Why cap the crowd for Champions Day ?

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Ardross

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Can anyone explain why the crowd for the event that will apparently save British racing has been capped at 30,000 - that is 10,000 less than Queen Anne day let alone the Golden Jubilee .

It couldn't be they want to call a half full Ascot a sell out for puff purposes by any chance ?
 
Is that the on-the-gate take, Ardross? In other words, the walk-ups. They might already have their hospitality boxes full and have sold thousands of pre-paid badges (which get sent out to the racegoers), and that's what they can take in on the gates on the day. They will have an upper security limit and maybe that will represent it combined with the previously-booked tickets. Don't know, of course, just conjecturing, but that might be it. Unless that's including everyone - hospitality, pre-paids, annual members and walk-ups. In that case, it's rather odd.
 
Where did you get your info from Ardross? Sounds like an odd move and one that would be at odds with their generally stated intentions.
 
Ardross said:
Can anyone explain why the crowd for the event that will apparently save British racing has been capped at 30,000/QUOTE]

They may not get that for an entirely cosmetic "championship" meeting. I won't be going out of protest, but I suppose others will.

I hope I'm wrong about this, but it seems to me the pattern is being damaged.
Click to expand...
 
It was ill-conceived from the beginning. But maybe, just maybe, they'll get away with it... People tend to have short memories and quickly adjust to change whether for good or ill.
 
The Ascot meeting two weeks before now looks very lame indeed when you look at their website . There is an extra meeting on the same day at Newmarket for the two big sales races .

The whole end of the season has been mucked up.
 
I've lost track of who or what drove these changes - was it Racing for Change, the BHA itself, or the racecourses' management? What's been the reaction of trainers to the differences - good/don't care/not good?
 
Indeed, the bright (I use "bright" loosely) sparks at Racing For [the sake of] Change get the 'credit'.
 
Its main purpose seems to be to give Rod Street a job out of Northern Racing. Someone I consider to be a salesman, end of.
 
Frankel shows exactly why running the QEII and Champion on the same day is such an idiotic thing to do as I mentioned on another thread .

They have added to its naffness by renaming the Jockey Club Cup and Diadem - the Long Distance Cup and the British Champions Sprint - pathetic attempt to ape the Breeders Cup - who makes these brain dead decisions?
 
I'll give you one guess...

It's presumably to make racing "more accessible" in understanding what races are than keeping historical names. I fully expect the Derby to become the "3 y.o. colt champeenship" in due course and the Oaks to be renamed "Girls Only", with pink saddlecloths mandatory in case you didn't geddit.
 
I filled out a survey of theirs the other day. If they bother to read it (and others like it) they wouldn't be as self-satisfied as they appear to be.
 
I would guess that by October the many temporary structures that are erected for Royal Ascot will have been taken down and so they are unable to accommodate the sheer numbers that they can for the Royal meeting.
 
That could be a good possibility, Shadz. The marquee Lingfield hired for last Saturday's Royal Mail hospitality bash (around 700 people) cost £10,000 to hire, erect, and take away, so if you multiply that by the amount of marquees the course has been using, they've possibly done the maths and figured it wouldn't show a great deal in profit, if any.
 
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