A ghost meeting! All spectators are banned! The main meeting of the autumn and I’m in quarantine. Warned off! The club was anticipating a drop in crowd numbers but certainly not to zero! The compensation was going to be a database with 200,000 or so email addresses of all those who voted for a runner. I voted for Aristia, at the invitation of Dr Andrew Clarke, the CEO of Living Legends, the retirement home for racehorses. It is a good cause as I think all horses who make the field win some cash for their nominated charity.
So, what am I to do? Racing.com on the TV I suppose. I’m only interested in a couple of races, the two-year-olds and the All Stars. There are only five runners in the two-year-old, so it is a betting opportunity. A place punter only has to cross out three horses. I eagerly wait for the mounting yard coverage and get to see the topweight being unruly as he leaves the yard. The rest of the field are on the track with the jockey up before the camera looks at them. Not enough information! In the All Stars it is much the same story with a glimpse of two thirds of the field in the yard and the rest with the jockey up on the track. No bet! This is the way my season ends, not with a bang, but a whimper.
It is hard to see me getting back to the track before winter. Here’s hoping for spring.
Geoffrey,
Initially the British Horseracing Authority was considering race meetings without audiences, now there will be no race meetings until May at the earliest although I suspect we may have to wait far longer. Severity levels in the UK are increasing daily.
Geoffrey
Not sure whether you have the equivalent of this in Australia?
https://ukhbf.org/betting-charter/hbf-register-of-protection-of-funds/
Last month the virtual Grand National replaced the actual race at Aintree with bookmaker profits going towards the fight against Covid-19.
We are still in lockdown in the UK, we may hear more on Sunday from the prime-minister about what the removal of restrictions might look like.
Every Thursday evening at 8pm the UK general public clap the National Health Service workers at the front of our homes.
Hope you and your family, and all readers of your blog are keeping safe.
And finally we are celebrating the 75th Anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) today (the bank holiday was moved from Monday to Friday this year).
Trevor
Dear Geoffrey
It’s been exactly a year since your last post (understandable).
I hope that life is getting better in Melbourne/Australia and you and your family are well, and that also applies to all those who read your blog.
All the best
Trevor
I’ve survived and I’m starting up again!