Goodwood Live, and Ask the BHA

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At the Start
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Two quick points from the BHA.

Goodwood Live!
Firstly, to let you know that we are running a brand new service for Goodwood, called Goodwood Live!

Here we are using twitter technology to provide lightning fast updates from the course this week. This includes our team in the crowd as well as behind the scenes, meaning you are getting instant updates on all the news/comment/results/info from Goodwood, direct from the Handicappers, Starters, Judges, Vets and more!

Visit Goodwood Live! to follow the week's action.


Ask the BHA
Coming soon we will be running a new initiative whereby you, the racing fans, can ask the BHA anything you like!

This is your chance to ask our handicappers, race planners, stewards, judges, integrity team etc etc anything you like about racing, and we will publish your questions and their answers.

The service will be set up on the BHA website after Goodwood and we will ensure to let you know as soon as it goes live, so you can have all your questions answered!

So keep posted and start thinking about all those questions you always wanted answered.

Enjoy Goodwood and all the other great racing this week!
 
I have a question - What adequate security measures were taken both pre and post the trial at The Old Bailey? What did these include and what changes have since been made, based on the BHA's experience and insight gained, through the trial?
 
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Robin;

In this web age, it is increasingly obvious that without a comprehensive free to view archive, racing will risk losing a generation. For years the RP have provided this but all the evidence and signs are that they're moving towards making the site being subscription only in the medium term. Do the BHA recognise the value that this information has in not just maintaining the interest of existing punters, but crucially, how it is used to introduce new ones to the sport as both spectators and patrons? Without knowing the precise terms of reference given to Harrison Fraser, one can't help wondering if they've over-looked this blind spot. I'd be reaosnably confident that in the region 75% of us would not have the level of interest in racing we currently do, had we not had a 'free to view' library to cut our teeth on? With this threat likely to be only 2-3 years away, have the BHA got any definitive plans and timetables to bring into use such a facility? I do believe that this poses a much greater threat than is being widely understood at the moment, and ultimately as the custodians of the sport, I feel the BHA is beholden to ensure that something of at least comparable quality is available.
 
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The BHA don't appear to want to answer my question. I wonder! Is this a reflection as to how their site facility for Q&A will be run. Have the BHA taken the same policy for this as it appears they did with their security policy?
 
Dear all, especially Toobe,

if you reread my message again you will note that I said this service is forthcoming. I am not coming on here to answer your questions now- I am the website editor, I am not omniscient and cannot answer your questions.

Please re-read:

"Ask the BHA
Coming soon we will be running a new initiative whereby you, the racing fans, can ask the BHA anything you like!

This is your chance to ask our handicappers, race planners, stewards, judges, integrity team etc etc anything you like about racing, and we will publish your questions and their answers.

The service will be set up on the BHA website after Goodwood and we will ensure to let you know as soon as it goes live, so you can have all your questions answered!

So keep posted and start thinking about all those questions you always wanted answered."

Honest Tom- thanks for your helpful and constructive thoughts. You're right, I AM a corrupt inbred, thanks.
 
Dear Warbler,

As always, thanks for your genuinely constructive thoughts.

It is an excellent question, and one which I hope someone will be able to provide a satisfactory answer to.

Please bear it in mind and ask when the Ask the BHA facility is launched, hopefully next week- I would be very interested to see the answer myself!

Do keep posted and hopefully I will open up the free-for-all soon!

Thanks

Rob
 
BHA - Are you suggesting that my question is not genuine and put forward for that reason?
 
If BHA isn't going to enter into discussions on here, then surely posts like these are nothing but spam?
 
Toobe, I hardly think you can realistically expect to get an answer to that particular question on an internet forum just like that. Sure the BHA might pick up the odd, 'easy to answer' quick question, but no BHA employee in their right mind is going to risk committing to the internet any record of that particular affair without clearing it through management, press office, and legal first. I'm sorry if you think otherwise, but if you do, then I can only suggest you've got very unrealistic expectation as to how sensitive issues are dealt with in any administering organisation.

I should also point out this isn't unique to the BHA. You'd find the same level of caution if you tried asking questions of the FA, (transfer bungs ring any bells) in fact you wouldn't get caution, you'd just get a roadblock. If you want to expand the net slightly to the adminsitration of global sports then try the likes of the IOC or FIFA (now that's where serious corruption goes on Tom - so much so they have to base themselves in countries that don't require disclosure), and they wouldn't even put themselves in a position in the first place where they could even be asked a question. On a similar theme, you'd experience a degree of caution were you to ask sensitive questions of big business (they'd actually ignore you) or Government (they'd get round to writing you a holding letter about 2 months after your original and signed off by a civil servant). Local Governemnt would behave similarly, as would any QANGO. It's palpably naive in the extreme to expect an answer to that question, on your terms. Or let me put this way. If I worked for the BHA, there is no way on this Earth I'd consider sticking my neck out and trying to answer that one when I have no reason to do so, yet alone a remit.

