Good Friday racing

A

Ardross

Senior Jockey
Joined
Aug 8, 2007
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Why cannot Lingfield and Musselburgh run these cards on Easter Monday - which like every other Bank Holiday bar Boxing Day and New year's Day now boasts nothing but utter crap .

ARC should be told to feck off until and unless they stop running banded racing in all but name at most of their tracks . The racing at Brighton, Newcastle ( bar the Northumberland Plate meeting, Chepstow and Yarmouth is Class 5/6 crap nearly all the time .
 
The open days do more for racing than any race meeting would on Good Friday
 
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Indeed - if the other Bank Holidays were bulging at the seams with top class racing one could understand the desire of the racecourses but it is not the case at all .

This strikes me as bookmaker led and one of them is the supposed hidden sponsor of Lingfield.
 
I think I'm correct in saying that Good Friday and Christmas are the only holidays with no racing at present.

Any particular reason why Good Friday shouldn't have racing like every other bank holiday?
 
Good Friday is my least favourite day of the year. It's a joke. **** religion and open the pubs and racecourses.
 
Fully agree with the above.
I miss my racing fix on Good Friday. Hats off to Musselburgh if they want to stage a meeting on the day. I can't see the harm in it.
 
These are new meetings not proposed moves from Easter Monday .

It may well be that the blank Good Friday is no longer due to law but there is little wrong with it. The Bank Holidays in the UK - now none are on TV - are ridden with dreadful racing . The old Rosebery meeting on Easter Monday, the Spring Bank Monday at Sandown , the Virginia Stakes meeting at Newcastle, Donny and Kempton's good class May Day cards all are long gone .

the BHA and their predecessors have been muttering about this for years . They may cite complacently the good crowds when the weather is warm and sunny - but how much better those crowds might be with better racing .
 
Rightly or wrongly, we now live in a much more secular age.

While I am still a strongly religious person and would prefer to see more religious days observed in sport and industry, if the authorities wish to operate on those days it is entirely for them to decide.

However, I do believe a blank day every now and again isn't a bad thing. I suppose we get that in the winter but people can't really plan ahead for that.

The argument should centre on the quality of racing. I used to be a strong advocate of Sunday racing but my idea was that the bigger races should be held then, as they are in Ireland, France and elsewhere. Unfortunately most Sunday fixtures are non-triers' conventions. Good Friday and Christmas Day (which will inevitably happen) will just be a waste of time, which won't affect someone like me as I wouldn't touch the racing with a bargepole. It's strictly for the addicts but I really do feel for those obliged by mean-spirited employers to work on those days.
 
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An appropriately scathing response from Richard Hughes today - wondering where Arc have got this money from for a £1 million finale when day in day out they put on endless **** with rubbish prize money.
 
I have no issues with a blank day in the calendar, nut a blank day on a Bank Holiday when there is demand for a racing is not a good idea.

The amount of money that is potentially knocking around this venture could do wonders for the AW winter programme and potentially change the often wrong preconceptions of it. An increase in the quality of AW programme finished off by a type of all-weather Champions Day sounds a fantastic proposal, and I would fully welcome it.

If folks want a blank day, take one of about 50 random Sunday fixtures that are full of dross racing.
 
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An AW Champions day - what a joke that would be .

The question remains , which has yet to be answered , is why is it necessary for this to take place on Good Friday rather than Easter Monday which is one of the worst days in the calendar .
 
Ardross said:
An AW Champions day - what a joke that would be .

The question remains , which has yet to be answered , is why is it necessary for this to take place on Good Friday rather than Easter Monday which is one of the worst days in the calendar .
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As bank holidays have a large number of people off work who are likely to go racing and bet on it.

No other sport in the world would see the fans and participants whinge about an extra two million being put into prize money.

The argument that it's the Lesters the night before is my favourite.
 
Gamla Stan said:
As bank holidays have a large number of people off work who are likely to go racing and bet on it.

No other sport in the world would see the fans and participants whinge about an extra two million being put into prize money.

The argument that it's the Lesters the night before is my favourite.
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Why is it dependent on Good Friday ?
 
Ardross said:
Why is it dependent on Good Friday ?
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As it's the only bank holiday bar Christmas Day which doesn't have any racing so any new initiative which will increase attendances and betting turnover should conclude on a day where it won't clash with other racing.

It's a great idea and I cannot see what genuine reasons people have for opposing it.
 
Ardross said:
These are new meetings not proposed moves from Easter Monday .



the BHA and their predecessors have been muttering about this for years . They may cite complacently the good crowds when the weather is warm and sunny - but how much better those crowds might be with better racing .
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Not much. If it was down to the "quality of racing" then the brigadier night at sandown would be one of the best attended evening meetings in the calendar. And it certainly isn't

There's a solution to those that want a "blank day" Don't go

All for Good Friday racing.
 
I see the 'Powers that be' are looking for meeting applications.

My sense of humour gives way to what potential sponsors the Good Friday races might come for forward e.g.

The 'Ainsworth Nails for that special occasion' handicap chase.

I'm sure others might have better ideas.

MR2
 
I'm all for it. As long as they remove some of the pi$$ poor meetings that are on during the rest of the year. Far far too many meetings now and the last thing the sport needs is more dross thrown at it just to aid the bookies.
 
Digger said:
I'm all for it. As long as they remove some of the pi$$ poor meetings that are on during the rest of the year. Far far too many meetings now and the last thing the sport needs is more dross thrown at it just to aid the bookies.
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Not quite as simple as that as more races also equals more levy which goes back to the sport. There is a balance to be struck though to ensure the number of races is in equilibrium with the horse population but the notion that only bookmakers benefit from more racing is for the most part incorrect.
 
The product has been diluted by the awful stuff that is brought in to fill the schedule. Its not about fitting in enough races for the horse population its about promoting the sport and making it stronger.
 
Gamla Stan said:
Not quite as simple as that as more races also equals more levy which goes back to the sport. There is a balance to be struck though to ensure the number of races is in equilibrium with the horse population but the notion that only bookmakers benefit from more racing is for the most part incorrect.
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It's hardly rocket science - levy is collectable from a single source; the bookmaker's bottom line.
 
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