Going to the Post question?

It would appear that UK horses tend to go to the post approx 5 mins before the race, go behind, go into the stalls and race.

I am sure we tend to go done closer to 15 mins before the race and spend a lot of time at the back of the stalls.

Is this a fact or any reason for it?

Thanks

Bloody good question. Somebody answer it, please!

One of the reasons that UK load so quick is time schedules for TV coverage. Can't hang around for too long because bookie shops will lose loads of b=money becasue people tend to bet on a race then watch the race see the outcome and depending on winning or not will have a bet in the next race. When races overlap it becomes rather frustrating trying to keep up especially on a busy day when we have UK,French and Irish racing and not forgetting the dog races and all the virtual rubbish that they do.

C and C, I thank you for your input and understand what you say, but not really answering my question, we still run on time just leave the parade ring earlier in my observations, which could be wrong?

size of the tracks and the time to get down to the relevant sarting points. (sa race courses much bigger in geography that most uk tracks

chicken n chips Wrote:

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> size of the tracks and the time to get down to the
> relevant sarting points. (sa race courses much
> bigger in geography that most uk tracks


Is this a fact would have thought the opposite?

C and C cannot agree with that statement, Newmarket is the biggest racecourse on the planet. Our tracks e.g. Turffontien the parade ring is in front of the grandstand and the horses leave the ring and travel 6 furlongs to the start,for a 6 furlong race, but again my question "why do we get to the start early?

Dave maybe no one has taken your point into consideration, its just the way its done?

I feel I am digging myself a rather large hole. Don't know the answer Scotia.

Thats what i was thinking that Newmarket has straight races over 1 1/2 miles and 2 mile races with one bend, Newcastle,ayr,newbury,haydock,nottinhgam are all wide galloping tracks,chepstow,cheltenham,the list goes on..

Found this on the British horse racing authority website,looks like its upto the stewards on duty to make sure a strict timetable is adhered to..

Race Starting Times and Punctuality
With around 9000 races taking place on British racecourses each year, it's vitally important that start times are effectively scheduled and accurately adhered to.

Around 15 months before the first races are even run, an entire year's Fixture List is analysed by the Authority’s Racing Department, to ensure that each race is allocated the best possible starting time for the day it is scheduled.

With anything up to six fixtures regularly taking place around the country on a given day, it's important that the races are evenly spread, taking into account the daylight hours available (or from what time floodlights might be required), the needs of the companies who will broadcast them, and even the impact it might have on other races run outside of the UK.

On raceday itself, the Clerk of the Course posts a clearly defined timetable for the day in the racecourse weighing room. This timetable details the exact times by which jockeys and trainers are expected to have left the weighing room, be in the paddock, have a horse on the track, and then be at the start. The racing industry recognises that the responsibility for the punctuality of off times is a collective one, and jockeys, trainers and officials (both BHA and racecourse based) are well aware of its importance - not only to punters but also to racing's income.

Of course, in a sport where animals are involved, it is inevitable that on occasion, circumstances beyond management control will arise that cause a delay. A horse might lose a shoe and need it replacing by the racecourse farrier, be reluctant to go forward into the starting stalls, or even get loose at or on its way down to the start. Likewise, there might be a benefit to deliberately delaying a race if, for example, a fixture has been abandoned elsewhere, or two races might be about to clash because of delay at another racecourse. A BHA protocol is in place to allow Stipendiary Stewards to minimise the occurrence of such clashes.

We know how important accuracy is to both the racing industry and the wider public - and we do everything we can to ensure that the vast majority of races go off as punctually as possible. It’s for this reason that a Stewards’ Enquiry is called automatically if a race goes off more than three minutes late, with BHA conducting follow-up work with those courses with higher rates of late off times. The Stewards can also impose a fine on anyone who they believe actively disregards the raceday timetable as posted by the Clerk of the Course in the weighing room.

With regard to the animals themselves, where Flat horses have regularly shown fractious behaviour at the start, BHA Starters will require the horse to undergo an official stalls test prior to its next run. Moreover, trainers whose horses tend have a consistently poor record in this area may be required to submit each of their horses for a stalls test the following year. Measures like these, coupled with the professionalism and effort of the industry as a whole, have seen British horseracing’s punctuality statistics continue to improve in recent years.



We work hard to make sure that races go off on time. Whilst the racecourses with a higher incidence of late off times usually have, for example, high numbers of televised races, pre-race parades and/or maiden races (where inexperienced horses may take longer to load into the starting stalls), we’re very aware that there’s still room for improvement. As such, the industry continues to work together to maximise the efficiency and punctuality of race timings.

Thanks Hibby some interesting information above, cheers!

Still my question is why do we go to the start 10 mins before the UK, have no problem with going off on time, its also a priority.