To think that an individual BHA employee who isn't employed specifically in that work area is going to supply an anonymous 'username' with a full and frank answer in cyberspace within a matter of a day of writing it I'm afraid shows a lack of knowledge as to how these things work.

No the post isn't spam as it doesn't involve commerical gain in the first case, and in any event, a mature forum should be able to make a sensible exception in the case of the administering body of the sport in the name of dialogue. If you can't differentiate between the BHA David, and the dozens of spammers we routinely block and deny access to every day from China and Russia et al (none of which you ever see, unless one does succeed in out foxing us) not to mention some of the other notorious addresses and more subtle attempts to embed spam on the forum, then I'm disappointed.

In any event, spam has a subjective element to it which is at our discretion. We do for instance permit people to push their own interests provided it is done appropriately and proportionately but this is done in return for them contributing posts and information. There's no formal agreement or structure but just a broad understanding.

Allow me to give you an example (and spam in doing so).:D

I'm sure most of us have enjoyed Cantoris's contributions and his honest and open information regarding Brave Inca. In return for that we don't consider his occasional reference to 'Winning Ways' as spam. It's a sort of trade off, and provided it's kept within the realms of relevance and reason it causes us no concern, and we'd seek to wish them the best of luck etc.
 
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Warbler said:
I'm sure most of us have enjoyed Cantoris's contributions and his honest and open information regarding Brave Inca. In return for that we don't consider his occasional reference to 'Winning Ways' as spam. It's a sort of trade off, and provided it's kept within the realms of relevance and reason it causes us no concern, and we'd seek to wish them the best of luck etc.
Click to expand...

Do not be fooled by his charming stories of Brave Inca, it is all about the money......he would (or possibly has) sold his mother. Long maintained he should be banned.....:cool:
 
Warbler- Although I agree with many of the points you have drawn and know only too well the mechanics within administrative systems, which lets face it the vast majority of the countries inhabitants encounter, daily. I can however, fully see the point Davidjohnson has made. As I am sure you realise the BHA, is the BHA Ltd.

In point of my question put, I see nothing wrong in what I have asked, or that he has declined to answer. However, I feel sure that Robin has noted it for future reference and as he is the BHA's website editor he could even put it on their site for me!!!!
 
As you realise there is no way that Robin is going to answer that question (he'd be stupid to, and he wouldn't be mandated to either). What normal practice would involve would be for him to reproduce a press statement should the BHA decide to answer the question in the fullness of time. That is standard practice in any administrative body (and believe me) a lot of them will try and even avoid doing this.

TH is not hosting the Q&A service (my reading is that it's a BHA gig?) and unlike a Cheltenham preview night, which we also carry by way of information for members and occasional plug for organiser and panelists every March (who will be gettign paid) there is no attendant charge or compunction to put the questions to them. It's purely on a 'take it or leave it' and a 'for your information' basis.

Is the BHA unique?

Well in pragmatic terms, yes they are. They are the administrators and custodians of the sport for crying out loud. Try engaging the FA with pointed questions about corruption in football and see how far you get, or the LTA, The FIA or the WPSBA. They wouldn't even talk to you.
 
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Robin,

Perhaps, to get the ball rolling, you might like to offer a reward to the first person to raise a question the BHA would feel comfortable in answering.

Problem is you may find it difficult to get the nod as to which type of queston your managment would feel able to consider for reward.

MR2
 
Well given the number of complaints we get on this score, this has to be worth it alone
 
In every other sport a failed drugs test results in a minimum 2 year ban, how come in racing it's only 3 months (at a time when near enough no racing takes place)?
 
;)The post from Robin which begins "Dear All, especially Toobe" has left me feeling like the kid who the teacher has told to come and sit at the front of the class for bad behaviour!!!!:lol::lol:
 
Well I think it might worth considering that perhaps their address was in response to your post timed a couple of hours earlier.

"The BHA don't appear to want to answer my question. I wonder! Is this a reflection as to how their site facility for Q&A will be run. Have the BHA taken the same policy for this as it appears they did with their security policy?"

Afterall, you had given them less than 24 hours to answer it before you accussed them of refusing to engage you on a subject, the detail and complexity of which they were never likely to anyway. I'm sure you'll find that the chronological sequence of posts would suggest that their address to you was in keeping with what you'd insinuated before hand.
 
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