ALL THE INDICATORS SUGGEST…….
Mar 4th, 2007 by admin
All the indicators suggest that human nature and the achievement of earthly bliss (or anything even remotely resembling same) are incompatible – or do I mean mutually exclusive? – because of a mathematical anomaly. Spell it out? Certainly: there are infinitely more saints in the world than sinners, and yet…… and yet any time a space traveller approaches Earth and asks his pilot, “Who’s winning down there?” the answer is always the same: “The bastards!”
So far nobody has been able to work out why this is so, [actually I have been able to come up with an explanation, but it is so depressing that I have decided to keep it to myself for now], and nobody has been able to change things though many very big names have tried. Nevertheless this disgraceful imbalance must be fought tooth and nail and for ever, but not all the time. It is a reason for concern, and one should be concerned, but if one became obsessed one would go mad.
Besides, we who dote on sport of various types have access to a little oasis in an otherwise harsh environment; an oasis where the odds are not so blatantly loaded in favour of those with neither morals nor scruples. There we can find much to enjoy, and there we can build up the strength we will certainly need to continue fighting the good fight.
As the thoroughbred horse is a thing of great beauty, and a thoroughly virtuous beast (most of the time), racing will be our staple diet.
And if the world outside sport becomes so unpalatable that one cannot help noticing, we will give those responsible the benefit of our advice. And on the odd occasions when Sport’s bad eggs (even racing has a few, often lurking in the most unexpected places)…. when Sport’s bad eggs poison the atmosphere, they will be called to account.
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(Aintree, Friday)
I saw one big-field race yesterday (the Fox Hunters I think it was). The close-formation did it, the mood it encouraged was one of discomfort for both horses and riders.…
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NEMESIS ( Aintree Thu, Fri, Sat)
At present all runners in big-field races congregate in the Start Area (quite close to the Starting Gate) There the Starting Team organise the horses into “close order” and send…
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Cheltenham Blues: I told you so
I told you that starting large fields under NH rules under present arrangements in Britain was impossible and that Cheltenham 2025 would prove the point. It did. It proved that…
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SPORT 139 August 2024
I understand that the the profits accruing from British racing and betting cannot be shared between the two industries on a friendly basis because there isn’t enough money (and/or good…
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SPORT 138 (August 2023) TIME OUT
It is the 7th August 2023 and I am now intending to publish every two months unless the pattern of life suggests otherwise (which it may). Let me sum up…
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Sport 137 May 6 2023
Coronation Day I thought I would make a list of all the things that worry me about racing’s health. We have a new king, let’s have a new look at…
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SPORT 136 APRIL 1st 2023
STARTING What did the winning jockey report to the press after the Cheltenham Gold Cup? “I thought the start was a bit of a joke, to be honest, for a…
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SPORT 135 JANUARY 2023
Onwards & Upwards for British Racing Before we forget, let us remind ourselves of the unfortunate baggage which we take with us into the future. 1. The whip debate Fact…
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SPORT 134 (December 4th 2022)
26th November, Newbury, the Coral Cup, £142,375 to the winner, 15 runners, and all hell broke out at the start, which was False-Started about three times (more than twice anyway)…
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SPORT 133 (1 SEPTEMBER 2022)
Prize-money: This section is based on an excellent Jonathan Harding article in the Racing Post. in which he compares prize-money funding models around the globe. I quote: ”Prize-money is…
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SPORT 132 (1ST AUGUST 2022)
WHIP In my July contribution I explained that British Racing has nothing to fear from the anti-whip faction because the BHA knows perfectly well that the padded whip now in…
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SPORT 131 (JULY 1 2022)
The Bigger Picture My reaction to Joe Saumarez Smith’s appointment as Interim Chairman of the BHA was fairly lukewarm. The fact that he was a long-time BHA insider counted against…
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SPORT 130 (1ST JUNE 2022)
Owing to the state of my Information Technology I cannot provide my usual critique of the facts of life in Britain’s Racing Industry. This is a good thing: I have…
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SPORT 129 (13 MAY 2022)
SPORT 129 This is a mid-month update, because events are beginning to run away from me and weaknesses in my IT technology has let me down bigtime. More likely I …
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SPORT 128 (APRIL FOOLS DAY 2022)
CHELTENHAM Tuesday: 3 False Starts Wednesday: 3 False Starts The starters’ team adopted emergency tactics for the three big-field-races on Thursday. The first stage was to send the Rolling Maul…
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SPORT 127 (MARCH 1 2022)
has bitten the dust AS A RESULT OF your editor’s incompetence with regard to usernames and passwords. Just now Windows Live Mail isn’t very pleased with me; nor is g-mail.…
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SPORT 126 (2ND FEB. 2022)
