What Was The Point
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- Start date
rorydelargy
At the Start
To reschedule a major race, these parties must successfully address a number of issues within extremely tight timelines and an absence of support from just one of these parties may jeopardise the entire process.
1. IS THE RACE WORTHY OF RESCHEDULING?
When a major race is lost to the weather, the first question that is asked is whether the race is sufficiently important to render it worth rescheduling. This involves consideration of factors such as:
Conversely, high class Handicap races generally have less long term significance (albeit that their prize money can match or even exceed the levels associated with a Pattern race) and are also programmed far more frequently.
2. IS THERE A FORTHCOMING FIXTURE AT WHICH THE RESCHEDULED RACE COULD BE STAGED?
As well as there being the obvious logistical issues associated with staging an additional fixture at very short notice, with no 'criteria gaps' in the fixture list, it is usually only commercially viable to stage a rescheduled race at a fixture that is already scheduled.
In attempting to identify a possible venue, factors that are taken into consideration include:
Discussions also take place at this stage with the possible venues for the rescheduled race to ascertain whether they would be prepared to stage the race at its existing fixture; racecourses generally react positively to such proposals.
3. IS THE NECESSARY FUNDING AVAILABLE TO STAGE THE RACE AT THE ALTERNATIVE VENUE?
The biggest hurdle to overcome when rescheduling a major race invariably relates to securing sufficient funding. In order to get the race run, a pragmatic approach often has to be adopted when determining the prize money value at which the rescheduled event is to be staged.
Regrettably this may involve an amount below the minimum value for the particular class of race. However, there is clearly a level below which the prize money on offer would be so low that the race is no longer viable.
The original racecourse inevitably makes no contribution if the race is subsequently restaged elsewhere, whilst the new venue is unlikely to be in a position to provide any support itself. Hence, the largest single contribution to the prize money (i.e. from the hosting racecourse) is reduced to nothing.
The position of the race sponsor varies, with some sponsors agreeing to retain their support for the race at the new venue, albeit sometimes at a reduced level. For most organisations, this is a commercially based decision and will be affected by factors such as:
Owners’ stakes are also likely to be significantly reduced; the standard treatment in Group 1/Grade 1 races is to refund the stakes of those horses which opt not to enter the rescheduled race and, in the event of reduced prize money, to refund an appropriate percentage of stakes paid by those that are entered. In other races, the original stakes for all horses are generally refunded with the entrants for the new race charged a reduced stake (in line with the reduced prize money).
To reschedule the race, it is therefore usually imperative that the Levy Board provides additional funding to the new venue. This is not a straightforward decision for the Levy Board as this may require providing significantly greater support than will be generated in levy by the race itself, especially if it does not prove possible for the race to appear on terrestrial television.
In summary, rescheduling major races is hugely dependent on the ability to raise enough finance to support the race. Without a significant Development Fund to support this process, this usually comes down to the attitude of the Levy Board and race sponsors, and the absence of sufficient support from one, or both, of these parties can make the process unviable.
4. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
Ensuring that as many people as possible can see the rescheduled race means that, ideally, it would be covered by terrestrial television. As explained above, this can also assist the funding-related challenges by encouraging sponsors to maintain their involvement.
It must be recognised, however, that this objective has to be considered alongside the various factors already mentioned, not least the plans of connections and the willingness, or likely ability, of other racecourses to stage the race. We also need to be aware of the likelihood of prevailing weather conditions causing the loss of other significant upcoming Pattern races and how this might impact on our rescheduling plans.
A related issue is that television schedules may dictate that the rescheduled race could only be televised if coverage of an existing race is dropped. This can have implications for a racecourse and its relationship with an existing sponsor (who expects, or has contracted, to have their race covered on television), and, therefore, can impact upon the racecourse’s willingness, or ability, to stage an additional race.
A separate issue that is sometimes relevant relates to the availability of the leading riders as rescheduling a race at a meeting when the major jockeys are elsewhere may impact upon connections willingness to run their horses.
It is worth noting that Rule F(11), which we introduced in January 2009, now enables an existing race to be cancelled and replaced with a rescheduled race if considered to be in the interests of the sport. This may be necessary if, for example, the racecourse would not have sufficient stabling capacity to facilitate extra races and/or simply would not have the time to stage extra races in addition to their originally scheduled programme. This option, however, should be seen as a last resort.
1. IS THE RACE WORTHY OF RESCHEDULING?
When a major race is lost to the weather, the first question that is asked is whether the race is sufficiently important to render it worth rescheduling. This involves consideration of factors such as:
- The longer-term significance of the race
- The strength of runners in the original race
- Whether alternative options already exist in the near future for the affected horses.
Conversely, high class Handicap races generally have less long term significance (albeit that their prize money can match or even exceed the levels associated with a Pattern race) and are also programmed far more frequently.
2. IS THERE A FORTHCOMING FIXTURE AT WHICH THE RESCHEDULED RACE COULD BE STAGED?
As well as there being the obvious logistical issues associated with staging an additional fixture at very short notice, with no 'criteria gaps' in the fixture list, it is usually only commercially viable to stage a rescheduled race at a fixture that is already scheduled.
In attempting to identify a possible venue, factors that are taken into consideration include:
- Suitability of the racecourse for staging the race including similarity with the original venue (flat/undulating, left-handed/right-handed)
- Date of the fixture (i.e. proximity to original race)
- Weather forecasts and likely ground conditions
Discussions also take place at this stage with the possible venues for the rescheduled race to ascertain whether they would be prepared to stage the race at its existing fixture; racecourses generally react positively to such proposals.
