Any former Racing Post,Betfair or

[Glentoby]

RUK/Racecaller forum users around? Asking for a few reasons,one being it would be nice to catch up with some old faces and swap a few tales of old,characters etc and just general  catching up.Also would be interesting to canvas opinion about this site in terms of how things have changed over the years.Personally I miss the Racing Post for the variation of characters and the breadth of opinion and knowledge.The interaction with the likes of Steve Dennis.

Betfair by contrast was a kindergarten of seemingly "My dad is bigger than yours mentality" RUK/Racecaller populated by egomaniacs with low IQs and little knowledge of anything beyond their own bedsit who unfortunately drove many good people away and ultimately signed the death warrant for the site.

This site by contrast has a bright future and I hope at least some of the old guard have taken my advice and followed my reccomendation  to return or give it a try.Such a depth and breadth of knowledge would be a sorry loss if they gave up because of bad experiences elsewhere.I should have never left and regret too much time tilting at windmills in the hope of changing attitudes of a stupid and ignorant minority.

Great to know that the majority on here still hold fast to the concept of helping fellow posters and confident enough to post their opinion with little fear of the abuse and ridicule too common on Betfair and the now defunct Racecaller.I hope some of the old guard look in and grace us with their presence and any that are already here make themselves known?

For my part I hope to be able to contribute to the benefit of everybody and in due course introduce the Molerat with his network of contacts throughout the country to the benefit of the forum.One thing that has not changed is my passion for tackling authority or those who seek to scam punters.The most significant success has been the BHA being persuaded to put notifications on form pages of horses who have undergone wind operations having their first runs.

Always controversy as not everyone always agrees with change,particularly if having a vested interest,usually financial.My next quests are to see notifications made on racecards of fillies/mares in foal following a positive scan and gelding,to be made mandatory before a horses first run following such an event.Punters deserve to know such information,makes no difference if the event has a positive or negative effect on performance.No different imo to first time headgear etc,the punter should have the info and then decide in what way they choose to use it,if at all.

The days of trainers explaining away a vastly improved run following one or more poor efforts to the Stewards,BHA or punters should be a thing of the past no longer acceptable in these days of transparency,the BHAs own word.BTW just because some of my posts are made under the influence of Single Malt do not mean that research has not been done,skewed as some of it will likely be.

The bottom line is I will never post anything I do not think can be beneficial to my fellow punters,even those posts that are way wide of actual events and look crazy in hindsight!!!

[Sir Puntalot]

1 minute ago, Glentoby said:

RUK/Racecaller forum users around? Asking for a few reasons,one being it would be nice to catch up with some old faces and swap a few tales of old,characters etc and just general  catching up.Also would be interesting to canvas opinion about this site in terms of how things have changed over the years.Personally I miss the Racing Post for the variation of characters and the breadth of opinion and knowledge.The interaction with the likes of Steve Dennis.

Betfair by contrast was a kindergarten of seemingly "My dad is bigger than yours mentality" RUK/Racecaller populated by egomaniacs with low IQs and little knowledge of anything beyond their own bedsit who unfortunately drove many good people away and ultimately signed the death warrant for the site.

This site by contrast has a bright future and I hope at least some of the old guard have taken my advice and followed my reccomendation  to return or give it a try.Such a depth and breadth of knowledge would be a sorry loss if they gave up because of bad experiences elsewhere.I should have never left and regret too much time tilting at windmills in the hope of changing attitudes of a stupid and ignorant minority.

Great to know that the majority on here still hold fast to the concept of helping fellow posters and confident enough to post their opinion with little fear of the abuse and ridicule too common on Betfair and the now defunct Racecaller.I hope some of the old guard look in and grace us with their presence and any that are already here make themselves known?

For my part I hope to be able to contribute to the benefit of everybody and in due course introduce the Molerat with his network of contacts throughout the country to the benefit of the forum.One thing that has not changed is my passion for tackling authority or those who seek to scam punters.The most significant success has been the BHA being persuaded to put notifications on form pages of horses who have undergone wind operations having their first runs.