PARTIES The two battles of El Alamein (in 1942) were preceded by several months of high tension as Rommel waited for more petrol from Italy and Montgomery for better…
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SPORT 125 (1ST JAN 2022)
In terms of British Racing, it is impossible to say Happy New Year because there are so many imponderables and uncertainties, plus an overload recently of the sewage which the…
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SPORT 124 (3RD Dec 2021)
INTERFERENCE A month ago, at a hearing conducted by the BHA’s Independent Judiciary, Mr John Berry (racehorse trainer) gave a masterclass on the Interference Rules and their application (See SPORT…
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SPORT 123 (NOV 3 2021)
SPORT 123 (3RDND NOVEMBER 2021) I cannot resist the temptation to make use – in a good cause – of a wonderful bit of writing by the Racing Post’s Chris…
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SPORT 121 (1ST OCT 2021)
I quote from September’s SPORT 120: The House of Commons for example used to treat the difficult relationship between Racing and Betting as a rather charming facet of the British…
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SPORT 120 (September 1st 2021)
Lingfield, UB40 Concert after racing, a fight. There is a view that if the racecourses will make themselves more interesting they will attract bigger crowds and allow the management to…
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SPORT 119 (2 AUGUST 2021)
Stewarding Paul Struthers, the Chief Executive of the Professional Jockeys Association (PJA), recently wrote the following in the Racing Post, in the debate concerning the cooperation (or lack of same)…
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SPORT 118 (1ST JULY 2021)
A War Zone Early in the month of June I took part in a healthy exchange of views with a high-ranking member of the BHA’s top table. We agreed that…
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SPORT 116 (MAY 2 2021)
SPORT 116 (1ST MAY 2021.) Not so long ago Mr Rust (BHA Chief Exec) and Mrs Phelps (BHA Chairperson) announced that the Kingsclere Apprentice Academy was violating human rights, because…
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SPORT 115 (02 APRIL 2021)
MUSHROOMS Once upon a time, one of the ultimate pleasures was watching horses work up on the gallops and returning to breakfast with a hatful of large flat mushrooms which…
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SPORT 114 (2ND MARCH 2021
SPORT 114 (March 2nd 2021) STARTING Today, March 2nd, is the 17th Anniversary of the letter I received from the Senior Steward of the Jockey Club in response to a…
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SPORT 113 (FEB 1 2021)
SPORT 113 PRINCE KHALID Prince Khalid Abdullah was a prince in more senses than one. So was the man who introduced him to the top level of British racing,…
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SPORT 112 (1 JAN 2021)
KING GEORGE VI CHASE, KEMPTON PARK, BOXING DAY The ground (good to soft, officially) played a major part in the way things turned out. Bryony Frost and Frodon set a…
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SPORT 111 (DEC 1 2020)
FENCES On the subject of riding over fences, here are two quotations from the best book ever written about horseracing, “Men and Horses I have known,” by George Lambton. Reminiscing…
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SPORT 110 (1 November 2020)
REFLECTION This virus is hell, but it gives one time to reflect. I reflect on the subject of the BHA. For the last sixty years this organisation has been claiming…
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SPORT 109 (1 oct 2020)
RACING AND THE VIRUS In my opinion, Racing has responded to the virus in a manner that is exciting and remarkable and a delight for anyone who holds the sport…
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SPORT 108
MORE THAN A TRIPLE CROWN In the spring of 2014 California Chrome won the first two legs in America’s Triple Crown, and finished 4th in the Belmont (the third leg).…
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SPORT 107 (1ST AUGUST 2020)
NO SILVER BULLET I take this opportunity to flog a dead horse, because it refuses to give up the ghost. It seems to be impossible to stop otherwise intelligent people…
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SPORT 106 (1 JULY 2020)
HOT STUFF Richard Forristal’s brilliant account of the Irish 2000 Guineas (Racing Post, Friday, 12th June) should be read in full and cherished indefinitely. I quote Mr Forristal: “Social distancing…
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SPORT 105 (1st JUNE 2020)
RESUMPTION (OF RACING) If the BHA has prepared a resumption plan that will work, it has done well. If it has decided to factor in the greatest good for the…
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SPORT 104: 1ST MAY 2020
Here is something that I note with more than passing interest: Racing Post 26th April 2020. Henrietta Knight: Questions and answers. “If you could change one rule in racing what…
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SPORT 103 (31ST MARCH)
SPORT 103 A GLANCE AT THE Stewards Report for the Betfair Hurdle, Newbury 8th February and one finds the by-now-normal verdict: “Having reviewed recordings of the false start the starters…
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CORONAVIRUS 1
CORONAVIRUS 1 In 1914 racing was stopped by the government because of WW1, and then resumed on a limited scale in response to public opinion. It turned out that the…
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SPORT 102 (1ST MARCH 2020)
Apprentice pay changes I understand that the new arrangements come into force at the beginning of the 2020 Flat season. Just about now, I imagine. The BHA was asked to…
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SPORT 101 (1 FEB 2020)