3. IS THE NECESSARY FUNDING AVAILABLE TO STAGE THE RACE AT THE ALTERNATIVE VENUE?
The biggest hurdle to overcome when rescheduling a major race invariably relates to securing sufficient funding. In order to get the race run, a pragmatic approach often has to be adopted when determining the prize money value at which the rescheduled event is to be staged.
Regrettably this may involve an amount below the minimum value for the particular class of race. However, there is clearly a level below which the prize money on offer would be so low that the race is no longer viable.
The original racecourse inevitably makes no contribution if the race is subsequently restaged elsewhere, whilst the new venue is unlikely to be in a position to provide any support itself. Hence, the largest single contribution to the prize money (i.e. from the hosting racecourse) is reduced to nothing.
The position of the race sponsor varies, with some sponsors agreeing to retain their support for the race at the new venue, albeit sometimes at a reduced level. For most organisations, this is a commercially based decision and will be affected by factors such as:
- Whether the rescheduled race will be televised.
- Whether the sponsor would still be able to entertain its invited clients at the rescheduled event.
- The identity of existing sponsors at the fixture – this can be particularly significant, for example, if a race originally sponsored by a bookmaker is moved to a fixture that is already sponsored by another bookmaker.
Owners’ stakes are also likely to be significantly reduced; the standard treatment in Group 1/Grade 1 races is to refund the stakes of those horses which opt not to enter the rescheduled race and, in the event of reduced prize money, to refund an appropriate percentage of stakes paid by those that are entered. In other races, the original stakes for all horses are generally refunded with the entrants for the new race charged a reduced stake (in line with the reduced prize money).
To reschedule the race, it is therefore usually imperative that the Levy Board provides additional funding to the new venue. This is not a straightforward decision for the Levy Board as this may require providing significantly greater support than will be generated in levy by the race itself, especially if it does not prove possible for the race to appear on terrestrial television.
In summary, rescheduling major races is hugely dependent on the ability to raise enough finance to support the race. Without a significant Development Fund to support this process, this usually comes down to the attitude of the Levy Board and race sponsors, and the absence of sufficient support from one, or both, of these parties can make the process unviable.
4. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
Ensuring that as many people as possible can see the rescheduled race means that, ideally, it would be covered by terrestrial television. As explained above, this can also assist the funding-related challenges by encouraging sponsors to maintain their involvement.
It must be recognised, however, that this objective has to be considered alongside the various factors already mentioned, not least the plans of connections and the willingness, or likely ability, of other racecourses to stage the race. We also need to be aware of the likelihood of prevailing weather conditions causing the loss of other significant upcoming Pattern races and how this might impact on our rescheduling plans.
A related issue is that television schedules may dictate that the rescheduled race could only be televised if coverage of an existing race is dropped. This can have implications for a racecourse and its relationship with an existing sponsor (who expects, or has contracted, to have their race covered on television), and, therefore, can impact upon the racecourse’s willingness, or ability, to stage an additional race.
A separate issue that is sometimes relevant relates to the availability of the leading riders as rescheduling a race at a meeting when the major jockeys are elsewhere may impact upon connections willingness to run their horses.
It is worth noting that Rule F(11), which we introduced in January 2009, now enables an existing race to be cancelled and replaced with a rescheduled race if considered to be in the interests of the sport. This may be necessary if, for example, the racecourse would not have sufficient stabling capacity to facilitate extra races and/or simply would not have the time to stage extra races in addition to their originally scheduled programme. This option, however, should be seen as a last resort.
Sheikh
At the Start
No biggy than Rory 
rorydelargy
At the Start
Someone had asked a question about criteria for rearranging races on TRF, so thought I'd put the research I'd done there to some use!No biggy than Rory
montyracing2
At the Start
Rory, whilst not wishing to denigrate your comprehensive analysis in any way (even your use of the english language is above criticism), I did notice that 'Other considerations' did not include a 'henderson' effect as construed by Gally.
Is this an oversight?
MR2
Is this an oversight?
MR2
rorydelargy
At the Start
ROFL!
The words are those of Ruth Quinn, taken from her BHA Blog. Didn't mean them to look like some Warbleresque style rambling from me
I'm glad Punjabi is getting a run into him, whatever the circumstances. You can work them at home all you like, but there is no substitute for an actual race. So this is I guess the point of it. It should hopefully put Punjabi right for the big one and leave him with a chance of retaining his crown. I think we would all like to see the winner of the Champion Hurdle win on merit rather than default and whatever you think about Punjabi's chances he sets the standard they have to beat.
Turtle's fan
At the Start
Hey: don't care. Off to Kempton tomorrow and will have good, hard look at Punjabi. And will do 'something' else 
Good luck one and all.
Good luck one and all.
Punjabi has had numerous opportunities to run on the track but for his trainer not wanting to clash his horses or not travelling to Ireland. It is hardly as they there are a shortless of races for 2 mile hurdlers.
Irish Stamp
Forum Moderator
Is this a re-scheduled race or a completely new one?
As Gal says there's been plenty of opportunities for Punjabi to run - his stablemates have taken on less than 10 runners between them in their two prep runs.
As Gal says there's been plenty of opportunities for Punjabi to run - his stablemates have taken on less than 10 runners between them in their two prep runs.
Thank you Rory, good to know the reasoning behind various decisions.
It was new race, scheduled to replace that which was lost. Punjabi will no doubt have benefitted greatly from that and now looks to have as good a chance as anything in two weeks time. I'm delighted he had this opportunity.
Irish Stamp
Forum Moderator
Thanks Steve
Shadow Leader
At the Start
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- Nov 9, 2003
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It was a Nicky Henderson benefit race, staged purely so that he could run Punjabi in a race where he wouldn't encounter any of his stablemates, or another serious challenge, or have to travel to Ireland, or.....[fill in as applicable]