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Look what I spotted

Great stuff Len.
I was almost certainly there that day although i cant be 100% sure. I tried not to miss a meeting there both flat and jumps.

Another snippet for everyone. There was a horse that ran in the race above that hit the headlines for a very sad reason. The horse was Grimsby Town and he was the horse that ended Michael Edderys career after a bad fall. His leg was shattered so badly that before the week was out they had to amputate it. That was so sad and more so because he had already proved himself to be a very capable up and coming jockey.

If i remember rightly, he rode his first winner at Teeside park as well.
 
Len Madeiros said:
As a matter of interest Q, where was Teeside Park racecourse?

Sad tale about young Michael Eddery.
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It was very sad mate.

Teeside Park was actually the site of what is now Teesside Retail Park. (Note the different spelling). It was on Stockton Road which is known locally as the Wilderness road. The track was re-named Stockton Racecourse (although it is right next to Thornaby) and i'm fairly sure it reverted back to Teeside before it closed down.
I do remember that a lot of money was spent on new changing rooms and a new tote building, cafe etc and then it went and closed down suddenly just a few months later.

i liked it far more than Redcar racecourse which is about 11 or 12 miles away.
 
Indeed, the concluding bumpers at Warwick and Wincanton today are examples.

But that's not really like for like - a lot of people say prize money in the UK has become terrible, that was a fair race in the 1970s and the penalty value for it suggests prize money was no better back then.
 
Len Madeiros said:
Thanks for the info, Q. It’s great that there are enough older punters here, who can share those memories.
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:)
The Dickinsons used to send a lot of their horses there and i do remember seeing both Silver Buck and Gay Spartan run there. Obviously there were many more but the old memory is fading a bit.
Tony used to train them in the 70's and it was just a conveyor belt of winners. The likes of Broncho, The Chisler and Winter Rain spring to mind but alas, the fog is growing in this head of mine. :(
 
Ian_Davies said:
Indeed, the concluding bumpers at Warwick and Wincanton today are examples.

But that's not really like for like - a lot of people say prize money in the UK has become terrible, that was a fair race in the 1970s and the penalty value for it suggests prize money was no better back then.
Click to expand...
I agree with the "like for like" part but i would argue that tracks have far more money coming in these days compared to the 70's what with media rights, tv money etc etc. But as we know, they are very reluctant to disclose a lot of their finances including media rights money citing "commercial confidentiality". I choose to class it as greed !!!!!!!
I'm of the opinion that prize money is a disgrace in this country and it isnt going to get any better. As soon as you stray away from the top grade races, the bread and butter stuff at the bottom end of the scale is a disgrace. Every owner at that lower end needs commending and thanking for their support but it is not something i would ever get involved in.
As we all know, the two parties that keep this show on the road are the owners and the punters. And again, as we all know, they are the two parties that get shit on most.
 
It was a different game back then, as we all know.

There weren't the number of easy pickings Pattern jumps races the likes of Nicky Henderson have successfully lobbied for in recent years.

You'd see quality horses shouldering 12st7lb against fair rivals off 10st and crowds would flock to places like Catterick Bridge, Market Rasen (where Silver Buck ran before the 1982 Gold Cup) and Hereford (where Bregawn ran before 1983).

The game has lost something the way it's structured nowadays in that respect.
 
Ian_Davies said:
It was a different game back then, as we all know.

There weren't the number of easy pickings Pattern jumps races the likes of Nicky Henderson have successfully lobbied for in recent years.

You'd see quality horses shouldering 12st7lb against fair rivals off 10st and crowds would flock to places like Catterick Bridge, Market Rasen (where Silver Buck ran before the 1982 Gold Cup) and Hereford (where Bregawn ran before 1983).

The game has lost something the way it's structured nowadays in that respect.
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I couldnt agree more. There were many more examples of the top class horses carrying big weights around aside from the two you mentioned. I remember Bregawn especially because i had a fair bet on him when he won his Gold Cup.