CEO, CIAO Nick Rust has announced that he will step down from his position as CEO of the BHA at the end of 2020. He got good reviews from all…
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SPORT 100: JAN 1 2020
BORIS I am delighted with Boris’s performance. At last a Prime Minister with brain and guts, and someone who isn’t in politics for the money. Such a pleasant change from…
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APPRENTICES (22 DEC 2019)
APPRENTICES Andrew Balding’s Kingsclere yard is a highly successful racing stable, and also an educational establishment for apprentice jockeys which has spent 60 years getting better and better (first under…
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SPORT 99 (1 DEC 2019)
XMAS LITERATURE There are certain books that transport the reader into a different world, but they are few and far between. Very few and far between, hence rare and precious.…
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SPORT 98
No horse that does what Diego du Charmil did to Capeland can keep the race involved. Never. The fact that steward Simon Cowley takes a different view is irrelevant (except…
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SPORT 97 (1 NOV 2019)
L’Arc de Triomphe The three horses who led into the final straight all fell away as the lactic acid paralysed their straining muscles. This left Enable in front and she…
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SPORT 96 (2ND OCTOBER 2019)
RULES OF RACING: Procedures and Penalties. 4. THE WHIP. Notes on Penalties; Rule (F) 45 (I have done my best to make what follows interesting…even exciting… and hopefully correct. A.S.)…
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SPORT 95 (SEPTEMBER 1 2019)
CATCH-UP TIME You will doubtless remember the angry letter to the Racing Post, signed by ex-trainer Knight (Best Mate), ex-trainer Egerton & current trainer Channon. It castigated the BHA in…
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SPORT 94 (1 AUGUST 2019)
WHIP The brothers Jim and Frank Mahon, the Stewards of the Jockey Club, Lord Oaksey, John Hislop, Nick Skelton, Wally Swinburn, Sir Peter O’Sullevan – all good people – combined…
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SPORT 93 (JULY 1 2019)
Thought Number 1: If the Ascot Authority could be persuaded to take over from the BHA, British racing’s problems would be solved – just like that. Wishful thinking? Certainly. As…
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SPORT 92 (1ST JUNE 2019)
Ruby Walsh I was reprimanded for not saying nice things about Ruby Walsh’s retirement in the May issue. Let me fill that gaping and possibly disgraceful vacuum twice over.…
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SPORT 91 (2 MAY 2019)
If I were to write a letter to Mrs Phelps, who becomes Chairperson of the BHA on June 1st, it would go something like this: Dear Mrs Phelps, Prepare for…
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SPORT 90 (APRIL 5 2019)
Here’s something even more irritating than Theresa May. You point out to the BHA that big-field jump races (approx. 15 runners or more) are started in a most peculiar manner…
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SPORT 89 (MARCH 1 2019)
More horsemen on the BHA Board? Interesting, but fraught with a considerable difficulty. Something to do with consensual decision-making. It means that if a board member does not agree with…
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SPORT 88 (FEB 1 2019)
More Whip Furore? I hope not. The padded whip is the finest contribution to Animal Welfare ever created, and was produced by British Racing. It is now a worldwide winner.…
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POST 87 (3RD JAN 2019)
I am looking at a BHA publication entitled “2017-19 Business Plan (Update for 2019)”. Pages 1 and 2 tell me that Racing is under threat and in peril and can…
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SPORT 86 (4TH DEC 2018)
Reading a Bill Barber article in the Racing Post (6 September 2018) I came across the following: “Concerns over the Harman issue have led some of the BHA’s shareholders to…
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SPORT 85 (3RD OCTOBER 2018)
BREXIT When the referendum happened, sane people had every reason to think that life as we knew it was a thing of the past, but few would have imagined that…
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SPORT 84 (1ST SEPTEMBER 2018)
SPORT 84 STEWARDING Recently the BHA unveiled its new stewarding model (due to be introduced later this year). It is based on what is described as a “one team” philosophy.…
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SPORT 83 (1ST AUGUST 2018)
March 10, 2018, Sandown Park: the Imperial Cup Handicap Hurdle Race. An extreme example of dangerous riding. The aggressor horse, on its way to winning the race by a neck,…
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SPORT 82 (2nd JULY 2018)
MORNING GLORY Several weeks ago there was a reference in the excellent RP to “morning glories”, a term which describes horses that eat up the ground at an amazing…
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SPORT 81 (1 JUNE 2018)
GIRL POWER Hayley Moore arrested the galloping “Give Em a Clump” at Chepstow in a manner that reminds one how very “equal” racing’s females really are. I cannot remember seeing…
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SPORT 80 (May 1st 2018)
How well I remember…. Last Saturday at Sandown…. the 3.35, the Bet365 Gold Cup (3miles, five furlongs, over many fences so cunningly positioned that untalented jumpers would be well advised…
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SPORT 79 (2 APRIL 2018)
THE IMPERIAL CUP March 10th, Sandown Park, the Imperial Cup Handicap Hurdle Race was the most extreme example of dangerous riding I have seen for some time, and the Stewards…
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THE REVIEW
