Horrible at course on Gold Cup day

H

harry

At the Start
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Apr 16, 2005
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Nightmare there today!!
Couldnt move anywhere or see anything.
Capacity needs to be cut as it was so uncomfortable.
Ive been everyday since 1990 and this was unbearable.

Anyone else notice this?
 
They admitted there were more there today than last year. And I agree, felt pretty bad. But, we accept the limitations so we can lose our voices calling home a Gold Cup winner on course.
 
Pretty gruelling today I agree especially after Kauto fell and frankly the meeting fizzles out - that conditional jockeys hurdle is not a Festival class race and I have never enjoyed the Foxhunters , always fearing some equine injury .

I wish they would stop mucking about with the running order.
 
Ardross said:
Pretty gruelling today I agree especially after Kauto fell and frankly the meeting fizzles out - that conditional jockeys hurdle is not a Festival class race and I have never enjoyed the Foxhunters , always fearing some equine injury .

I wish they would stop mucking about with the running order.
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i was one of many to leave after the foxhunters this year. the festival just seemed to be a little disappointing. it just felt like i had watched good races all week. apart from big bucks and to a smaller level sizing europe there just wasn’t the same buzz of wow iv seen a champion there.

had fun over the few days picking a few winners but lets hope we get the old spark back next year.
 
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Yes, Luke, I fear it is. What I'd also fear is the Sales & Marketing people seeing the monster turn-out over four, and going for five! By that time you would be down to a Knobbly Knees Kontest with Thommo as judge, Best-dressed Owner's Wife or Mistress, and a mascot race.
 
Damage limitation nxt time... will go over to centre course on Gold cup day .............Fresh air :mad:

Not as if I have to pick up winnings
 
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Meeting Structure..

I'm not a huge fan of "the Festival" as you know and there still seems to be a deal of tinkering with the running order. Was this done for C4 so that each day the "big" race was on fourth and there had to be a huge handicap immediately preceding ?

I thought having the County Hurdle as the last race was a big tradition but it seems no longer. I wonder why they couldn't do what they do everywhere else and end with the Bumper on day 4 to keep the "buzz" until the very end.

To me, there still seems too much emphasis on Day 1 while Day 3 looks weak. I would move the Champion Hurdle to Day 3 and have the stayers and the Arkle (the long and the short of it) on Day 1.
 
It's funny, I took a group on Friday, many who hadn't been before, they all loved it wheras those of us who had been before weren't too happy with the crowding. At one point the crush by the entrance to Club was quite grim and people were swept along in the wrong direction.

I think they try and sweat it out for too long and we all left after the 5th race although that might have something to do with not having a winner....

Next year I am thinking of a day in the Best Mate which I think is easier to get around in and then maybe a day in hospitality.
 
Some furious e-mails to ATR being read this morning, complaining about a paucity of reasonably-priced food outlets, and the lack/state of lavatories, and a really big moan about the price of admission, particularly when the amenities don't hold up.
 
67k there on Friday. That's a massive crowd. I thought it was restricted to 60k!! Only 47k there on Tuesday. I'd say it was madness on Friday. The course can't handle that big a crowd but the management team need to fill the coffers.
 
It was pretty dire on Friday - I camped out by the winners enclosure and barely moved all day. When I did venture further the crush was just appalling.

I think they should move the shopping village further away (actually, they could do away with it altogether, as far as I'm concerned!) and make that bit into a seating and eating area, with different sorts of food available and more loos! There's always been a shortage of decent food within easy reach of the paddock (in fact, there's pretty much a shortage of decent food) and there are few places to sit down. I think it would improve the atmosphere pre- (and potentially post-, if they had any sense) racing as they could potentially have live music and other entertainment going on there, where people could sit in relative comfort and enjoy it.
 
I would never go to a GC day again...unless they restrict thecrowds to Tues and weds levels. Its just not acceptable to pay that sort of price and not be able to see the race at all

As for catering, in the park on the way back to town theres a great cafe for breakfasts, which was not busy at all. and the fish and chips opposite the station are superb year after year...
 
