Author: Peter McNeile

Tune into Racing TV to get the latest coverage on local horse races at 62 race courses throughout Ireland and Britain, including the opening day at Ascot tomorrow, when of course you’ll be at Stratford instead.

If you do not have the service already, here is how to sign up! The thrill of placing a sports bet on NetBet can be another alternative for excitement besides watching horse races every day.

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The one-month free trial of 31 days does not always happen. For example, the current promotion only allows new viewers to capitalize on this offer if they sign up before midnight on June 30, 2023.

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The rich tapestry of racing allows for wonderful variations in the way it is presented across the world. Whilst Stratford offers country fare, grander metropolitan tracks offer big televised events. Across the world, racecourses offer an eclectic mix of eccentricity and grande marque style. So however loyal you may be to us here at Stratford, we would encourage you to explore, both within the UK and further afield.

Beneath are some recommendations. Filled with events and great racing, they all offer a fantastic day out for all the family. Yet some places just have to be visited. Below, we give our pick of the racecourses you have to see at least once. 

Ascot

No great surprises here. The Royal Ascot meeting is known the world over. The crowd is often as much of a draw as the racing, as celebrities, sports people and royalty flock to the course for some first hand Royal Ascot betting. A host of grade-one races take place, including the Gold Cup. This year Coltrane is the most fancied, at 7/2. Eldar Eldarov is a close second with odds of 4/1. Of course, you don’t have to be at the course to place a wager, as it is easy to bet on horse racing online and watch the events as they unfold from your device. 

Even if you do visit at another meeting, Ascot is still a sight to behold. A development around the millennium, reinvested some £220 million to refresh and update its grandstands, the most ever invested in British racing. This has made it a perfect course for spectators, with a beautiful concourse and a host of refreshments and entertainment options. Situated 40mns from London, it is also just a short transfer from the city. 

Cheltenham

Spectators at Stratford don’t need to travel far to enjoy a day at the self-appointed home of Jump racing.

Cheltenham Racecourse’s biggest event is the Cheltenham Festival, arguably the biggest meeting in the jump racing calendar. The Gold Cup is its most famous race, with the best horse and jockeys. Racing has been taking place at the spot since 1815.

It is one of the most scenic of all the British racecourses. Set in a natural delve in the countryside, it is surrounded by the Cotswold Hills. This also gives spectators a great view wherever they watch from. There are two separate courses – an old and new course. A 2015 redevelopment opened a 6500-capacity Princess Royal stand to cope with more visitors at the Cheltenham Festival but overcrowding in 2022 led to a reduction in numbers this year which was well received. It also has a huge auditorium known as The Centaur, ideal for concerts and conferences. 

Aintree

Aintree has to be included in the list of must-visit racecourses, as it is the home of the Grand National. This is the biggest race in the UK calendar, much like the Kentucky Derby is to the US. The course itself is made of three tracks. One of these is the gruelling Grand National course, along with a Hurdles course and Mildway Steeple Chase run. 

Aintree has had a chequered history, and was near to closure when Red Rum was enjoying his three victories in the ’70s. The Jockey Club saved the course, in part through a public subscription, and the racecourse has never looked back. The three days of the National continue to challenge Cheltenham for supremacy and may in the fullness of time supersede the Cotswold venue.

Situated in Merseyside, it is within easy reach of Liverpool, making it great for city breaks. The countryside around the course is also spectacular, though can get booked up quickly during big events like the National. 

Foxfield Races

Foxfield is one of several superb racecourses in Virginia, staging just two fixtures each year, one in April, the other in November. Prior to 1977, when the course was purchased by Mariann de Tajeda, the course was a local airfield, with a riding school run by the local huntsman.

Some 15,000 attend the Spring races, which give the ambiance of a large Point-to-Point. Temporary structures accommodate grandstands, bars and hospitality areas whilst the long-held tradition of tailgating allows spectators a rail-side position for their vehicle and elicits intense competition for the grandest picnic. This is east coast America at its best.

Craon

My personal favourite is a mixed racecourse in Western France, a hotbed of breeding and racing. In the heart of Mayenne, Craon stages steeplechasing, flat and trotting, including les Trois Glorieuses, three wonderful days in early September, when crowds flock in late summer sunshine to enjoy great racing and a good old-fashioned chinwag.

