How many race tracks have you been to:

Actually we just made it back to the winners enclosure at that point (before hiding from more rain!) and the clatter made us jump!

Up for it again (weather not a problem!) and maybe I can drag some friends along although considering the weather there was a nice crowd.

I think we only need Fontwell now to complete the tracks in that part of the country....

Forgot to add that its a lovely track - hidden away but a real gem. Its no Ascot but thats its charm - you are never far away from anything and thats what racing is about - not being seen in the latest fashions (note to self no more sandals if the forecast is rain!) but mingling with the crowd and seeing the horses fly past the winning line, rather than being stuck hundred feet away behind inumeral barriers and guards. Guessed the day was more relaxed as even Jason Weaver was there in short sleeved shirt, no tie, no jacket and kept sending the ladies out to do the interviews!!

Also a nice touch from Mr McKenzie during the parade for the 5th race when he took time to describe the differences between the horses, which to regular racegoers may have been unnecessary but it made for a nice way to talk to first timers about what to look for, but he did like to keep mentioning the "condition on the hindquarters" :)
 
Last edited:
Doncaster is decent enough. I don't like the cavernous modern facility under the grandstand, but I guess it is built for bigger days than last Thursday night. It is a nicely laid out course, with good viewing and sound people working there.

Thirsk is an absolute belter of a course. As soon as I went in through the gates, I was happy. It looked nice, lots of green patches. Ragtime band playing. Decent bars. My only problem was that cask ales were only available in the members bar; I couldn't get in there without a tie. The racing was a pile of hoop, too. Got the placepot up, which was very nice.

York was absolutely mobbed both days. We set ourselves up in the Veuve Cliquot area on the Friday night for champagne with the placepot winnings, and then jugs of Pimm's. Was the best place to get a drink as all other bars were crowded. Viewing was very poor, because of a stage that was set up for a Blondie concert afterwards. Not that many racing people there, most of them were there for the music or the drinking. However, it is a lovely track, with a nice buzz. Saturday was wedged again, with the stage still there. Thankfully, we were able to find a nice spot on the lawn with a decent view of the 1f pole and easy access to another Pimm's bar.

Yorkshire racing rocks.
 
The week before last I was in Folkestone (business in Canterbury in the morning), Downpatrick (son in Belfast) and Gowran (no excuse needed) for the first time.

Folkestone has a lovely saddling area and parade ring and the overall feel of the place was rather pleasant, even on a cool and windy day.

Downpatrick is a one-off. The parade ring is on such a slant that the crowd at one end are standing a good fifteen feet higher than at the lower end. You can almost tell beforehand whether a horse will cope with running up and down the drumlins. There is quite a climb to the winning post, and there is a lovely view down the extremely narrow straight from the stands to the bottom mend, with the Mountains of Mourne in the background.

Gowran is known as one of Ireland's most beautiful courses, a fact I hadn't entirely appreciated before my visit. The camera angles used for showing races don't do justice to the lovely backdrop of the Blackstair Mountains and Mt Leinster. Facilities in the downstairs part of the grandstand are extremely basic, though, and the attendance was rather small. The feature race is named in memory of the late Denny Cordell, horse breeder and rock impresario, and were it not for some hippy friends there out of loyalty to the great man the crowd would have been tiny.
 
Folkestone is lovely Grey - only been the once and thankfully it was nice and sunny as the place is meant to be a nightmare when the weathers grim.

Downpatrick looks lovely from the TV - one of my favourite courses for watching/betting at as it's very much a horses for courses track.

Will be adding Huntingdon to my list next week and the P2P course at Maralin in Northern Ireland to the list too in November.

Martin
 
Thought I'd done this but can't see it, so looking at it via a map....

Hamilton Park
Kelso
Carlisle
Hexham
Catterick
Sedgefield
Redcar
Thirsk
Ripon
Wetherby
York
Beverley
Pontefract
Haydock
Doncaster
Aintree
Market Rasen
Chester
Bangor
Nottingham
Uttoxeter
Wolverhampton
Ludlow
Leicester
Warwick
Stratford
Cheltenham
Newbury
Lingfield

Punchestown (for 2 races)
Longchamp
Mijas
 
Euronymous said:
Ireland:

Fairyhouse

UK:

Aintree
Cheltenham
Chester
Doncaster
Goodwood
Haydock
Leicester
Uttoxeter
York
Click to expand...