RACING POST, 17th December 2017 Andrew Simpson, a regular contributor to the Racing Post’s letters page, who worked for Jeremy Tree and Toby Balding in days of yore, is no…
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SPORT 78 (1ST MARCH 2018)
FEMALE JOCKEYS Much talk in recent months about the ladies: lack of opportunities…. should be encouraged…. should be given weight allowances….. men are so unkind, etc. I claim a miniscule…
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SPORT 77 (1ST FEB 2018)
ITV ITV Racing has much to be proud of, (Ed, Oli, Rishi, Hayley, Luke, Jason…. that’s enough pride) but in the entertainment business (especially the sporting entertainment business) you cannot…
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SPORT 76 (JAN 1 2018)
PROHIBITED SUBSTANCES “The rules are clear that it’s the trainer’s responsibility to prevent horses taking part in our sport with prohibited substances in their system.” That used to be the…
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SPORT 75 (4TH DEC 2017)
GRUMBLES Raul da Silva helps a problem horse enter the stalls peacefully and gets penalised. That’s what happens when the people calling the shots know nothing about horse management and…
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SPORT 74 (NOV 1 2017)
Self-certification. Might it not be a good idea to run the BHA computer across the figures already collected, in a scan that will pinpoint the instances when a withdrawal (or…
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SPORT 73 (OCTOBER 1 2017)
CROWD CONTROL We at Donec have reservations about the notion that every sort of person should be encouraged to go racing, including people who aren’t particularly interested in the sport,…
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SPORT 72 (1 SEPT 2017)
The 28 days are up; a new chapter is added to the Donec archive, and no trace of vandalism or graffito is to be seen. All my own work, unless…
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SPORT 71 (2 AUGUST 2017)
THE WHIP “There is currently a legitimate role for the whip in racing” the BHA announced recently, and it added that the nature of the modern cushioned whip ensures that…
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SPORT 70 (JULY 1 2017)
DISCIPLINARY Donec welcomes the announcement by the BHA that the changes to the disciplinary system will ensure the future integrity of that system. Donec is not so happy with Mr…
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SPORT 69: 1 JUNE 2017
On Friday 5th May 2017, 26 jockeys involved in the FALSE START at the beginning of April’s Grand National were handed one-day bans by a British Horseracing Authority disciplinary panel.…
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SPORT 68 (3RD MAY 2017)
STARTING April 8th. Grand National. The Start. Total Cock-up. Who was to blame? The BHA. Has the BHA been charged? Good heavens no! 31 jockeys are “on report.” Then silence.…
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SPORT 67: 2 APRIL 2017
OVALTINE? We understand that the developed world has stopped sleeping properly and is consequently malfunctioning. Serious concern has been expressed and much time and money is being devoted to the…
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SPORT 66 (MARCH 1 2017)
Six Nations So far, only Scotland beating Ireland has impressed: witty, intelligent, running rugby, plus heroic defence against a considerably heavier pack. In the second round Scotland never managed to…
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SPORT 65 (FEB 2 2017)
KEMPTON Somewhere in the Kempton Park press release (January 10th 2017) issued by Jockey Club Racecourses (JCR) I find, “The King George VI Chase can be moved to Sandown.” Recently…
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SPORT 64 (JAN 4, 2017)
SPORT 64 AMERICA American politics could make one shudder – but it’s not compulsory. Donec relies on the fact that President-Elect Trump builds golf courses and (one imagines) plays the…
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SPORT 63 (4TH DECEMBER 2016)
RUGBY UNION It is our contention that if, as ten-year-olds, Jonathan Davies, Jerry Guscott, Gareth Edwards, Gerald Davies and Barry John had been taken to an international match played 2016…
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SPORT 62 (6th November 2016)
ANNUAL REVIEW Reflecting on British horseracing in 2016, we find that the horses are of a high standard, as are the stable personnel, the trainers, the jockeys, the owners and…
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SPORT 61 (END OF SEPTEMBER 2016)
THE TOTE I understand that Betfred’s licence, whereby the bookmaking megalith has control of the Tote, comes to an end in the not too distant future and that a new…
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SPORT 60 (End of August 2016)
WISDOM 1 “It is a truth universally acknowledged,” that a military man, in possession of a good fortune and with aspirations in the world of horseracing, must be in want…
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SPORT 59 (END OF JULY 2016)
STARTING In Sport 58 I drew attention to the fact that on the flat (as at the Royal Ascot meeting for example) fields of up to 28 runners enjoy perfect…
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POLITICS 12: SEWER-RAT
Referendum. Madhouse. Cameron opted for a Referendum, which was really stupid, because in a referendum huge numbers of people decide the issue, and huge numbers can’t possibly understand something as…
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SPORT 58 (END OF JUNE 2016)
IT WAS towards the end of April 2016 when the BHA announced a number of new initiatives launched by CEO Nick Rust, which included an urgent review of the way…
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REFERENDUM: NON-REVERSIBLE? WHAT RUBBISH!