Don’t be surprised to see top trainers and riders there too. Louisa Carberry, an Irish emigré from the eponymous racing family trains at nearby Sennones; Philip Hobbs won the big cross country steeplechase with Balthazar King 10 years back, and Charlie Deutsch rode there last year during a summer break with Emmanuel Clayeux. It’s a perfect start or end to a visit to the Loire Valley.

Dieppe

Closer to home, and just a short skip across the Channel is the racecourse at Dieppe. Established in the Victorian era, Dieppe thrived during la belle epoque, when Parisians would relocate to grand second homes at the seaside towns of Deauville and Dieppe, by dint of access via the new railways. To that end both venues are very anglicised, but Dieppe is a more scenic course.

17 fixtures across the summer from June to September make this a favourite destination when a strong breeze is making a day on the beach less than appealing.

Bad Harzburg

Germany isn’t known for its Jump racing, but its racecourses enjoy a wonderful variance. Among the prettiest and certainly the most eccentric is Bad harzburg in Lower Saxony about 60 miles south south east of Hanover. Situated on the edge of a national park comprising the Harz mountains, it has a certain Alpine charm.

The annual race week attracts crowds of 30,000, and the quirky feature steeplechase includes a water jump where the horses actually have to swim across the obstacle! It brings a fresh meaning to cross country racing.

Warrnambool

Jump racing is on the wane in Australia, except in Victoria, where Woodford Racecourse in Warrnambool stages the Grand Annual Steeplechase each May, a throwback to colonial times for sure. The Aussie version is Australia’s richest Jumps race and run over the longest distance – 5,500m and more obstacles than any other chase worldwide – 33.

Victoria is choc-a-bloc with racecourses, so if you’re a racing nut, then you won’t find it hard to stumble across some others whilst you’re there, and you’ll find yourself in good company. There’s racing every day across the continent at large, with some 350 venues where crowds of 500-100,000 will enjoy a flutter and the chance to put their glad rags on.

Runners were in short supply during Saturday’s fixture when just 33 horses faced the starter in the seven race card, with ground conditions the primary reason. Even with a going description of good, good to firm in places, the recent summer sunshine is impacting field sizes across the country.

Honours for the evening go to Brian Barr, who scored a double but familiar names of the summer campaign were much in attendance.

Among those Stratford stalwarts who have been noticeable by their absence from the winners’ podium over the past 12 months is Seamus Mullins. The Mullins horses do not generally live up to the reputations of his Irish relations, but are to be respected around courses like Stratford and, in particular, Plumpton. His four runners on Saturday night were a welcome addition to small fields, and between them took home a tally of £12,314 from a winner, two seconds and a third placing: a more than respectable day’s work.

Tommie Beau made the most of the lack of competition in the four runner Charles Peters Recruitment Handicap Chase over the extended 3m 3f, defying a penalty from a winner just 4 days earlier at Newton Abbot to beat Captain Tommy by 1 1/2l under Micheal Nolan. At this grade, he looks as if he could win again; there was more in the tank at the line. Mullins is surely one to follow just right now; he is one of few trainers to show a positive return to a £1 stake if following all his runners.

Milton Harris is another to show prominently in Stratford rankings, and left his mark on this fixture through the efforts of 5/6 favourite Komedy Kicks, bustled along by Harry Cobden in the opening Royal Equestrian Racing Club Novices Hurdle, and to all appearances, destined for the runner-up spot jumping the last. But persistence wins the day, and Cobden’s efforts were rewarded as Komedy Kicks found more under pressure, running on to win going away by 1 1/2l. Milton Harris is already prominent in the Trainers’ rankings, but Cobden has laid his cards on the table for a Championship bid, and is within 5 of the leader Sean Bowen, with current champion Brian Hughes sandwiched in between. There’s a long way to go, all three will concur.

The first of Brian Barr’s two winners came from the neatly named Begin The Luck, who pitched in a winning turn against Stratford three time winner Romanor from the Seamus Mullins stable in the 2m 5f Handicap Chase. Harry Reed won’t have done the Barr runner many favours in terms of his handicap rating, but he’s an improving horse; this was a fourth winner in just six races since he turned to chasing in March.

Pak Army proved another multiple winner for Barr in the concluding Grace & Dottie Novices Handicap Hurdle, making all and running all the way to the line to record a 2 3/4l victory over Nadim. Pak Army is another to keep improving. His four wins since March have seen his official rating rise 19lb and he looks far from finished yet. All in all, a good evening’s work for the drive home to Sherborne.

