entertaining” the crowd than concentrating on his commentating duties.

In one of the contests there was an odds-on runner, so very likely to be involved in the contest. Throughout the commentary he referred to the horse as “he” yet the favourite was one of two fillies in the contest.

That is a basic error and an unforgivable one, it almost shows contempt for the listeners …… “I can’t be bothered to do even basic research.”

OK it is not as bad as calling a wrong horse and nobody died but it was sloppy and a very basic mistake.

I know, for example, Richard highlights the fillies in yellow on his racecard and I believe most of the other commentators do the same or something very similar. So it isn't rocket science.