Small Fields in the UK - What's the Answer?

[stodge 1,940]

Graham Cunningham on Racing UK yesterday pointed out there had been 81 races in the UK in the last two weeks which had five runners or fewer.

To put that into contest, there were 48 races in the UK at seven meetings on Saturday and 21 at three meetings yesterday.

Assuming 30-35 races per day that means over two weeks approximately 450 races so that's 18% of all races with five runners or fewer.

It's the worst crisis in terms of field sizes for many years and it comes in the middle of what's been an average if not slightly wetter than average summer especially in the south.

The problem seems to affect the artificial surfaces as well.

Financially, most punters don't bet on small fields and fields below six don't trigger a media rights payment.

In America, races with fewer than six runners are abandoned.

The eight race cards of 2020 have been pruned back to six and seven race cards but that seems to have done nothing.

Unfortunately, in the UK, propose reducing the number of fixtures and the lynch mob gets set on you led by the racecourses.

As there are more slow horses than fast ones, one possibility is to have whole cards of poor races - the punter doesn't care - a 6/1 winner in a Group 1 pays the same as a 6/1 winner in a Class 7 Seller.

I would have 1000 fixtures with eight races per meeting and mothball two of the existing all-weather venues but if I proposed that, I'd be hung, drawn and quartered.

Any thoughts? 

 

[scoobysnacks 386]

"In America, races with fewer than six runners are abandoned."

That's simply not true. 5 runners contested the Grade I Whitney Stakes ($1.2 mil) just last week.

[Scanman 38]

6 hours ago, NextPlease said:

"In America, races with fewer than six runners are abandoned."

That's simply not true. 5 runners contested the Grade I Whitney Stakes ($1.2 mil) just last week.

Agree.  Today (8/17), at Fairmount Park (Fanduel Horse Racing) has 2 races with 4 horses and 2 races with 5 horses.  There is a horse shortage in the US and to make it worse, too many tracks are running.

[scoobysnacks 386]

If you think racing in NZ and in some cases the UK is stuffed, try the USA... it's rooted beyond repair.

[stodge 1,940]

Okay - noted re: America. 

I wonder if the same happens in Australia?

We can all see what's wrong - how do we put it right?

Cutting the number of race meetings seems obvious but does that not create a downward spiral of fewer meetings, fewer owners, fewer horses leading to fewer meetings?

There's nothing wrong with the odd small field race - no one is expecting every race to have 8-12 runners. Is the answer a more flexible racing program around a core of "fixed" races (maybe half) and the remainder "flexible" to be created for where the horse population. The "Horsemen" put forward the kind of races they need - juvenile maidens, 3-y-o handicaps, sellers and they get programmed in. The cards may end up lopsided at times but would be meeting the demands of the racing population.

Reduce cards to five races? Could work for the evening plus music meetings but it makes for a short afternoon.

The big change this year up here has been the advent of two separate initiatives - the first is the Racing League, held on Thursday evenings at courses covered by Sky Sports Racing. There's a card this week at Windsor - Class 3 handicaps going for £25,000 to the winner. 9-11 runners per race but drawing runners from Class 4 handicaps worth less than  half that.

Also, we have the televised Sunday Series, sponsored by Racing UK and Sky Bet. Sandown holds a meeting on Sunday, Class 3 and 4 handicaps again, worth £20,500 and more to the winner. An equivalent Class 4 at Brighton the same day has a first prize of £4,590. 

Money talks, owners walk. Why run for £4,590 when you can run for £20,000 but upping the prize money for all meetings to the latter level just isn't feasible under the current operating model.

[meomy 971]

@stodge

When races first started there was oft only 2 horse in the field.

There's fabulous articles and info in our archived newspaper collection son this that give good insight through what are now in some ways similar situations we find ourselves in.

It's the grace of the animals that attracted people to horses.

We need to get people and animals back interacting in what have now become City areas.

The UK have been having Grazing back in what's now City Parks, Lobby The British Royal Family and those involved in these initiatives, including Zara and co, to have some horses in these projects to snowball an awareness of horses and what roles they have in our society.

 

It's noted many people from cities are escaping for Rural Retreats due to International Travel restrictions, God help us that that may help generate some new blood into our industry.

How many who have horses offer Bed and Breakfast type experiences ?

Maybe that's an avenue we as a collective should also be Promoting, worldwide including in New Zealand??

[stodge 1,940]

20 hours ago, meomy said:

@stodge

When races first started there was oft only 2 horse in the field.

There's fabulous articles and info in our archived newspaper collection son this that give good insight through what are now in some ways similar situations we find ourselves in.

It's the grace of the animals that attracted people to horses.

We need to get people and animals back interacting in what have now become City areas.

The UK have been having Grazing back in what's now City Parks, Lobby The British Royal Family and those involved in these initiatives, including Zara and co, to have some horses in these projects to snowball an awareness of horses and what roles they have in our society.

There were plenty of Match Races but they were between wealthy individuals and while they would wager on the outcome, the modern sport attracts millions of punters, whether seasoned old lags like me or those who have one or two bets per year.

Trying to equate the sport of 1821 with 2021 seems unwise.

I was yesterday at the old Hurst Park track to the south west of London - the outline of part of the track and the old entrance gates are still visible. It is regrettable tracks like Hurst Park, Alexandra Park, Castle Irwell and Bromford Bridge were all victims of 1960s housing developments but the priority was to build houses rather than keep racecourses.

There are still plenty of metropolitan or at least urban tracks.

To be fair, I think the British love affair with the horse is as strong as ever - unlike much of Europe, we find the notion of eating horse repellent. Horse racing has a strong niche in British sporting society - it's the second most attended sport after football and is the envy of many other sports in terms of media presence. Today's York meeting had two and a half hours of free to air coverage (no subscription) on one of the main channels. 

There's a lot going on to make ownership, for instance, accessible to those not possessing large bank balances. I do think raceday admission prices are very high and that's a battle still to be fought and won with the racecourses.

[ivanthegreat 1,123]

We could send some South Island trotters over ( only because there are so many ) as some i have backed lately look like could gallop all day.