'An experiment worth considering for the sport' - our ideal fixture list
Our four-part series finishes with a Racing Post editorial on the next steps
When it comes to changing British racing for the better there is no more powerful tool the sport has at its disposal than the fixture list.
This week, the Racing Post has highlighted the remarkable diversity of opinion around the race calendar, as well as presenting data sets which have revealed the myriad consequences of the growth of the fixture list that has taken place over the last 35 years, some positive, some negative.
We have also shone a light on how the fixture list is constructed, how the Office of Fair Trading's 2004 ruling gave control of the bulk of the list to racecourses, and how the tripartite structure – tracks, horsemen and BHA – that runs the sport, each member with their own veto, makes the compilation of the calendar an uneasy compromise.
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