Carlisle
Leopardstown


Enjoyed Lexus day at Leopardstown. A very nice course with good viewing.
I was pleased to meet Grey and Cantoris, who looked like a slightly tubbier version of Aiden O'Brien. Dublin is mega expensive though.
 
Hadn't seen this thread. Not quite as extensive a list as some but not too bad considering I'm only a wee nipper (21)!

Ascot
Cheltenham
Fakenham (Ridden there too)
Great Yarmouth
Huntingdon
Kempton
Lingfield
Newbury
Newmarket Rowley Mile
Newmarket July Course
Sandown
Stratford
Worcester
 
Last edited:
happy valley
ostend
leopardstown

Ascot
Catterick
Chepstow
Doncaster
Goodwood
Lingfield
Sandown
Newbury
Newmarket july
Newmarket rowley
Kempton
Cheltenham
Huntingdon
Warwick
York
 
Congrats on actually riding at one of your courses, Zen - there aren't too many on here who can put saddle experience on their CV! Not sure about Flame - he's ridden in points, I think, and quite a few members have done plenty of work riding, but it's nice to have someone with some hands-on racing on board.
 
Euronymous said:
Carlisle
Leopardstown


Enjoyed Lexus day at Leopardstown. A very nice course with good viewing.
I was pleased to meet Grey and Cantoris, who looked like a slightly tubbier version of Aiden O'Brien. Dublin is mega expensive though.
Click to expand...

There is a comment in there that has made my day :p

I am back in Ireland for a few weeks. I honestly don't know how people surivive. Most things in the supermarket seem to be 10-20% more expensive than the UK, which is crazy. I'm pretty sure wages aren't higher, so it's a big squeeze, especially when you add in the recent govt measures.
 
krizon said:
Congrats on actually riding at one of your courses, Zen - there aren't too many on here who can put saddle experience on their CV! Not sure about Flame - he's ridden in points, I think, and quite a few members have done plenty of work riding, but it's nice to have someone with some hands-on racing on board.
Click to expand...

Mine was in a Point-to-Point too, and I got absolutely crunched at the last. Broken collar-bone and knocked out and still (4 years later) have absolutely no idea what happened for about an hour afterwards!

I also rode there in the East Anglian Pony Racing Final a few years back.

My main riding experience is eventing though. I'm 6ft2 so being a jockey was never an option for all that I'd have loved to do it.
 
Now that we've opened a dedicated pointing topic, maybe we should have one for eventing, too, Zen! Well, talk about out of the frying pan into the fire - the rider fatality rate for eventers is terrible. Last time I knew, there'd been 9 or 10 killed in falls over a short period of time. Whatever we think of the Grand National, I think eventing has some truly eye-popping obstacles.

By the way, have you heard of Nick Gauntlett, a 34 y.o. international eventer? He's just become engaged to Amanda Eaton, the sister of Nicky, who works in Lingfield's racecourse office (Amanda is into polo). They're getting married in November next year, after Nick's done the rounds of the events. Good luck to you with your own efforts.
 
Hamm -I think people are making subtle savings.The German cut price supermarkets are now widely used.
I went out for a drink after the racing on Monday and I was surprised by the way most men were dressed-anyone who has ever lived in Ireland knows that men traditionally buy a new set of clothes for Christmas-from my own observations on Monday a lot of people are waiting for the sales.
 
From what I've eaten and drunk from Lidl (not tried Aldi yet) - courtesy of a cash-strapped OAP pal who's now dumping all other shops for this one - I can't see much point in paying twice as much for pretty much the same item. Their toiletries, light wines and ready-made foods are excellent quality. The chicken tikka masala is way better than Sainsburys and other brands, for example. They're very competitive on all levels, it seems. You look at the car park of our local Lidl, and it's full of new models and smart wheels. People just don't see the point in paying more for the sake of it, particularly at the standard household/food/basic booze end of things.
 
Certainly heard of him but I couldn't say I know him.

I think racing is probably worse for your breaks/bangs/scrapes/etc. Eventing is far worse for the bad ones though. Nearly all the really bad falls occur through rotation and that rarely happens in racing, and if it does the jockey is usually thrown clear, because of the speed they're travelling. The slower pace of eventing means that the horse and rider stick together and half a tonne of horse comes down on top of you at 30mph. That's when people get killed. Something like this - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPEtYY9b034 - fortunately both horse and rider walked away. And this is Townend's effort at Kentucky - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqhVF6Hfz8I&feature=fvwrel - he was OK after a while!