I think the game has lost a hell of a lot in the way it is structured now. We probably dont want to see horses lumping 12-7 round in bad ground in this day and age but many carry 12-0 these days and limited handicaps at the top end of the scale wouldnt be such a bad idea.
But even with those big weights, the likes of the aforementioned two plus the likes of Righthand Man, Broncho, Gay Spartan etc etc all came back year after year to strut their stuff.

One of the biggest and best handicaps, and one of the best for punting in, was the Victor Chandler Chase. A top class field every year with some of the beat two milers around and solving it was like trying to do a 2000 piece jigsaw. But it was fun. And it was always a great race. You only have to look at some of the winners to guage what a great handicap it was. Desert Orchid, Waterloo Boy, Call Equiname. Marthas Son, Well Chief. Plus many more.
And what happened ????? The Ascot board decided they wanted to go down the conditions race route and now we are stuck with a race that usually has a very small field and more often than not, a long odds on favourite. And from a betting angle, which is what keeps racing going, it is just a non event. .
Clever thinking eh !!! :rolleyes::mad::(
 
I think the game changed when racing became regarded by the powers that be as an industry rather than a sport. The function of an industry is to make money, that is not the function of a sport.

Like many things in life that were not done for monetary gain racing has become subservient to the mighty £. Of course money has to play its part, but it’s not the be all and end all that it seems to have become. Everything should be viewed through the lens of what is good for the sport not from what is going to generate the most money. Because the powers that be have forgotten they are managing a sport and not an industry they have found themselves kowtowing to several paymasters who have competing objectives. No surprise, then, that they are in a muddle.
 
barjon said:
I think the game changed when racing became regarded by the powers that be as an industry rather than a sport. The function of an industry is to make money, that is not the function of a sport.

Like many things in life that were not done for monetary gain racing has become subservient to the mighty £. Of course money has to play its part, but it’s not the be all and end all that it seems to have become. Everything should be viewed through the lens of what is good for the sport not from what is going to generate the most money. Because the powers that be have forgotten they are managing a sport and not an industry they have found themselves kowtowing to several paymasters who have competing objectives. No surprise, then, that they are in a muddle.
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I make you spot on mate. Focus has been lost on what this sport is all about, on its future and on the loyal people who follow it.
As you say, it is all about money these days. As far as i am concerned it is all about making as much money as possible by whatever it takes and to hell with the racegoer. As someone late in life i feel it a lot more because i remember what it was like to go racing in the 70's, 80's etc. It is unrecognisable in my eyes. Whatever race meeting it was possible for me to attend back in the day, i would be there. I've done Taunton and i've done Perth and all stops in between.
And now ???? I wont go on "Ladies" day. I wont go on "Gentlemens" day/evening. I wont go on a beer festival day./Gin night I wont go on music nights. And i will definitely never, ever go again on a students day. I wont go to a meeting that puts the price up on a Sunday because they class it as a "Premier" day even though the card consists of 3 x class 6 races, 3 x class 5 races and one each of a class 4 and a class 3. (Are you listening Redcar ?)
That last paragraph reads like i am a miserable old git and maybe i am getting that way. But the truth is, i go racing for the racing ! For the horses ! For the racing craic ! And sometimes, maybe a bet.
Not to get pissed or start fighting or throw up all over the place and just be a general nuisance to everyone else.
That is how i see it these days. Obviously, especially in the summer. If Hexham had been on yesterday it would have been a crowd full of people just like myself. Same with Catterick tomorrow. And Sedgefield on Monday.
The focus on keeping the loyal followers, the older brigade, who go to the tracks in all weathers has been lost. And as more and more leave this planet, the job to replace them gets harder. And it just wont happen. I dont care what sort of "initiative" they come up with to entice the younger brigade to follow the sport, it just aint gonna happen. Yes they might go for a day on the piss in the summer but you wont see any of them, or the "Ladies", or the students, at Catterick or Sedgefield or wherever.
There is just far too much for the younger brigade to spend their money on these days. Far, far, more than we had back in the 60's and 70's etc. Horse racing is way, way down the pecking order. In fact, it is probably tailed off.

