Harnessing the power of poo could smell sweet when racing's critics come to call

It's not a question you expect to hear when gathered around Newbury's parade ring waiting for the runners for the Ladbrokes Trophy: "Can you imagine if, five years from now, this racecourse is powered by poo from Lambourn?"

However, this might be the most important piece of intelligence I received on Saturday.

The suggestion was that harnessing the power of animal excrement using biomass technology, as has happened at Marwell Zoo, near Winchester, could render the racecourse carbon neutral and offset the use of fossil fuels in getting horses and people to the track.