Just 4 faced the starter in the Knights Bullion Handicap Chase over the minimum trip, but just 2l covered the four at the line. With the last omitted, the race turned into a speed contest from the second last, but it was Elios D’Or for Robert Walford, ridden by Harry Kimber, who prevailed, a 1/2l separating him and Admiral’s Sunset at the line. Who’s to say a small field cannot set the pulse racing?

Two handicap hurdles made up the remainder of the card, and it was no surprise to see Kim Bailey’s Shantou Express sent off favourite for the Farmers Fresh Handicap over 3m 2f. Bailey’s horses are running out of their skins presently whilst their trainer enjoys a 50% strike rate. Shantou Express won as he pleased under David Bass.

An equally easy winner was Lighthouse Mill for David Dennis, one of three trainers ensuring the Edgcote estate maintains its resurgent racing reputation. This former base for great horses like Spanish Steps now houses three trainers and some 200 horses, within easy reach of all the Midlands tracks. Lighthouse Mill has been knocking on the door this past few months, and whilst his first hurdle victory in 14 runs hardly set the world alight, he accomplished it in a style which might lead the observer to believe he could improve. Gavin Sheehan was the lucky man in the plate.

Champion trainer Paul Nicholls showed that his expertise for the craft extends from the zenith of the sport at Cheltenham to its grass roots in hunter chasing and Point-to-Point when picking up the feature event at Stratford’s hunters’ evening on Friday.

But whilst he took the scalp of last year’s winner Vaucelet in the feature Pertemps Network Stratford Foxhunter with Secret Investor, it was clear to see that daughter Olive’s victory on Shantou Flyer in the Royal Equestrian Racing Club Ladies Open Championship final gave him still more pleasure.

Olive has been riding out of her skin this season, her second between the flags. 39 rides have resulted in 11 winners, of which Shantou Flyer has provided four, starting at Larkhill in late November before progressing through Chaddesley, and hunter chases at Exeter before Stratford. Always handy in this last race, she took up the running from the seventh, and never looked back. The 12l winning distance was a reflection of this horse’s superior rating, 12lb ahead of the next best in the field of 7.

Trainer Sam Loxton, third in this race last year with Caid du Berlais, has enjoyed an impressive strike rate between the flags this season. One in three of his 36 pointing or hunter chase winners has passed the post first, a rate not even his mentor Nicholls can achieve.

In truth however, Nicholls’ interest in the sport is largely because of Olive’s success. The man who has conquered the heights of the sport’s greatest races is very much at home in the amateur division of the sport, but owners and trainers need have little fear he is planning to dominate. This is a family affair.

Secret Investor, owned by Herefordshire – based Clive Hitchings – was a deserving winner of the Pertemps Network Stratford Foxhunter, but the rapidly diminishing 3l margin would have been reversed in another furlong. Runner-up Vaucelet, who lost a shoe in running, was hard – driven to make up ground from three out, and were it not for a messy leap at the last, the positions might have been reversed. It looks like 3m is my optimum trip, given his largely blemish – free season of 4 from 5 outings has rarely been over longer distances. Yet the sport is the winner for having a horse of this calibre within it; Secret Investor, rated 142, is the winner of 11 races and over £167,000 in prize money, toward which this £11,000 prize is yet a modest contribution.

Vaucelet will likely be back again; trainer David Christie enjoys this meeting and has met success here on several occasions, plus the homestay hospitality of Managing Director Ilona Barnett adds a considerable advantage!

Secret Investor and Vaucelet may well have to contend with a new challenger next year in Sine Nomine, winner of the pointtopoint.co.uk Champion Novices Hunters’ Chase over the same 3m 3f distance. This gripping race saw plenty to excite the enthusiast. Three rounded the turn closely bunched, with Sine Nomine boxed in on the rail by a Jack Andrews on Brave Starlight, determined not to give race room. Once beyond the rail, Jack Dawson had the speed to take up an inner berth as Precious Bounty, with Sine Nomine to the inner, Brave Starlight to the outer, jumped the last in unison. The last two went on, before Dawson was able to conjure some extra speed to get him 2 1/2l clear in the final 100 yards.

Winning trainer Fiona Needham has recently stepped down as Clerk of Course for Catterick to devote more time to the family farm. The trip back up to North Yorkshire will have been all the sweeter for the anticipation of what is to come from this exciting novice.

