Racing trying to get the wider public into horse racing

[Aidymac]

With all the controversy over the new whip rules recently, the horse racing board have done it to try and entice the public to get more involved in racing! Just looking at racing, in my opinion there are some absolute drivel races , but i see a big problem in races that only have 2-4 runners, i think its ludicrous having a 2 horse race or a 3 horse race, last week McCoy won a race without even having to run, in my opinion there should be a minimum race entry limit of 5 horses and if 5 horses dont run, the race is void! From the outside looking in, how in gods name is it enticing looking at the Racing Post and at some meetings with a 7 race card, there may only be 1 race on the whole card with 8 runners or more so you can get a decent e/w bet on? I think personally its something that should be looked into, its really making racing boring in my opinion! Views and opinions welcomed!

[Trotter]

Re: Racing trying to get the wider public into horse racing Personally I like 4, 5, 6 runner races Don't take as long to study and I reckon favourites are often too short merely because it's a small field........the instinct being that they must have a better chance because there's fewer rivals I'd even like a 2 runner race if I thought the favourite was the wrong one of the two ! Don't think you can start voiding races just because there's only 3 or 4 runners. With 48 or 24 hour decs it's too late to organise another race and racecards have to be published I wouldn't like to go the Irish route of reserves either So to sum up - I don't think small fields are a problem and even if i did i can't think of a practical way around it.

[TheRat]

Re: Racing trying to get the wider public into horse racing It is annoying with small fields. I personally hate the lower graded stuff and never bet on it now but turnover is decent on these races and some people prefer to bet ont hem, and I can understand why. I hate it when the prize money is god and there is a poor turnout though, especially with the moaning about prize money. The thing is horse racing is still the seond most attended sport in the UK and attendances are up, that is fact. The Open meeting at Cheltenham was up again and all the big meetings have reported positive results. Not sure about the smaller meets In terms of selling horse racing internationally the field size is the main factor which drives turnover, not the grade. It makes a huge difference

[erhaab1965]

Re: Racing trying to get the wider public into horse racing From a punting perspective I agree with Trotter , I like smaller fields it requires less studying time and it is easier to get a return. From a viewing perspective I would like to see bigger fields in the top class races. The Gr1 Tingle Creek Chase the second most important 2m chase in the season , one of my personal favs , often has tiny fields.This may be down to lack of suitable horses rather than marketing or promtion. As to the OP , why should it bother us that others aren't attracted to the sport ? t doesn't make any difference to us punters anyway.Its pretty much , you like horse racing or you don't. You can't make people like it by making it cheaper to go to the courses or having pop concerts afterwards. Its pretty much a class thing too. Your avarage council estate resident isn't going to be converted if he has no interest in horse racing. Whereas somebody from a higher social class could be tempted more easily.