TRIAL OF THE 21st CENTURY & THE SPIRIT OF 19th CENTURY NEPOTISM

The Race Fixing trial has been far more entertaining than many might have imagined, helped by David Ashforth's reporting and the generally shoddiness of the plot. The most fascinating bit has been the evidence of DI Manning. By his own admission, his knowledge of racing and betting was/is non-existant, and his stint in the witness box, as it has been reported, does nothing to change the view. So which claret-addled buffoon in the BHA thought he would be the ideal recruit for the security department? It is almost as if they desire to be mocked.

SPIN OUT OF HAND

As usual, when the site has a rare comment on flat racing, it seems to be driven by someone being supremely daft. All the media outlets for racing just last week made a big fuss that lack of a large venue with a dirt track was stopping the Breeders Cup being staged in the UK. Much more significantly, the even spokesman pointed out that as all the stakeholders, who put up the cash by various means for the prizes, are in North America, and have zero interest in the disadvantage to their horses of running overseas. Never let the facts get in the way of a good story...

HOW CAN THIS BE?

UK-Jumping recently had the chance to visit Belmont Park, a sadly flat only oasis in the urban sprawl on western Long Island. Given the amount of space, turf course available and the rather substantial portion of the local populace that are of Irish descent, it is impossible to believe that some form of jump racing has not established itself there, even if it were one or two races a week, as at Saratoga.

ASCOT

Loathe as I am to defend Ascot or flat racing, some of the press coverage around the track in recent months has been really, really idiotic. As regards crowds at the Royal meeting and the quality of the King George, year on year comparisons are statistically valueless, and with the new stand, the 2006 meeting surely was inhabited by the sort of sheep of turn up at anything as a one-off because it is new. As the course observed, the 2006 King George attracted the highest average rating of the runners of any flat race in the world. On this sort of evidence, the wet July means that we should be abandoning all winter racing, for ever more. Starting now.

FOLKESTONE

Rare as it is for Folkestone to be at the cutting edge of anything but earthquakes, the new link up with Pompadour, in France, did provoke some investigation. As well as racing, the track stages all sorts of mad animal related events (the National Donkey Show on Bastille Day, for instance) and after a flight to Limoges (from Southampton, Stansted, Liverpool, Nottingham, Newcastle or Manchester, but sadly most are Ryanair), it is but a short rural train ride to Arnac-Pompadour, with the station right next to the track. It looks well worth a visit. Imagine that - inspired by Folkestone.

RACING POST ON SUNDAY'S 'WEEK AHEAD' FEATURE

For those who do not get the paper on the Lord's Day due to some bizarre principle or because it is priced the same as the Saturday edition despite being half the size, then a fascinating psychological phenomena is being missed. The Week Ahead pages are a list of the coming week's features, highlighting any special events, arrangements or offers in that period. This depends entirely on what the racecourses submit (Worcester's special freebie - How to Rescue Someone Washed Away by the River Severn - has yet to feature), and the text from the submitters is clearly being reproduced word for word. Thus we are able to see how totally self-delusional the big racecourses are about what racegoers think of them, and how desperate the smaller ones are to make mountains out of molehills. But as most Post readers would be fairly regular racegoers who now for themselves that if you go to certain tracks there will be no superstars but fun competitive racing and others are just staging a drink up with racing in the background, what is the point of the pretence?

TWO DIFFERENT MARKETING PHILOSOPHIES

Two adjacent adverts in the Racing Post. One reveals that with every £5 Tote bet at Lingfield this summer, the bettor receives a free scratch card. Top of the 100,000 prizes is a new car, but there are some decent cash and betting voucher offers, free drinks and free badges. Anyone with an intention to bet £20 can presumably get four, even if they have to visit four Tote windows. The other reveals that there is a London Festival of Racing, which involves a 'week of racing.' In fact it is the two day Eclipse meeting at Sandown with a shabby Kempton night dirt racing meeting either side of it, and the man used to promote it is the twenty-years-past-his-sell-by-date Mcririck. Things look good for Lingfield...

THE NATIONAL TIPSTER'S

Plenty of professionals in the media put forward Hedgehunter, L'Ami, Eurotrek and Numbersixvalverde as their tips. Their respective weights were 11-12, 11-8, 11-8 and 11-3. In the last 20 runnings the only winners to lug 11 stone or more round are Rhyme 'n' Reason (11-0) and Hedgehunter (11-1). This is not a statistical anomaly, as there are sound explanations for this. In a generally solidly paced race, the energy required to carry high weights around is greater than in shorter races, so lower weights have a commensurately greater edge. Also, the changes to the fences have lessened the specialist factor that the like of Red Rum and West Tip benefitted from. Take out those who have not won a chase of 3 miles or more and the novices, and you have a much shorter list of contenders, eliminating many popular tips. It even would have included Silver Birch, although for most of us, somewhere near the bottom...

THERE'S ALWAYS AN IDIOT

Due to the big staying chases all being won by the same horse, John Randall was unable to use the Racing Post for his annual anti-Gold Cup rant of refusing to accept that the winner is the champion staying chaser. So, adopting his normal 'my opinion is fact' approach (ironic for the man entrusted with the paper's custodianship of obscure genuine facts), he declared that winning the Betfair Lancashire Chase and Tingle Creek chases were Kauto Star's best run of the season. Voy Por Ustedes Cheltenham success gives the latter a squeak, but Randall preferred the former, in which Kauto Star beat:

Beef Or Salmon (no wins in his career when travelling overseas), 

L'Ami (last win a novice chase in Jan 2005)

Ollie Magern (his only defeat of less than 30 lengths since October 2005)

Iris's Gift (retired without racing again)

Kingscliff (9th in the Gold Cup on only subsequent run)

Whereas at Kempton & Cheltenham, Kauto Star beat Exotic Dancer, winner of the Paddy Power & Boylesports.com Gold Cups, and after Randall's article, winner of the Betfair Bowl. As Kauto Star was an extra six lengths ahead at Kempton, if there was a better run than Cheltenham, it was surely the King George?

TOP WEIGHT

On Monday at Leicester, on ATR, Mike Cattermole made a point about Mr Splodge being a small horse to be lugging around the maximum burden, although adding a qualifier that it might be a trick of the eye as his jockey was so tall. But of course, the horse does not know he has top weight, and can a horse sense the difference between 11-12 and 11-0? So there is no morale effect on the horse. But does the knowledge affect connections approach to the race, tactically? The confidence of his rider? Is the human element over-riding (excuse the pun) the equine element. What if the horse is getting mixed messages from different people involved? Does this prove that there are so many questions, ifs, buts and what nows that we should cease trying to rationalise it? It certainly gives you an appreciation of how hard conspiracy theorists work.