'It's disappointing' - Newcastle all-weather feature attracts just three runners
At a time of notably small fields on the all-weather, officials at Newcastle expressed disappointment at its £20,000 feature on Thursday attracting just three horses.
Flat cards have been hit by low numbers across the board of late and only two of the 15 races at Lingfield and Wolverhampton on Friday attracted a double-figure field, while all the fields at Lingfield on Wednesday were single figures.
That continued a trend in which a higher proportion of all-weather races were run in Britain in December with five runners or fewer (11.07 per cent) than in the previous six years, according to BHA statistics.
In January, 16.1 per cent of such races have attracted fewer than six runners.
Alarm bell for racing as recent field sizes slump to lowest level for decades (Members' Club)
The three runners at Newcastle will line up for a 1m2f conditions event, which is a fast-track qualifier for the £200,000 Betway Easter Classic at the All-Weather Championships on Good Friday.
A field of four tackles the £12,000 three-year-old 7f handicap, which has not attracted more than five runners since it was first staged in 2018.
There were only five original entries for the feature event and six in the main supporting race and clerk of the course Eloise Quayle said: "It's disappointing. I don't know why it's happened, there's not been any feedback or anything said. It's puzzling but it's not been a low turnout all round, the other races on the card match previous years' entries and runners.
"The fast-track qualifier is a new race but it's worth £20,000 and you'd have thought it would get a few more in it. It's competitive enough but it would have been nice to have more to add into the mix.
"The three-year-old race tends to get small fields and presumably there are not the horses to fill it but there must be a demand for it for the BHA to encourage us to keep programming it. We'll have to look at both races going forward."
A BHA spokesman said: “It is essential for racing’s future that we consistently produce competitive races that appeal to racegoers, bettors and other followers of the sport. That involves making the best possible use of our horse population and it is reassuring that, despite the pandemic, the number of Flat horses in training at the moment is in line with where they would normally be at this time of year.
"We will continue to work with our participants and racecourses with the aim of delivering more competitive racing, not just on the all-weather in January, but across both codes throughout the year. That will involve trying various initiatives, some which will work, others that won’t, but the delivery of a more competitive racing product is a key priority for us in the weeks and months ahead.”
There are three five-runner fields at Lingfield on Friday, when four of the eight races at Wolverhampton will be contested by six horses or fewer.
Newcastle racecard and betting
Responding to the small fields, Ladbrokes Coral PR director Simon Clare said: "The increase in small fields on the all-weather in December is obviously a concern and requires investigating, both in terms of why it's happened but also the impact that has had on betting turnover and levy revenues.
"It's one month so there’s no point in jumping to conclusions or knee-jerk reactions but hopefully analysis of the racing data and the betting data will shine some light on the issue and how serious it is, as well as monitoring the ongoing situation.
"We all want competitive races and decent field sizes but that becomes more challenging when you are providing opportunities for higher rated horses as there's a much smaller pool of those horses. So it does go with the territory, but that’s not to say there aren’t things that can be done to help the situation if you know what the core issue is."
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Published on 12 January 2022inNews
Last updated 09:01, 13 January 2022
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