What's the right way to respond when something sad happens at the races? It's a tough question but here's the answer

Here it is at last, Chepstow’s October fixture that gets us all thinking about quality jump racing, in many cases for the first time since April. It’s an annual ritual, a source of pleasure, and so I worry about striking an unwelcome note, but I think we need to talk again about the death of horses, a subject which is bound to come up during the months ahead.

As a group, we racing fans are not good at discussing this topic. It makes us uncomfortable and unhappy. We worry about saying the wrong thing. But we won’t get any better unless we practise. I'm hoping that, if we have this chat now, it may lead to less agonising during the winter.

It matters so much more to talk about this than it did 40 years ago when I first drifted into this part of the world. Back in those days, outside life did not intrude. When something upsetting happened in front of you, the only question was whether you could cope with what you had just seen. There must have been people who decided they couldn’t and drifted off elsewhere. The rest of us would sigh and feel sad and get on with our lives.