Gina Andrews, crowned champion lady amateur rider during the course of the evening, showed just why she has won that accolade when getting up to win the Grace & Dotty Restricted Novices Hunters’ event over 2m6f, to ensure no Hunters’ evening was without an Andrews winner. In a white knuckle finish, favourite Captain Biggles and long – time leader Raleagh Flora, under Charlie Marshall, joined issue turning out of the bend, and met the last in unison. With a winning distance of just a head, it was only favourite backers who were glad of the result; a dead heat would have been as fair. Winning trainer Tom Ellis breaks records in the amateur level of the sport as frequently as Paul Nicholls in the professional game, this taking his seasonal tally into the mid seventies.

The Paul & Olive Nicholls team narrowly missed out on what could have been a double after Magic Saint went under by just 1 1/2l in the opening Jumping for Fun Hunters Chase over the minimum trip. leading off the bend, Magic Saint was in command, but Kaproyale under Zac Baker, took closer order. A blunder at the last gave the advantage back to the Nicholls contender, but Baker, having kept his seat, was able to conjure another run from Kaproyale to peg back the leader halfway up the run in and pull 1 1/2l ahead by the line. It was a 17th victory for winning trainer Fran Poste.

Jack Andrews, denied a winner in the Novice Championship, made sure of his place on the Winners’ board for this annual Hunter chase jamboree in the closing Visit Irish Store Sales with ITM Point-to-Point Bumper. Some may argue a flat race has no place in the Point-to-Point circuit, but the influx of h=young horses gives the lie to this outdated argument. Racegoers were rewarded with a gripping race in which Nigel Padfield’s Penniless ensured that was most certainly not the case with a 1/2l victory over Old Gold. The winning owner gets a £1,000 cheque to spend at any Irish sale coming up so chances are a Padfield horse will appear in the same race next year.

One truly unique race makes up this innovative and popular card, being the 2m 5f Hunter Chase handicap, underwritten by the White Swan Hotel. Two non-runners on account of the ground made this just a 5 runner field with a weight range from 12st 5 to 10st 5. Winner Sixteen Letters looks a horse to frustrate his trainer and rider Josh Newman. Plenty of ear movement approaching and after the last indicated he had more in the tank as Gina Andrews galvanised Peacock’s Secret alongside, but Sixteen Letters decided to find more and the 2l winning margin is not a reflection of his superiority when he opts to show it.

A great many of Britain’s racecourses were created in the Victorian era, when economic growth spawned a populace in need of entertainment, and a growing upper middle class and aristocracy able to fund the luxury of a racehorse. However, there are some courses whose history goes back further still, of which Stratford is one.

The first recorded races labelled Stratford were on Shottery Meadow in 1718, a full 96 years before racing began in the Cheltenham area. George I had acceded to the throne 4 years earlier, beginning a cycle of steady imperial growth that would only halt at the end of the Second World War over 200 years later. Racing had only started under Queen Anne at Ascot in 1711, so Stratford can consider itself among the sport’s early advocates. Historical details of that event have not been kept, and fixtures were by their very nature quite sporadic in the early years of the sport. It was a full 40 years later before regular records began to be kept.

A £50 purse (roughly £14,500) was offered in 1755 for a race over an undisclosed distance, won by a Mr Cornwall’s 5 year old Redstreak. Early records show nothing of the fervour for betting, which has not diminished. It was to be a further 200 years before betting became legalized as an ordinary form of retail therapy away from the racetrack. And of course nowadays, the pursuit of a winner extends online, where you can enjoy safe no deposit bonuses.

During an era of almost perpetual war against France, the actor, theatre manager and playright, David Garrick, a descendant of a Huguenot grandfather from Languedoc, became an intrinsic character in the popularisation of the races at Stratford. Garrick can take credit for bringing the works of Shakespeare to contemporary audiences, mostly in his role as manager of the Drury Lane theatre in London.

However, toward the end of his career, Garrick staged the Shakespeare Jubilee in Stratford in September 1769, and in time-honoured fashion, the series of plays by the bard were promoted through a David Garrick sponsored trophy at the races for the Jubilee Cup. The trophy race disappeared 9 years later, shortly before Garrick’s interment in Westminster Abbey, when farmers local to the races complained that the race crowds ruined their crops, such were the crowds attending.