If REMAIN wins, Britain can say goodbye any time it feels like. If LEAVE wins, Britain just needs the time to sack its worst enemy (Mr Cameron). Then all avenues…
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SPORT 57 (END OF MAY 2016)
WHIP Recently Donec produced a comprehensive account of the Whip Rule Dilemma, which continues to be problematical. It required more than 800 words. The Donec board decided this might send…
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P0LITICS 11: BREXIT 3 (WARS & RUMOURS)
The Luxembourger (Jean-Claude Juncker, Head of the EU) announces that the EU needs an army. He says that NATO doesn’t cater for all the EU countries. In fact there…
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Politics 10: BREXIT EXPLICIT AS NEVER BEFORE
There is just a chance that the last few weeks have revealed Cameron in his true colours: very stupid (which we knew already) and extremely unpleasant (which we suspected).…
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Politics 9: CAMERON AND EUROPE
It occurs to Donec that a vast number of people are likely to vote LEAVE simply because they cannot stand Cameron. We cannot fault their judgement as regards the man,…
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SPORT 56 (2nd MAY 2016)
EUREKA! I think I may have had one of those moments – a bright light has suddenly flooded an area of darkness. I saw writing on the wall…. Consider the…
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WASTE MANAGEMENT (9TH APRIL 2016)
On Monday 11th April I emailed all my Donec contacts (including the BHA) with a celebratory description of the start of the Aintree Grand National on Saturday 9th April. I…
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SPORT: GRAND NATIONALS 2016 (Aintree and Ayr)
GRAND NATIONAL, AINTREE 9th April 2016 39 runners, close beneath the stands, supposedly in a melting pot, a crucible, and yet somehow quite unaffected (both horses and jockeys) by…
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SPORT 55 (END OF MARCH 2016)
INTEGRITY Adam Brickell’s report into the BHA’s integrity and disciplinary departments is a wonderful development. For years and years there has appeared to be a vacuum at the top of…
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SPORT 54 (2ND MARCH 2016)
HAD TO GET A RUN INTO…. Our racing correspondent writes: There seems to be some correlation between the number of horses injured on the racecourse in recent months and the…
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SPORT 53 (FEBRUARY 2ND 2016)
ABPs Donec’s policy is to entrust its financial observations to someone who knows all about right and wrong but nothing about money. Why? Because accountants are not always to be…
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SPORT 52 (NEW YEAR’S DAY 2016)
Without the PSYCHOLOGY, which turned out to be a trifle too turgid, and can be kept for another day. TINGLE CREEK CHASE, SANDOWN FIFTH DECEMBER, 2015. Sire de Grugy jumps…
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Politics 8: How dangerous is David Cameron?
I can’t help thinking that our Mr Cameron is the most dangerous man in the world, particularly if one is British. I remember with alarming clarity the passion with which…
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SPORT 51 (END OF NOVEMBER 2015)
SPORT 51 LADY JOCKEYS Donec’s oldest operative reminisces: “How well I remember foxhunting in my youth, with three packs in particular, Old Berks, Tedworth, Royal Artillery, and there was another…
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SPORT 50 (END OF OCTOBER 2015)
RACING 1 Here’s something that worries Donec a little bit: Sir Mark Prescott regularly volunteers his prescription for making the whip rules work. He has long been held in awe…
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SPORT 49 (END OF SEPTEMBER 2015)
SIMPLE VERSE AND BONDI BEACH St Leger disqualification Donec’s only written comment in the run-up to the appeal was to express relief at not having to adjudicate. It was a…
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POST 48 (END OF AUGUST 2015)
RICHARD HUGHES RETIRES Once again R. Hughes is ahead of the game. Only now have I had time to collect my thoughts on this extraordinary man. I first became…
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SPORT 47 (END OF JULY 2015)
Re. the CORAL CHARGE (Sandown 4th July), the Racing Post reported that: WIND FIRE ridden by Oisin Murphy “barged through 100 yards out” (finished 2nd to Waady). SPLIT QUARTZ was “badly…
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SPORT 46 (END OF JUNE 2015)
MARIA SHARAPOVA bites the poussiere, well done Serena. In a way I am pleased that my crusade is unnecessary: when I watched the semi final, her screams sounded infinitely less…
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SPORT 45: END of MAY 2015
WHIPPING EXCITES BARONET Sir Mark Prescott is a man for whom I have recently developed a profound admiration. He is very knowledgeable. I have no doubt that he knows all…
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SPORT 44 (A HISTORIC EDITION)
THE ELECTION I first noticed Cameron when he stole Winston’s gift to Racing – the Tote – and sold it to Fred Done. After that I kept a jaundiced eye…
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SPORT 43 (END OF MARCH 2015)
STARTING At Cheltenham the starting was so much better than in previous years. However the present system has an Achilles Heel, which will betray it sooner or later. Flat racing…
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SPORT 42: END OF FEB 2015
PORRIDGE A report from our gourmet: I spoke about porridge in the last outpouring but at that time I was unaware of an extra special delight which can be gleaned…
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SPORT 41 (END OF JAN 2015)
