A Sad Place To Be

Garrick wrote: I went to Kenilworth today to see my horse run. She ran pretty much as expected; leaving us with the small issue of eliminating the reality that she still has no idea what racing is all about and what is required of her.

But that's not what I wanted to talk about.

This was the first 'cooking' meeting I have been to in many years and I have to say that I was somewhat saddened by what I witnessed.

Almost every facility was deserted. Had there not been horses in the pull up area when I arrived I might have believed I had got my dates wrong.

There were two bookmakers standing up but not a single punter in the ring.

I felt almost obliged to tip double when I ordered a drink as I am sure my waitress would have counted herself lucky to earn R20 in tips during the afternoon.

It must be really depressing for the staff......

Despite this I noted a huge number of upgrades to almost all of my old haunts.

Every now and then I caught a hint of what it used to be like to go to the course. Hell - it used to be my home from home. Horse racing can be incredibly 'romantic' as an activity but nobody seems to 'get' that any longer.

I was reminded how amazed I was when I saw IGN ( now Tellytrack ) on course for the first time. It opened up racing from other centres whereas we had previously clustered around a handful of audio speakers to listen to commentaries from Jhb & Dbn. Looking back I now realise that all the new technologies effectively heralded the end of racecourse attendance as we had come to know and enjoy it.

I drove home feeling quite sad.

thisotherdude wrote: I only go to Fairview here in PE if there's a big race day. Back in the day I use to not miss one single meeting at Arlington or Fairview.The course buzzed with patrons. Bookmakers screaming the odds on offer out loud trying to top their fellow bookmaker's.it's just not the same anymore. I now sit on my couch with my laptop, drink and food, tuned into Tellytrack, it's convenient and I guess therein lies the rub. The advent of technology has made things so convenient one doesn't have to go to the course and stand in long lines trying to get a bet in.It's just a click away. How do we get the people back to the course? That's the magical question.