By the time racing resumed in the height of the early Victorian era, interest had switched from the flat to steeplechasing. The Grand Annual Chase had been inaugurated at Andoversford, near Cheltenham, in 1834, and racing restarted with a feature steeplechase in 1836, three years before the first Grand National. In fact, the National’s very first winner, Lottery, prepped for his Aintree exertions in a race at Stratford in early 1839, winning the four-miler the following year too.

A calendar of defined races established themselves over the years, the Warwickshire Hunt Cup appropriately the most valuable, and a Shakespeare Cup run over three miles with 60 sovereigns first appeared in April 1867. The Avon Steeple Chase, the Diamond Jubilee Cup in 1897 and the Warwickshire Hunt Coronation Cup was instituted in 1902. The growth in popularity of the sport was accelerated by the mushrooming growth of rail travel, where cheap transport to the races made the rail companies a willing partner in the promotion of fixtures.

In 1904, the races were renamed the Stratford & Warwickshire Hunt Races and continued thus until the Great War called time on racing altogether between 1914-19. After resuming in 1919, the Stratford Race Company was inaugurated 3 years later, and oversaw the development of a new grandstand which houses the weighing room in 1955, a restaurant and further viewing 10 years later, and the modern restaurant and bar area in the nineties.

Stratford’s roots in hunt racing remain to this day, unlike some of its competitors, whose connection to their rural roots has become more diffuse. The feature event of the calendar remains the all-Corinthian Hunters’ evening, with the Pertemps Network Stratford Foxhunter the main event, first run in 1959. This popular hunter chase is the third of the three principal foxhunter chases that include Cheltenham and Aintree, scheduled this year for Friday evening June 2.

The Stratford Foxhunter has been defined by some of the best amateur-ridden and trained horses. Whilst the first running produced a 25/1 shock winner in Speylove, multiple winners Bantry Bay (1960, 1961), Baulking Green (1962, ’63, ’65) and Credit Call (1971, ’72, ’73, ’75) established the race as the grand finale of the hunters’ season. More recently, Salsify swerved Aintree to choose the Stratford race in which to follow up on his Cheltenham Foxhunter triumph in 2012. The competitive nature of the event means back to back winners are nowadays like hen’s teeth.

Stratford’s picturesque riverside location wins it many friends, but it also brings its own perils. The British weather is notoriously unpredictable, and many is the early season fixture that has seen the course and buildings under 18″ of water. The racecourse has learnt to be well prepared against the mood swings of the Avon, but happily these rarely impinge on the course’s feature meeting.

With the advent of summer jump racing in the nineties, the frequency of cancellation dropped considerably, and the sequence of weekend and evening events allow for greater public attendance than 25 years ago, allowing the sport to flourish in Warwickshire throughout the year.

Warm Spring sunshine beckoned a healthy crowd to Luddington Road yesterday where good ground greeted the 56 runners in our seven race card, considerably better ground than faced the Irish challengers in Paris for Auteuil’s last hurrah and the highest value Jumps racing we’ll see until mid-summer. As if to prove the point, the French remain firmly in change of their best races, despite the strongest raiding party yet in recent years.

This time last year, trainers were tearing their hair out as dry conditions prevented many horses from running a Spring campaign. The wet Spring this time around has enabled plenty of horses to remain in training, making for more competitive fields all round, rewarding sponsors and racecourse betting shop operator William Hill.

It was a day for an old stager to shine. Steel Wave is the winner of 9 of his 68 starts, the latest being a 1 1/2l victory over Herewegohoney in the William Hill Keep Your Raceday Positive Handicap Chase over 2m6f. Gary Hanmer’s 13 year old was giving at least 3 years to most of his rivals but doesn’t know how to run a bad race, especially under Tabitha Worsely; he’s not finished out of the frame in 8 of his last nine starts. He might be deemed lucky to have added this scalp given that Micheal Nolan and Sheldon parted company at the last when leading, but fortune favours the brave. Hanmer has enjoyed an excellent few recent seasons and is always one to follow around the tight Stratford track. One in four of his runners here have been winners over the past 5 years.

In a card where novice races dominated, it was another older horse that prevailed in the 3f shorter Mares handicap chase. The 10 year old Admiral’s Sunset is trained by the banks of the Kennet just outside Marlborough by David Weston. This assured 3 3/4l victory was her first since a mid-summer double at Worcester and Stratford in August ’21. Coming alongside Princess Midnight at the last and going on after, she showed her liking for Stratford isn’t diminished by the time since she last got her head in front. James Davies took the mount, although previous wins had been under Page Fuller, now retired.

