Sandown Thursday

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I thought it wasn't too bad a card,it was a much better card than Thursday (which was really poor),but as Thursdays was a reciprocal from Plumpton and is my local I decided to go and quite enjoyed it.

Wouldn't have paid £19 if I'm honest though.

Think we saw a horse of Prescott's that could be running in the Wylie colours in the winter (after it has racked up a sequence over the coming weeks) in Bona Fortuna.

Brighton is one of those courses where the difference between Premier & Grandstand isn't huge so you could get away with paying for Grandstand and not spoil your enjoyment.

Was the first time I'd been there since the heady days when Teddy was running (and winning) there.

Smallish crowd meaning it was easy enough to get around,nice and spacious inside with sofas for racegoers to sit on in the premier enclosure and a big projector screen showing all the days racing.
Not something you see at too many courses.

They also did an offer where anyone who went on Thursday would get reduced admission on Friday.

Don't know if Kri has any ideas how many took up that offer.

I know from looking at their website that they do buy one get free offers and I'm sure they are doing an offer at some of their later meets this season where you can bring a friend for a fiver.

So despite the seemingly very high admission costs relative to the quality of racing there are offers around if you look hard enough.
I think most of the offers are for grandstand rather than premier enclosure though.

I spend yesterday afternoon catching up on my sleep that I hadn't been able to get on Thursday,so couldn't have gone Friday even if I'd wanted to!

Now Kri,what was that job you'd lined up for me at the course!!!!

Speaking of offers,if your name is Charles you can get into Newmarket today for nothing as long as you have proof.
 
Kri,

There is no need to get so defensive, I wasn't criticisng you personally despite your attachment to the course.

I went because I had a friend down South who came to Sandown on Thurs night and we thought we'd go racing on Friday too. That combined with I work down here and had to nip in the office, it seemed a good oportunity to visit a new track. I appreciate there may have been offers on and it's our fault for not looking but people do decide to go racing on a whim.

My issue isn't with the standard of racing (we've all had that debate on other threads) but the discrepancy in prices between the lower standard of racing tracks and the top quality tracks. I know you work at the course but how you can defend a course charging £19 to see animals of that quality when Sandown are charging £20 for Group races I don't know (not to mention the small field sizes at Brighton yesterday). As I say, you wouldn't get Brighton & Hove Albion charging the same as Chelsea on a Saturday afternoon so why is horse racing different? The horses you named aren't in the same league as the ones running at Sandown on Thurs night.

I'll happily give Brighton a miss in future and head up to Sandown and give them my £20!
 
Gamla, I don't mind if you do criticise me - although it'd be a bit pointless as I don't make the marketing decisions (if I did, I'd follow Jason Weaver's suggestion to the new manager of a fiver for a race card, which gets you in, full stop!), but there's little point to going on about quality versus entrance fees when you can just decide not to go. It's like betting - what's the point in people moaning about a horse's price, when they're not forced to back it?

You're making the distinction here between people who only think they want to pay to see quality animals all the time, and the larger majority who want to have a nice day out and wouldn't have a clue about ratings, race classes, or whatever. If you wanted to look at the horses with an eye to their future, as Arkwright did, you'd consider your £19 quite well spent. We had a number of shrewdies (betting-wise) there for just that purpose. Brighton came up GF, hence the small field sizes, but, if you know your track at all, you'll know that it doesn't attract big fields, ever. You know - or you should know, as you go racing often enough - that it's a specialised track which never comes up Soft, due to its chalk base and very light top cover of grass. You should also know, as a racing aficionado, that it won't attract rangy, long-striding horses, or those which don't like a tricky course. Its C's and CD's were out in plenty and they love it - hundreds of horses (and even jockeys) don't. Thus, you pay to see horses which will produce fairly-run races, or to see (as I said) debut or very new 2 y.o.'s with an eye to the future.

Arkers, yes, BONA FORTUNA did it very well, surprisingly, I felt, for a very tall horse. Equally surprisingly was that he didn't become unbalanced, although THL Cheryl, repping for the yard, was called to the stewards to explain the sudden turn from 000 to a rather comfortable 1st. I'd have thought just pointing to the trainer's name would've explained that!

