Do international meetings live up to their billing on the world wide web?

Before the internet, in the media stone age, end-of-season international thrills were pretty well restricted to the Arc and, for night owls, the Breeders' Cup. But in recent decades a kind of Moore's Law Lite has come into force and things have spiralled.

Look at today (literally). Not only is it Irish Champions Weekend again, but Korea (southern division, though it adamantly bills itself Korea) has shouldered in with new international races, the Keeneland Korea Cup and Sprint. After this, it's the Arc and Champions Day, then the Melbourne Cup, the Breeders' Cup, the Japan Cup and Hong Kong.

No-one's saying some of these events didn't exist before the internet, but the connected, shrinking world has had an effect. Our actual view remains limited by eyesight but our virtual horizons are boundless and international competition has become common. Plus it's a lot easier to get a bet on in the middle of the night in your living room.