The 9 runner field in the third of three chases included the rare market of three 4/1 co-favourites in First Angel, Copper Fox and Henri Le Bon. The market proved spot-on in this instance, as they finished in that order, separated by a total of 5 1/2l all told. First Angel took the race by the scruff of the neck from 2 out, and maintained a lead of 3-5l around the bend and to the line, under Adam Wedge, to produce a first winner of the new term for Martin Keighley.

Astroman can consider himself a fortunate winner of the opening William Hill Lengthen Your Odds Maiden Hurdle after leader Globalfameandglory tipped up at the last, hindering second-placed Shandancer. This allowed Astroman and Nick Scolfield to sneak up the inner and claim an advantage. Shandancer ran on again to reduce the advantage to just a neck at the line, and deserves to lose his maiden tag soon. Syd Hosie’s 6 year old is no star in the making however; this breaking of his duck was at the 18th attempt.

The mares programme has been much enhanced over recent years, but one mare who may not be running for a while is Maid of the Night, winner of the William Hill Pick Your Places Mares Handicap Hurdle. Not fluent three out, she led from two out under pressure and finished lame 3/4l ahead of Nora The Xplorer. Henry Daly’s charge has provided her owners great entertainment this Spring with three wins, but rider Richard Patrick was quick to dismount. Runner-up Nora The Xplorer finished like a train and will be one to follow in similar company.

Nick Scholfield notched a double in the seller when producing Nevendon to reel in long time leader Book of Secrets at the last. The six year old impeccably bred son of Nathaniel will not be doing his sire’s reputation much good for running in selling company, but secured a maiden winner since moving to Alexandra Dunn from John McConnell’s in Ireland. There was no bid for the winner.

Parade Away showed a clean pair of heels to 9 rivals in the concluding bumper, winning in a procession for Milton Harris and rider Bradley Harris.

Experiencing a day’s racing can be an exciting and pleasurable event for both race enthusiasts, and those who simply want to have a day out. Regardless of whether you’re an old sweat or a newcomer, it is important to be knowledgeable about the regulations and guidelines to guarantee a seamless and unforgettable day.

If you’re looking for more ways to have an adrenaline rush, head on over to Betstation to learn more about which sports betting sites are the best fit for you!

In this article, we will list 8 tips to help you fully enjoy your time at the racecourse.

Dress for the weather

We don’t stand on ceremony at Stratford; there are no dress regulations although we’d prefer you to be covered! Be practical. Our season stretches from March to November, and we enjoy all the seasons as a result. You won’t need wellies – all our surfaces are hard, but you may need a coat to keep out the March winds, or shirtsleeves in mid-summer.

Our Ladies Day on July 23 affords a chance to the fairer sex to dress up and put the glad rags on, but well-groomed horses and humans are our stock in trade. We’ll never turn away someone for being too smart!

Get under the skin of the sport

Unlike many stadium sports, racing allows you to get up close and personal with the participants. This is a not a licence to accost trainers and riders with what they did wrong about any particular horse, but they are readily available and receptive to approaches. Riders walk through the crowd from the parade ring to weighing room, and all are accessible. Imagine that with Harry Kane or Pep Guardiola!

Racing TV grabs riders or trainers after each race for a brief interview. You can gather snippets of information merely by eavesdropping these conversations, both on and off the record. Find the RTV spot and one of your own to casually lean on the rail and listen.

Enjoy the pre- and post-race analysis

Racing is full of conspiratorial conversations. Trainers and riders, owners and trainers, occasionally trainers and bookmakers, officials and riders, officials and trainers, bookmakers and bookmakers and so on. It’s an environment where gossip and hearsay thrive.

You can sometimes overhear where a race went right by listening to a rider’s race review with the trainer or owner in the winner’s enclosure. Of course, what an rider says to an owner is not always exactly the same as to the trainer – his employer! They say owners are like mushrooms: you keep them in the dark and feed them rubbish! That cynical old adage is happily mostly in the past nowadays in these times of multi-channel communications.

You can listen in in the pre-parade ring too, where the noise is more muted and where you may be able to glean little snippets of anticipatory conversation.

Browse the betting ring

One of the unique flavours of the racecourse remains the betting ring. Chalk boards have given way to electronic display boards for the most part, and the language of tic-tac has all but disappeared but there’s still plenty of atmosphere.

