Punters Pay (Again)!

And we wonder why we struggle to get people to go racing?...Yesterday marks another wonderful example of racing's inability to deal with the general public (and potential regular racegoers).  Unfortunately owing to high winds the card at Musselburgh had to be abandoned after just one race (or 12% of the card) - did the racegoers get a full refund?  Of course they didn't, in fact they were reimbursed only half the entrance fee!  I know that there are plenty of expenses incurred to put on a race meeting, but why should the public foot the bill for it?  If I were a first time punter that had to cough up that sort of money to see one race, I would certainly think twice before attending again...come on Musselburgh, do the decent thing!

As usual though, it is the owner who is worst affected by the abandonment.  Not only will most of them have travelled to the track, so will their horses and believe me transporting livestock is no cheap business!

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I see that the Joey Barton roadshow ended in a 0-0 draw last night as QPR and Barton's old club Newcastle finished in deadlock.  The match was played in good spirit and it would appear that both managers were satisfied with the result.

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Great Britain and Ireland field a strong looking golf team to take on Europe in the pairs for the Vivendi Seve Trophy.  Our team will include recent winner Simon Dyson, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Robert Rock and they look to have an outstanding chance of beating the Europeans.  The 11/10 on offer with Ladbrokes looks to be a standout price and certainly worth an investment!