Always controversy as not everyone always agrees with change,particularly if having a vested interest,usually financial.My next quests are to see notifications made on racecards of fillies/mares in foal following a positive scan and gelding,to be made mandatory before a horses first run following such an event.Punters deserve to know such information,makes no difference if the event has a positive or negative effect on performance.No different imo to first time headgear etc,the punter should have the info and then decide in what way they choose to use it,if at all.

The days of trainers explaining away a vastly improved run following one or more poor efforts to the Stewards,BHA or punters should be a thing of the past no longer acceptable in these days of transparency,the BHAs own word.BTW just because some of my posts are made under the influence of Single Malt do not mean that research has not been done,skewed as some of it will likely be.

The bottom line is I will never post anything I do not think can be beneficial to my fellow punters,even those posts that are way wide of actual events and look crazy in hindsight!!!

We appreciate the kind and blunt words, and PL has had its issues with the same in the past to be honest. Too many build up a following and think they are beyond the law of the site, but I quickly stamp that out and so does  @BillyHills

Betfair has always been full of immature one line merchants ever since it drew breath. It actually takes quite some time and setup to be able to manage a forum properly or it quickly becomes a circus. That doesn't mean to say it's boring and there's no banter, because there's plenty of that on here!  

We're working hard on bringing major updates to the racecards with integrated betting and a much easier mobile experience, so all those from racecaller are more than welcome with good and bad feedback. I see no reason why PL can't challenge big racing sites in a lot of what they do, and actually be better in some instances. We can't match video content, but they are TV channels so we're up against it, but we can match and beat them (over time) in every other department and that's the challenge.

As I've said a few times, good progress from where we were January 2017 and very exciting times ahead for 2018 onwards, but we absolutely need everyone's input and feedback.  

[BillyHills]

41 minutes ago, Glentoby said:

Great to know that the majority on here still hold fast to the concept of helping fellow posters and confident enough to post their opinion with little fear of the abuse and ridicule too common on Betfair and the now defunct Racecaller.I hope some of the old guard look in and grace us with their presence and any that are already here make themselves known?

Great post @Glentoby

The one thing the PL has always tried to do is encourage members to post up their thoughts on any particular subject without feeling someone will pop up and take the mickey when things don't go to plan. Its a big no no in my book but unfortunately we are still a long way from persuading the majority of people to join in on the daily threads.

I have heard people say they are just learning the betting game and don't feel qualified enough to comment or maybe feel intimidated by some senior members. I hope this is not the case, the PL is a level playing field and welcomes any poster to start a thread on any subject, follow a system or just join in on the daily Racing Chat threads.

The daily competition is a great way for new members to get involved and would encourage any 'lurker' to join up and give it a go in the New Year.

https://forum.punterslounge.com/forum/192-nap-of-the-day-competition/

[Glentoby]

I think you have done an amazing job and I am so angry and dissapointed with myself that instead of just reading did not contribute.Believing foolishly that the voices of half a dozen really decent posters could make Racecaller rise above the idiots.i hope a few have followed,even including the idiots because they will be easy for you to spot and get rid of before any damage is done.

In the hope though that they might actually realise they can look and learn and benefit.I love banter and I can take criticism with the best,and give it...............but it has to be quantified and justified to merit interaction and here seems to embrace that without getting heavy handed.

Youself and Billy seem to have a good grip of what makes a successful Forum,you have my full backing and i can only hope a few more follow an pass the word on as I am doing.

Edited December 28, 2017 by Glentoby
spelling

[BillyHills]

@Glentoby Who used to be responsible for the Big Race Trends on the other sites?

I see they stopped a few months ago and were carried on by other members in a fashion. That sort of thread would be a good addition to the PL, I love the trends and stats and aways create some interest and a nice point of reference.

[Glentoby]

Hi Billy,agree with your observations but have no idea who administered each individual element.Such a shame the whole went down the pan as it did but inevitable due to a minority.An example of how things can fall apart and deteriorate because of even one or two "Antagonists,protagonists"

Shit stirring idiots in other words,drove the good guys to not even bother to post as the level of personal abuse reached epic proportions,not only on threads but through personal messages.Obviously got to the point where it ended up with a handful of dedicated people keeping things going.

I would urge them and the former posters driven away to name the protagonists by user name and invite them to join here as equals and see where it goes?