BITTAR Donec regrets Paul Bittar’s resignation and is astonished. Since the 1990s, when Lord Hartington (now the Duke of Devonshire) and Christopher Haines took racing by the scruff of the…
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SPORT 40 (NEW YEAR’S DAY 2015)
Happy New Year! First the very best news CALIFORNIA CHROME In Sport 38 we praised him for finishing third (beaten a head and a neck) in the Breeders Cup Classic,…
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SPORT 39: End of November 2014
MARATHON (Update) I suggested in Sport 38 that you should Google “running form comparison” and notice how Mo Farah takes longer strides than Gebrsellassie and Bikele – longer and therefore…
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SPORT 38.5 (DIRTY WORK AFOOT)
Ex-jockey Graham Bradley served a five year ban (for talking to the wrong people and saying the wrong things for gain) and has since made it clear that he wishes…
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SPORT 38 (END OF OCTOBER 2014)
STARTING UNDER NH RULES Donec returns to this subject reluctantly and with apologies. Needs must, because the signs are ominous. Recently the BHA’s Mr Stier issued a press release to…
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SPORT 37.5 (STARTING UPDATE)
STARTING UPDATE (12th October 2014, 12.43 p.m.) The two-week bedding-in period for the amendments to the starting process under NH rules (with particular reference to large fields) begins tomorrow at…
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SPORT 37 (END OF SEPTEMBER 2014)
GBB Toby Balding, who died recently, trained winners at the highest level. His record is superb. What stopped him from doing even better was his belief that there was more…
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SPORT 36 (End of Aug. 2014)
RACING The prospect of Paul Bittar’s departure from the BHA is a source of great sadness. Before he was even in the hot seat, in 2011, he had taken stock…
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SPORT 35: End of July 2014
STARTING (big fields under NH rules) The sporting world is abuzz with the rumour that the perfect big-field start has not only been seen in Britain, but has actually been…
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SPORT 34 END OF JUNE 2014
C4 Racing – Waving or Drowning? We are looking for reasons why 20 percent less viewers (than last year) watched C4 Racing’s Ascot Gold Cup coverage. Possibly it’s because the…
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SPORT 33: End of May 2014
STARTING The Grand National Fall-Out has yet to hit the ground. A Disciplinary Hearing is due on 11th June. It would be nice to find it applying itself to improving…
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SPORT 32 (End of April 2014)
STARTING I am pleased that chaos (at the start of the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Grand National) has not triggered the kind of knee-jerk reaction that can only make…
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SPORT 31 (End of March 2014)
THE BUDGET. I understand that the recent budget contained provision for a measure requiring offshore bookmakers to contribute towards racing’s finances in the same way as bookmakers based in Britain.…
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MUPDATE 16: February Round-Up
Football A My interest in the round ball game is more than half-hearted, but less than full-on: mainly I confine myself to the Premiership and the pan-European club scene. The…
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Mupdate 15: January Round-Up
John Porter of Kingsclere (1838 -1922) Wikipedia suggests that the great trainer’s father wanted his son to become a lawyer, but his son opted for the turf. When it was…
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MUPDATE 14: December Round-Up
Racing 1 The Starting Jungle is fascinating. On Hennessy day at Newbury the 1.50 was a 17-runner hurdle race. The field came on to the course from the…
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MUPDATE 13 (OCTOBER ROUND-UP)
JUDICIAL REVIEW (PART 2) In my HARD WORDS article (Sport) I suggested that it would not be too late to seek a Judicial Review of the Government’s decision to pocket…
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HARD WORDS
Ten years ago the BHB (British Horseracing Board, as it was called in those days) went to court to establish that the data generated by the racing industry was the…
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MUPDATE 12 (AUG/SEPT ROUND-UP)
The prophet Jeremiah never stopped castigating his fellow men for various shortcomings; to such an extent that quite soon (we’re talking about 600 BC) the average citizen took to the…
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A LETTER TO MR STIER
Dear Mr Stier, During your discussion with Nick Luck on Channel 4 television in July (or was it early August?), you explained your belief that the Rules of Racing concerning…
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Mupdate 11 (July Round-Up)
The Lions The ways of providence never cease to amaze me. A second judicial officer decides that Australian captain James Horwill did nothing wrong when he tap-danced on the upturned…
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FALMOUTH FALL-OUT
Falmouth Stakes, Newmarket. 12th July 2013. (Group 1, £102,078 to winner, £38,700 to the second) PART 1 At the 2-furlong marker, Elusive Kate, ridden by Buick, is galloping close to…
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SIR HENRY CECIL
I never met Henry Cecil. Very, very attractive human beings are rare, and superb trainers are even rarer. To have passed a lifetime not that far away from one who…
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Mupdate 10 (June Round-Up)
Racing Ascot is already a bit of a blur in my memory – there was too much going on, and I was constantly being distracted. My strongest impressions? I suspect…
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General 2: Cameron & Marriage
