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DAVID CARR |
Weblog: What do you mean the Wi-Fi doesn't work? The life of a Racing Post reporter
With friends like these ...
'Friendly fire' is the weaselly euphemism — 'Shooting your own men' is what it really is. And it is what I was writing about today.
Stories about racing politics rarely excite the passions and the continuing saga of yet another delay to the fixture list, caused by yet more wrangling between various factions, would not appear the stuff of violent emotion.
But it probably is if you have anything to do with the Injured Jockeys' Fund, which is one of those very rare organisations that actually deserves all the praise that comes its way and does more than could possibly be imagined to look after those who suffer in the course of working in what remains a very dangerous sport.
Yet a large chunk of their income comes from selling diaries and calendars - Christmas trading produces gross turnover of more than £1m annually for the IJF, which last year sold around 25,000 calendars and 12,000 diaries. The charity consistently makes a net profit of more than 50 per cent from sales.
But neither can be printed until the BHA, the Horsemens' Group and the racecourses can come up with a fixture list.
Which may not be until November.
Which means the IJF will have to move like a blue-backsided fly on speed to get orders out in time - and dip into their precious funds to pay extra for postage and hire more staff to work through the night.
Chief executive Lisa Hancock is too polite to call it anything other than 'a real worry' and 'a big hit for us'.
But it does not bear thinking what fundraiser extraordinaire Jack Berry will say should a single beneficiary suffer the slightest knockback as a result of costs incurred due to machinations in high places.
Racing diaries are also a big deal for bookmakers, whose PRteams can always be relied upon for an eye-catching quote to sum things up.
Kate Miller won today's prize - "Diaries have become a staple of every punter's arsenal for the season ahead and there could be anarchy if Father Christmas doesn't deliver them."
Though David Elsworth is a man rarely outquoted and was in typically colourful form when asked about Eton Rifles' step back from 7f to 6f for the Ayr Gold Cup - "A furlong is ten cricket pitches - I could throw a cricket ball that far . . . I wouldn't think the trip will be a big problem to him."
To which all I can add is that if he really can throw a cricket ball 220 yards then he ought to be in the Guinness Book Of Records rather than the Racing Post.
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