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Yes, but that's not 'on course' nosh, Clivex, and that's what the complaints are about. Insufficient places to eat, sit down, see the racing, take a leak, etc., etc. and all that for premier entrance fees.
 
Muttley said:
It was pretty dire on Friday - I camped out by the winners enclosure and barely moved all day. When I did venture further the crush was just appalling.

I think they should move the shopping village further away (actually, they could do away with it altogether, as far as I'm concerned!) and make that bit into a seating and eating area, with different sorts of food available and more loos! There's always been a shortage of decent food within easy reach of the paddock (in fact, there's pretty much a shortage of decent food) and there are few places to sit down. I think it would improve the atmosphere pre- (and potentially post-, if they had any sense) racing as they could potentially have live music and other entertainment going on there, where people could sit in relative comfort and enjoy it.
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Far too sensible a suggestion for our greedy racecourses.

The ridiculous overcrowding and admission costs put me right off going to the festival,much better off going to something like the Paddy Power meet where the crowds are far more manageable.

One of the worst experiences I've had in recent times was ladies' day at Beverley last year,not a course built to cope with a crowd of 13,000,but that is what it had.
It was a proper sardines job.
I could probably count on the fingers of one hand how many people were there for the racing but that doesn't matter to the courses as long as the tills are going kerching.

Fortunately the o&t at Beverley (we had a runner that day) is at the other side of the paddock so a rare peaceful spot on the track but unfortunately too far away from the action.
 
Fully agree with Muttley, although I find the shopping village harmless, and quite useful if it rains, can do a bit of window shopping to stay dry for a race. ;) The loos in there are very good too.

But I do not fully agree that the people who go on Gold Cup day are more non racing types. There are certainly a lot of them on that day, but also really enthusiastic racing folk. The Foxhunter was as exciting if not more exciting than the Gold Cup. A really popular win and loads of people crowding to applaud and shout winners home.

Very hard to get about, agree with that statement. My favourite horse won one of the races on Thursday, could not get near he parade ring to see him in time to get to the rail to watch the race. And I had to pretty much kill people to get from the rail to the Winner's to see him come in.

Worst part for me is leaving ... yech! Drunks throwing up, and that was just the women! :(
 
If it wasn't for the racing it would have been intolerable. Overcrowding into cramped areas out of the rain. Pointless barriers sectioning off parts of the same enclosure and a bewildering combination of badges required to get around the place. Poor show, but much easier on the first three days.
 
"Gillespie found himself wondering if everyone could lift themselves for another day, should the Festival embrace the speculated change to a Saturday card following Gold Cup day. “We need to be convinced it's a risk worth taking,” he said. Then the conjecture gave way to satisfaction. “For the first time in five years, we've ended a Festival feeling entirely positive ... If we want to keep growing the Festival, we have to make sure it's a positive experience,” he said. That means more investment. Cheltenham makes £5 million profit each year, figures that will be further improved once Saturday is included ..."

That sounds ominously like a 5-day Festival is being planned already. What the hell are they going to pad out the extra day with? The Cheltenham Festival has always been about championship races and top-notch handicappers, why compromise that quality for the sake of a guzzle-fest for the majority of people who are only there to swill as much alcohol as they can and call it "an experience" (if they can remember it).

What odds on a Ladeeze race for Ladeeze day? Perish the thought, but it will probably happen.

Friday was uncomfortable and a crush. It would be unbearable if they upped the numbers further - more so if the weather were bad - which it often is.
 
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"We want to keep growing the Festival... " thar ya go, cowboys! I said I feared a tilt towards 'growing' it to five days, and yes, do expect 'fun' races, charidee races, mascot races, terrier racing, falconry displays, the hot-air balloons I was really only jesting about, Kiddies' Korner with Korkee the Klown, a petting zoo, Best Ferret and Gerbil comp for the wee ones, and God knows how much tat.

But why stop at five? Why stop at seven races a day? Why not have a whole week of 10, 11 or 12 days of racing, US-style? I'm sure there'll be no end of rich veins yet untapped - the Ladies' Sidesaddle 2m Chase, Juvenile x-country, Veterans' x-country, Ponies' x-country, Texan Mules scurry, matched pairs hurdle, fancy dress 3m chase....
 
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