Punters won the battle for Sundays with God - now we must make the most of it

The thorny matter of the fixture list annually causes as much consternation as any in racing, and the 2022 vintage has proved no different. The biggest bone of contention seems to be Sunday racing, which has been a big bone for so many years that I've lost count.

I remember simpler times, when the main conflict was between vocal Christians – who viewed the Sabbath as a stick with which to beat Godless racegoers and punters – and the rest of us, who just wanted something to do on a Sunday that did not involve washing the car and eating roast potatoes.

Well, we punters won that one and got what we wished for, after about 2,000 years of trying; only it didn't quite work out as we hoped. Just ask George McGrath, chief executive of the National Association of Stable Staff, who is incandescent that more Sunday fixtures are being added to the list.