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DAVID CARR |
Weblog: What do you mean the Wi-Fi doesn't work? The life of a Racing Post reporter
Fair old day at Haydock
If you put the money on, you get the the horses - cynical words or realistic ones depending on your point of view but there is plenty in what Donald McCain said.
Money has made all the difference to late-November at Haydock.
Betfair threw a large amount of the stuff at the track when they launched the big race that carries their name tomorrow and it has quickly become established as the pre-Boxing Day staying chase run anywhere in the British Isles.
Since then they've boosted that card to create a cracking day and the track took a chance this year by making it a two-day meeting, putting £80,000 up for grabs on a decent first afternoon, and were rewarded with quality horses from the top stables of Paul Nicholls and Nicky Henderson as well as local man McCain.
David Carr: contemplating an extra five days of tache-tastic facial hair
Which achieved the near-impossible - filling the press room on a northern track on a Friday. So many hacks, in fact, that the overflow room had to be used.
Three different radio broadcasters in action, one of whom had an interesting talk with his producer after sending in an interview:
"He was quite annoyed and there are two 'f******s' and a 'bloody' but one you can hardly hear and I am sure you can sort them out."
Plenty of other strange sounds on a busy afternoon.
Like the mobile phone ringing out the 'Some Mothers Do Have 'em' theme tune in the paddock before the opening race.
Or the 'gosh who's that? He sounds so familiar' voice talking very loudly into a mobile after the second - I turned round to see a voluble Roy 'Catchphrase' Walker.
There'll be no mistaking the sponsors if you tune in to Haydock on television tomorrow.
There are Betfair banners absolutely everywhere, all a bright garish yellow which will shine out brightly on a murky afternoon. Worst job on Sunday will be peeling the Betfair logos off the rails all round the parade ring - they're firmly fixed on and anyone whohas ever stripped wallpaper will know that getting them off without leaving a horrible mark will be mighty tough.
But fair play to their spokesman Tony Calvin's devotion to Movember.
Not only has he sprouted an impressive growth but he also had the brainwave of asking everyone to keep their 'taches until the HWPA Derby Awards on December 5 so as to allow for some memorable group pictures of a whole host of people in racing as they may never be seen again.
Not sure how Mrs Carr might feel about an extra five days of prickles - if you want to ease her pain with a donation, go to http://mobro.co/davidcarr
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