Going back to Gamla's complaint - you pay the same to watch poor horses at Plumpton and Fontwell, gaffs which stage one quality meeting per NH season. But thousands do go and love these courses to bits. As Arkwright says, there are plenty of offers to be had if you go bother to go online, or ask the course a day or two before. The walk-up price is always the most expensive option at any course. You seem to overlook course loyalty by regular attendees, the fact that the ones I've mentioned are so easy to get around, and that they don't charge 5 X the usual for food and drink just because they've got a 'name'.
 
All valid points Kri but the fact remains that there is no justification for charging people the same price as Sandown for on the day Premier entrance.

The ignorance of the paying customers is not an excuse for over-charging. I'm sure if you explained to the majority of customers that they were getting over charged in comparison for the quality of racing they were watching, they'd be pretty unimpressed.

I wasn't targetting my complaint at you personally in the first place, it was a general point about the gulf in prices between courses of differing quality, you personally chose to address it as you have a connection with the course.
 
Gamla Stan said:
All valid points Kri but the fact remains that there is no justification for charging people the same price as Sandown for on the day Premier entrance.

The ignorance of the paying customers is not an excuse for over-charging. I'm sure if you explained to the majority of customers that they were getting over charged in comparison for the quality of racing they were watching, they'd be pretty unimpressed.

I wasn't targetting my complaint at you personally in the first place, it was a general point about the gulf in prices between courses of differing quality, you personally chose to address it as you have a connection with the course.
Click to expand...

isn't it similar with football though..ie similar price whether premiership or less.

to be fair..people aren't bothered as said about quality..its a day out to average racegoer..obviously the horses need to be able to run more than 15mph..which i'm sure most do :)
 
I have a 'connection' (I'm just a raceday oik, don't forget - of no consequence at all) to Lingfield, Plumpton, and occasionally Fontwell, too, but all courses charge what they charge regardless of the 'quality' of the fields, Gamla.

But people don't view the quality of horses in the same way as they do their suits or shoes: you know that if you pay £3 for a tee-shirt from Primark, it isn't going to be the same quality as a Turnbull & Asser shirt 'from' £75. If you want to amuse yourself and get out a clipboard and canvass the racegoing public on any day, the issue is very definitely not whether so-and-so is rated 140 or 40 - it's about having a fun flutter, an enjoyable bit of banter and fun with friends, or getting half off your face in hospitality, whatever. It is only the likes of - can I say this in a genuinely not critical way? - anoraky forums like this, where we equate an entrance fee with the quality of the horse. And even then, a whole load of us would not be physically attending meetings, anyway. There are loads of people even on here who, unless they have a piece or all of a horse running, never go racing. For example, Songsheet breeds 'em, but I reckon she might go just once a year, if she can find the time! Desert Orchid might find his way to Ayr once or twice a year, yet he punts all the time. You can work the system from home if you're a serious punter, or through your mobile.

Believe me, the people you see at Sandown Park this summer are going for their music nights and the entertainment of racing, not fretting that their £15 or £25 bought then only Class 4 nags, not Class 1. I daresay you won't be interested in staying on for the groups and firework displays or whatever they've got planned, because you consider yourself a 'serious' racegoer. But you would be in the minority.

As for Brighton, its Firm ground and trickiness dictates small fields, which, in turn, see very small crowds. The days when people lined both sides of the straight are well gone - people have the delights of Asda and Homebase, DHS Furniture with its permanent 50% off sale, plus cosy viewing at home of re-runs of Das Boot and a thousand other things to choose from. Sandown will attract much bigger crowds because it offers much bigger fields - being a much more manageable track from the Clerk and the horses' points of view - and offering dozens of food and drink choices. Brighton is tiny, constrained geographically into a very small and finite space. It attracts a loyal crowd but it will never see more than 5,000 again, since that's its maximum capacity. It attracts the person seeing the racing as part of the fun of being at the seaside - serious punters will be elsewhere, or on their mobiles or laptops. And, frankly, £20 these days for entrance to anything isn't that high - an average meal in Brighton at an ordinary bistro or pub will set you back £12-15 for one main dish. Add on a starter and a couple of drinks, and a very ordinary lunch or dinner sees off £30 without any trouble at all. Go somewhere smarter, and double that. It's not a cheap city.
 
It's not only the standard of racing though Kri, it's also the facilities. Brighton is a tidy small track and there's nothing wrong with the facilities but Sandown is a much bigger course with more choice of eateries and bars not to mention a much roomier and more attractive parade ring and better viewing.

The difference in admission charges simply doesn't reflect the difference in the overall experience.
 
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