I must say it doesn't bother me in the slightest. If I die then I'm not too fussed because I enjoy doing it so am more than happy with the risk. If I'm really badly injured I'll happily sit in front of the TV all day watching racing. My one worry would be if I was a complete cabbage. I'd rather they put a bullet through me in that case.

Sorry to take the thread wildly off topic!
 
No prob, Zenyatta - we usually end up discussing the price of eggs when we've started off with new bloodlines! Yes, those rotationals are barely survivable, as poor GOLDEN SILVER demonstrated - very luckily, the jockey was just a bit battered but not really injured. Good to know you're so happy with what you're doing - that's a real gift. (On the subject of cabbagey-ness, you can always put a requirement in your Will, as I did years ago, stating 'do not resuscitate' when it's clear there's going to be no quality of life following a catastrophe. I felt it was as well to get that personal preference out the way and in the hands of my solicitor, rather than leave it up to family to make any decision. I think it's a useful clause for anyone who wouldn't want to stick that responsibility on someone else.)
 
LUKE said:
Hamm -I think people are making subtle savings.The German cut price supermarkets are now widely used.
I went out for a drink after the racing on Monday and I was surprised by the way most men were dressed-anyone who has ever lived in Ireland knows that men traditionally buy a new set of clothes for Christmas-from my own observations on Monday a lot of people are waiting for the sales.
Click to expand...
Interesting, my family swear by them for quite a few things.

Agree, a more humble xmas around here too. No bad thing perhaps.

Eating out is something which i find quite expensive in Cork.
 
There's lots of humility around.My daughter goes to a fairly decent school and there's a fair few 2007/8 top of the range jeeps-I would be fairly sure they were being pushed by banks / finance companies before everything went pear shaped.Listening to some people you can hear subtle hints that they were worth a fair amount in 2007 but the banks literally threw money at them to buy property/shares.
 
Yes, I think you've figured out a very likely scenario there, Luke. Talking of shares, a friend of mine lost £200,000 off hers due to the BP oil spill in the USA. Sometimes it's not even recessions that can do you in financially - although she's only probably just under the bar of being a millionairess, so not that tragic, unlike some folks who've had everything wiped out.

We all have to try and keep more money back for ourselves this year, probably by dropping any old habits for a while, like not eating out as if it's a God-given right, not taking out expensive memberships, travelling via the cheaper option, not going for the top enclosure instead of the Silver Ring (oh, God, no, there's surely got to be a limit to the martyrdom!).
 
Last edited:
Yes, dear. They're not free if you use them before 9.00 a.m., which is when I'm already on my way to work at the courses - raceday staff have to be onsite three to four hours before the first race, even if they run right to the course without having to change over or walk a mile first!
 
When I was punting like a hero a couple of years ago the bank called me in for a chat in an attempt to sell me this and that-you know the kind of stuff,guaranteed commission up front for the bank and sleepless nights for the customer.I found it an interesting experience -man on an average wage has an injection of funds and they can't wait to give him advice on ways to invest it.
It got me thinking what was it like for anyone who had a decent amount of money-were they called in and told it was pointless having the money sitting there.I know of two couples who lost e everything on bank shares-one couple on the verge of retirement the other couple on the verge of getting married.
I'd say some people were flattered by the banks attention.
 
Last edited:
Things are getting even quieter business wise on a week by week basis here now. Very rough year ahead and several rougher ones to follow. Survival of the fittest and all that. Was buying some tools in Aldi and picked up a few bottles of spirits. The Gin was top notch and about 60% of the price. The tools arent half bad either... I'm a fan. Was at Leopardstown on Tuesday and wasn't at all surprised afterwards to see the figures well up on 2009. The place was jammers. People obviously still need a day put when the weather is reasonable at Christmas.
 
We were told at our last staff briefing at Fontwell Park that this year (2012) they'll be dropping their entrance prices down to a tenner for most meetings. It's already a very popular course, with two enclosures. I'm not sure if they'll go to one enclosure, as this would save on staffing costs in keeping one side from t'other, but it's an interesting development when I heard at the latest staff briefing at Lingfield that they plan to put them UP!
 
Back
Top