Bookmakers are not dissimilar to market traders. Some are born hustlers, shouting the odds – quite literally – in an effort to win extra business. And occasionally, you’ll see an oddsmaker change his price and punters will dive in in a flurry of hands waving notes.

With each bet, the lead will call out the bet to his bookkeeper to record against the ticket he’s issued you, so at least one person knows what you’ve staked and at what price!

Today’s racecourse bookies are largely middle-aged. It looks something of an anachronism for younger folk so unless you’ve been born into a bookmaking family, it’s an unlikely career choice. It’s a tough career too; not so difficult standing out in mid-summer; less so in February when a desk-bound job looks far more attractive.

Betting with bookies is not the clinical exercise you find with the Tote, and there’s more choice. But like every market, there’s an energy to it that brings great atmosphere and excitement.

Watch racing from a fence

There’s an unmistakable thrill to hearing the sound of a race. The thunder of hooves dubbed on to a televised race is as nothing compared to the sound of galloping horses, hooves pounding the turf, breathing, the sound of leather against leather, jockeys shouting at one another and the occasional smack of a stick. It’s a veritable assault on the senses.

The best place to stand is at a fence, where you’re not the only one to hold your breath as they leave the ground. Horses also hold their breath as they jump. You can also see how riders shorten up if they are meeting a fence wrong, or look for a long one to gain lengths in the air. And watch how they change their hands on the reins afterwards in a single seamless movement to appreciate that race riding is far from a static experience.

Watch the start

I love watching the start of a race. Runners arrive at a canter from their parade in the paddock. The starter and his assistant are in waiting, greeting them and checking girths. When everyone has arrived, the starter will call out the numbers and each rider will reply “Yes sir”. There is a bit of chit chat between riders, mostly about their intentions: “Anyone making it?” “This fella bites, watch out!”

Runners will have presented their horses to the first obstacle lest there be any doubt as to the task in hand. Once all runners are back at the start, the ground staff will pull across the tape, an elasticated rope attached to two spigots on the non-release side. The release is attached to a trigger held by the starter.

The advance flag man stands a furlong down the track with a flag, preparing to wave it if the starter declares a false start. This happens if a horse breaks the tape, or if horses approach the tape at a canter, in which case a standing start will be deemed necessary.

At country meets like ours, starts look quite relaxed and quiet. Everything is very collected, but it’s not always like that. Starts for the major races can be chaotic on occasion, with big fields all jostling for the best inner berth, and horses barely contained in a trot approaching the start line. It’s great theatre.

Collect racing jargon from the commentator

Some race callers use entertaining language to bring the races to life. Compare this to dog racing where the dogs have no name, just a number, and by dint of the races being shorter, the commentary is more restrictive.

Over a 3 mile chase, a commentator can get quite creative. Start to recognise the meaning of phrases like “off the bridle/bit”, meaning the horse is not straining against the reins; “coming with a wet sail” – a favourite of Aussie racecaller Jim McGrath; “handled tenderly” – code for not being given a hard race, and so on. They are all enhanced by the wide degree of nuance applicable to the English language.

By our own admission, the quality of summer Jump fixtures caters generally for less than top flight horses with some notable exceptions. The long traditions of the British season mean the best horses are always held back for softer conditions underfoot in the winter months and high profile races on ITV.

However, as has been amply illustrated over the weekend, it doesn’t always have to be like this. The US steeplechase scene enjoys little or no TV coverage, no betting revenue, but huge crowds and sponsorship patronage we could only wish for over here.

The most valuable of five Grade I races in the NSA – sanctioned race calendar is the highlight of the Spring calendar, at Percy Warner Park in Nashville, Tennessee, the latest destination on the world tour of globe-trotting trainer Willie Mullins. The Irish have form in US Jump racing. Hewick was one of four Irish runners sent over to Far Hills in New Jersey last October to win the Grand National Hurdle for Shark Hanlon, a race previously won by Brain Power and Nicky Henderson.

Scaramanga, fourth in the Coral Cup, was Mullins’ candidate to run in the $200,000 Calvin Houghland Iroquois Steeplechase over 3 miles, pitched against a strong home team that included Jack Fisher’s Snap Decision, aiming to win the race for a record third time in a hattrick. Mullins has tilted at the Iroquois before: he fielded the runner-up and third in 2016.