Now hasnt that cheered up an otherwise gloomy day. :)
But sometimes, some people dont like to face reality.
 
Fantastic meltdown, Q!

Oh, what it is to be a proper racing fan, who attends a race meeting to watch horses race against each other - and not always having a bet.

Racing exists because of betting, because, quite frankly, it isn’t a spectacle for most sports fans. But it is genuinely great to read your diatribe on how racing has lost its way, and balance, in accommodating the genuine fan of the sport.
 
Len Madeiros said:
Fantastic meltdown, Q!

Oh, what it is to be a proper racing fan, who attends a race meeting to watch horses race against each other - and not always having a bet.

Racing exists because of betting, because, quite frankly, it isn’t a spectacle for most sports fans. But it is genuinely great to read your diatribe on how racing has lost its way, and balance, in accommodating the genuine fan of the sport.
Click to expand...
:D
Cheers Len.

I do go off on one now and again although to be fair to myself, far less than i have done in the past. On my old forum, Letsbet, i was having a rant nearly every other day. I know its because i do care about the game and i am grateful for the life it has given me both in my working and also in my punting days. I just get so annoyed when i see the absolute mess and damage the powers that be are doing to the sport. Even in the last hour or so i got wound up after reading about the money the BHA have chucked away on this Racing Digital nonsense and also the bonus payment to the previous clown in charge.

Total incompetence !!!!!

As for having a bet at the races or not, it has never bothered me. My bets are few and far between and although i will get stuck into one (as far as one can these days :() when i feel the time is right, i have no problem going to the races and not having a bet at all.
I hadnt had a bet for over a week until i saw two that were definitely worth having an interest in yesterday. But sods law, they were at Hexham and as you know it was abandoned.
Not to worry, all eyes on Sedgefield on Monday now.

All the best.
 
Apologies for hijacking the thread about dear old Tanlic and Teeside Park but can i just go back to racing (as against ranting) and recall some memories of the place.

First of all there was a spell between the mid 70's and late 80's when a few horses were aimed at breaking the record for the number of wins in their two year old season.
The first one to try it was a filly called Nagwa who won 13 of her 20 starts and one of those was at Stockton/Teeside Park. She was trained by Barry Hills and if i remember rightly, ridden in a few of her races by a young Ray Cochrane who was still claiming at the time.

Then Spindrifter came along and he also won 13 races in his two year old season. I remember being there when he won at Stockton/Teeside Park and also when he won at Catterick and Pontefract. I remember the horse loved those latter two.
He was trained by Sir Mark Prescott and George Duffield was riding for him then.

Then Bill O'Gorman took over and trained two even more prolific winners. Provideo was the first and he was a very useful animal. I remember he won quite a few listed races that season and what a long season it was. I know he won the Brocklesby at Donny at the start of the season and i was at Redcar for their final meeting of the season in November and he won that day as well.
He won 16 races in total that year.
And then O'Gorman brought along Timeless Times who should really have broken the winningmost record for a two year old but for an injury in the September. By then he had already won 15 races but he was then off until late October where he won his last start of the season.
The striking thing about the two O'Gorman horses is that neither won again as a three year old. That hard season obviously took its toll.

The other thing about Teeside Park that stands out is that the future Gold Cup winner, Alverton, ran there in a two horse race with, i think, Jonjo on top. It was just a prep race but he managed to fall but in doing so, brought down the other one.. But in those days you could remount and Jonjo got back on first and went and won the race.
But as most of you know, poor old Alverton met a very sad and sorry end. After winning the Gold Cup he went straight to the Grand National where the poor lad was killed at Bechers.
Sad.

Thats enough for now. Have a good day all.
 
Cracking read this thread cant really contribute as I'm under a 100 years old but birrliant read thanks fellas.
 

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