Here we have a Prime Minister who wishes to encourage, applaud and recommend domestic arrangements between couples of the same sex. Why not? Such arrangements have been common practice and…
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Mupdate 9: May Round-Up
Racing 1. Just before the 2000 Guineas I was interested to hear a C4 voice saying: “There is no parade. The horses go down to the start one by one,…
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SPORT 30: Horse Racing & Animal Welfare – Part 2
I have read with interest the post-Aintree reactions of those most closely concerned with that meeting in general and with the Grand National in particular. I was reminded that the…
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Mupdate 8: April Round-Up
Racing Liverpool Foxhunters and Topham Trophy. In both cases the starts involved two bad practices (close-packed formation and a period of uncomfortable rotation) and both races experienced false starts. Grand…
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Sport 29: THE AINTREE IRONY
What new evidence has Aintree 2013 added to the Great Starting Debate? “Thursday, 3.40 Foxhunters. Large field wandering around at the start, under no form of direction or control. Followed…
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MUPDATE 7 (MARCH)
Racing 2.40 Cheltenham. 12th March.”They’re whizzing round” and “ Such-and-such is sweating buckets.” Two of the comments from C4’s eagle-eyed watchers. Describing the scene,in the holding area, off the course, before…
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Monthly Update 6: February Round-up
Football In view of rugby union’s ongoing “trial” of Television Monitoring of Foul Play (with the power to intervene instantly), it is interesting to see Sepp Blatter bouncing with excitement…
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BBC: Bottom of the Barrel
On the evening of Sunday 17th February the BBC gave us “Problems with Drink,” the finale of its “Blandings” series. This saga first saw the light of day in a…
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BBC v WODEHOUSE: More Foul Play
“BLANDINGS” BBC1 10th February 2013 “Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend” Let the credits roll. Guy Andrews (writer), Spencer Campbell (producer), Paul Seed (director), Michelle Buck and Damien…
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BBC SAVAGES WODEHOUSE
On Sunday evening (Feb 3)) I watched something called “Blandings” on BBC 1. This is based on a book of Wodehouse short stories called “Lord Emsworth Acts for the Best.”…
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Monthly Update 5: January Update
Racing Saturday 26th January saw the return of top class NH racing and another chance for the new look C4 TV to make an impression. This all came together at…
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SPORT 28: STARTING! AGAIN? I’m afraid so!
“Look at them now. They’re all bunched up and getting competitive.” A description, not of galloping horses reaching the top of the hill at Cheltenham, but of the “holding area”…
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Monthly Update 4: December Round-up
Most of the things I think about, this winter, make me spit with rage. Perhaps it’s something to do with the weather. However, putting that sort of stuff into words…
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SPORT 27: WELL, IT’S A START
In recent weeks, watching racing on TV, I’ve noticed that down at the start there is a lot more walking going on, where once one saw horses milling about in…
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Monthly Update 3: Postscript to 2
England’s victory over the All Blacks was absolutely stunning. I don’t think they played better when they won the World Cup. The late great Carwyn James himself would have enthused…
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MONTHLY UPDATE 2: November Round-up
Rugby Union From what little I saw of the autumn internationals, we can look forward to a rubbish winter on a global scale. I have only two lasting impressions. South…
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Sport 26; STARTING – 11th NOVEMBER 2012
The start of the Badger Ales Chase at Wincanton on November 10th was interesting. The horses were on the track when the TV cameras first focussed on them, 13 runners…
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Monthly Updates 1.
At the end of November, we will issue an account of all that has caught our eye during the month, for better or for worse – the good, the bad…
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SPORT 25: Starting Large NH fields
I question the necessity of taking the runners off the course at the start, and it is certainly true that with large fields (15 is about the tipping point) it…
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24: FRANKEL, PART TWO
My one worry about Frankel’s run at York, on Wednesday, 22nd August 2012, concerned the journey from the racecourse stables on the far side of the back straight to…
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23: FRANKEL’S PLACE IN HISTORY
In 1946 Fred Darling of Beckhampton, England’s premier trainer (seven Derby winners to his name), had in his care Tudor Minstrel, a two-year-old well enough bred to win him another…
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Sport 22: JULY LOCAL SURVEY
FOOTBALL The bare facts of the Eurochampionships speak for themselves. England were beaten (not at football, but at penalties) by Italy, who ended up as losing finalists. That means that,…
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Sport 21: Amir Khan makes me weep
I weep for the waste of talent so far. I weep for the tragedy which may well lie ahead. Am I over-reacting? Judge for yourselves….. Here is a young warrior.…
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20: GRAND NATIONAL COMMENTARY?