Assistant trainer Patrick Mullins accompanied the horse to Nashville and reported to the Racing Post: “It was brilliant for Scaramanga. To win one of the marquee races out in America is very special. It was definitely one of the highlights of the year. He was in good form and ran very well at when fourth in the Coral Cup at Cheltenham and he seems to have improved again.” Scaramanga under Paul Townend ran out a decisive winner.

Several of the US race meets are very well endowed, including Far Hills, the Iroquois and the Virginia Gold Cup. Whilst they appeal to a certain type of horse, it makes excellent sense for summer venues to pair up with a view to attracting good quality horses to travel between the two jurisdictions. US backing for some valuable summer contests over here doesn’t look out of the question.

News that the 2023 Epsom Derby has been forced to change its start time has divided the racing community. With the FA Cup final having been brought forward, the UK’s biggest flat race has had to follow suit.

Former Derby-winning jockey John Reid was among those to voice their concerns. The man who rode Dr. Devious to victory in 1992 asked why the race had to ‘bend over’ for everyone else. It’s a debatable issue and one that brings the marketing of the Epsom Derby into focus.

How racecourses use TV

Nowadays, there are very few television ads for the biggest horse races. Less than 20 years ago, it wasn’t unusual to see TV advertising of some of racing’s major meetings, but this promotion is now largely left to ITV Racing to promote within its own coverage. Even the Grand National appears to be complacent, expecting every racegoer and casual punter to know the date and time, which is perhaps justified, given a full house at Aintree on the Saturday. On the other hand, many other sports take a more proactive approach, ensuring that dates and times are clearly listed on their host TV channels. Many industries utilise paid advertising as a vital part of their marketing strategies by extending their visibility to broader audiences. As a strong example, the betting companies continue to make use of broadcast mediums as the current MrQ TV ad underlines.

When potential racegoers head online, there are some related advertisements on specific websites, but there is little to target the casual spectator. Epsom Racecourse may be full to capacity next month, while millions more will watch on television, but the enforced new start time suggests that the sport needs to be more aware of its wider public profile.

Derby & FA Cup alter timings

For the record, the date for the 2023 Epsom Derby is unchanged and it will go off on Saturday, June 3rd. The start time, however, has been brought forward to a much earlier 1.30 pm. Along with the big race, the FA Cup final will also begin at an earlier time. Due to safety concerns, The FA confirmed that the football match will kick off at 3 pm for the first time in 12 years.

It’s unusual for the English domestic season to run into June, and this is due to the scheduling of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Because the tournament forced a mid-season break around Europe, leagues and knockout competitions have been playing catch up ever since. The earlier running of the Epsom Derby may, therefore, be a one-off, but should the organisers be aware of a need to raise the event’s profile?

Do we need to hear more about the Derby?

Discussion over changes to dates and times, as covered by The Guardian, are nothing new as far as the Derby is concerned. As recently as 2002, the race was held on the first Wednesday in June, and as a result, attracted considerable coverage where it wasn’t competing against football or cricket. The switch to a Saturday was made in recognition of changing customer habits, and an eagerness to win back big crowds, but broadcasting on Saturday now brings it into competition with mainstream sport and a crowded schedule. Serious horse racing fans will need no reminder as to its current scheduling, but the success of major marquee events in the calendar relies upon “passing trade” from occasional racegoers who aren’t familiar with every form line back to 1958.

Of course, the sport has been here before. When Channel 4 held rights to British racing, the Derby had to share coverage with test cricket on Derby Day for a year or two. It’s part of a creeping marginalisation of the sport over many years. And more recently, this past weekend’s fixtures ensured no meeting started before the Coronation procession was concluded.

You could reasonably ask why this has anything to do with racing at Stratford. Different code of racing, different location…. where are the similarities? The big race fixtures are important to the sport at large, as they grow the total audience, its wider engagement with the sport, and the betting revenue that is shared by all. It’s not unusual for our fixtures to run in tandem with major fixtures elsewhere, and the exposure of star horses and riders allows a broader interest to permeate down to the grass roots. So we care.

The Epsom Derby hit the news headlines at the end of April because of the change of time. While many were not happy about the situation, there’s a train of thought that all publicity is good publicity, and that maybe it’s been a positive move. Those that rely on marketing to keep in touch with the public consciousness will certainly be happy with the media column inches. The betting industry and TV broadcasters should welcome the change.