The Grand National, first run in the middle of the 19th century, developed into the ultimate test for horse and rider, over a long distance and across what used to be…
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SPORT 19: STARTING POINTS 4
. Haydock Park.12th May 2012 2.00 Hurdle Race 3 miles 18 runners 3.40 Hurdle Race 2 miles 19 runners The runners stayed on the track throughout the preliminaries before…
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MUNCH SCREAM NOT RUBBISH
THE SCREAM by EDVARD MUNCH has recently become the highest price artwork ever to be sold at auction. THE SCREAM is a danger signal, a warning that human existence can…
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SPORT 18: STARTING POINTS 3
(BIG FIELDS, CHAOS) Aintree, 2012 Thursday. I watched the Foxhunters, a big field, with I think two false starts. Amateur riders, and I am sure management will claim that everything…
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SPORT 17: STARTING POINTS 2
The first race on the Wednesday of the Cheltenham Festival (I had been otherwise engaged on the Tuesday) was the National Hunt Chase, with 20 runners ridden by amateur riders.…
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SPORT 16: STARTING POINTS 1
In the past, steeplechasers cantered down to the start, then walked round in a circle behind the tapes while tack adjustments and similar preliminaries were attended to. All this in…
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SPORT 15: RACING’S LAST (AND BEST) CHANCE? BITTAR
Mr Paul Bittar’s reaction to the whip problem has been a marvel to behold. One “Comment” in the Racing Post said “He’s the best Ozzie to come to England since…
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Sport 14: Horse Racing & Animal Welfare
Throughout the Whip Debate so far I have been intrigued by occasional expressions of concern, within the racing community itself, about the public’s “perception” of racing’s Animal Welfare (AW) arrangements, …
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SPORT 12: Dr Tim MORRIS (alias WHIPPERSNAPPER)
No jockeys featured on the BHA’s Whip Rules Committee. Membership was restricted to BHA insiders. The functions of most of them suggest that they were Disciplinarians. (See BHA website). The…
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SPORT 11: Latest Bulletin – Sport Dying!
Throughout the world sport is under siege from criminals who wish to corrupt it in order to enrich themselves through the agency of worldwide crooked gambling and other ramifications of a sinful…
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SPORT 10: J’accuse…. Andy Murray
For the first eight games of his Wimbledon semi-final, Murray played Nadal like a smart angler outwitting a less than brilliant fish. He achieved this by guile, subtlety and consummate skill,…
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General 1: Democracy
If democracy is adopted by a local community, local decisions will be made by the majority of those who live in that community, and know a bit about what goes on –…
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Sport 9: CARWYN JAMES AND “THAT TRY”
I have always known that Carwyn James was the greatest rugby coach ever (his Lions’ tours were both successful and his Welsh club Llanelli beat a touring All Blacks side).…
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SPORT 8: Eye-Gouging, International Rugby Board blindfolded?
In the third Lions’ Test, the wretched Springboks wore armbands in support of one of their forwards, who was banned for a misdemeanour in the previous test, and the International…
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BBC Part 1: Could there be Life After Death?
The parentage of the BBC was a marriage between the national despair at the pointless waste of human life for which the First World War was responsible, and the hope…
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POLITICS 7: Western Democracy, Systemic Failure, Model Recall?
Promoting “Western Democracy” has become embarrassing since that process produced George Bush and Tony Blair (followed by the Unspeakable Rictus, Gordon Brown) as the best it could offer in the…
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SPORT 7: Paradise Spurned
The FA is within touching distance of football paradise, but refuses to pop the question, tie the knot and live happily ever after. I wonder why. As things stand at this…
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POLITICS 6: Democracy – The real cause for concern.
Democracy 6: The real cause for concern. The only cause for real concern.
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POLITICS 4 (MRSA Westminster variety)
A crooked man recruits a band of equally crooked nonentities and tells them that they are going to go into politics, because in politics there are no rules against corrupt…
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POLITICS 5 (Sewer Rats)
For the sake of argument, let us say that the legacy of the Labour government, when its time is up, will be a level of corruption in government circles and…
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SPORT 6: In her Hour of Need
All at Donec are of Celtic origin, and usually indulge in a certain amount of hilarity when England suffers, but the dismal situation of her football team demands a multinational approach,…
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Sport 5
From our Sports correspondent. The time has come to tackle the weird and wonderful world of English Cricket – before it’s too late and the national side embarks on the…
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POLITICS 3
POLITICS 3 His legacy. I suppose it must relate to his career. He started by persuading the Labour Party to shelve temporarily their more extreme socialist principles. That way, I…
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sport 4
From our sporting correspondent: In Sport 3, I referred to the disappointing form of the England football team. Since then we have had the game against Israel, which caused tumultuous…
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Sport 3
I know nothing about football, but I watch the best games fairly regularly ( International matches, European club competitions, also the top teams in the Premiership). One thing particularly intrigues…
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Politics 2
Let’s suppose that only the air we breathe is more pervasive than government. If air is poisonous, it causes long-term sickness to all the living things that breathe it. It…
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CULTURE 1: Poetic
There is a poem which goes as follows: Le tems a laissie son manteau De vent, de froidure et de pluie Et s’est vestu de broderye De soleil riant, cler…
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Introduction to Politics
The thing to bear in mind is the pervasiveness of government. It touches every single citizen all the time and in many ways. Just think health, education, employment, tax, law…