The Horse racing thread

[winsamsoon]

No one know then how many times the horse can be whipped to incur a ban in the national?

[SLIGONIAN]

RIP to the horses.

What?

For some reason i can't help thinking of this..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFKqDvAxJ6Q&feature=related

that is funny ross4life

however Hardy if you have a problem with what i said you can fck urself

[Hardy]

Charming. I have no problem with what you said. I have long learned to expect the surreal from your posts and I love them for the way they beat the English language about the head with a brick and fart in the face of sense.

"RIP the horses" was great.

[Hardy]

No one know then how many times the horse can be whipped to incur a ban in the national?

Standard new rules apply. I think it's a maximum of nine lashes in the race with a maximum of five after the last fence. Something like that. Then there's a graduated series of penalties and severity of offence guidelines that I think are still being worked out.

[Donnellys Hollow]

On another note ive watched the finish 3/4 times and the over head shot shows the jockey riding the winner pushing it along alot more aggresively, the rider of sunnyhillboy was way to relaxed imo, what you reckon DH? im no expert but the winner wanted it way more,

I don't think McLernon knew the winner was coming until it was too late. He only hit the horse once in the last 100 yards. When he went by Katie, he must have figured he had it won as he was going best of anything at that stage and it seemed to me he wouldn't have known Jacob had got a tremendous acceleration out of Neptune. Another slap or two in the last 50 yards before it was too late might have got the extra six inches that would have won it. That's what I think anyway, though I'd be interested to hear what a proper horseman like DH thinks.

Great entertainment, though, even if the BBC are starting to get very annoying in the way they're trying to dumb down sport into Strictly Come Dancing and it's sad to see a respected figure like Mick Fitzgerald making a clown of himself.

It's impossible to judge really but I will say that the further you go the less effective the stick can become. If anything giving the horse another smack or two after four and a half miles when it is running out of petrol could have a negative effect. Tough day for Jonjo and JP losing out by the width of a rizla paper and having an empty box at Jackdaws which housed the reigning Gold Cup winner last night.

As for the BBC's coverage - simply awful. Mick Fitz and Dunwoody were fine riders but they're very poor on the box. Norman Williamson was excellent on their coverage a few years ago but for some reason he wasn't retained. Hopefully Channel 4 will give the likes of Ascot, Epsom and Liverpool the coverage they deserve. I won't hold my breath on that one though.

[boojangles]

I know he's not the first horse to die round Aintree but I find it incredibly sad that a Gold Cup winner had to be put down today. Surely after winning the ultimate prize in chasing a horse should have been afforded the rest of the season off? I was questioning JPs/ John Joes wisdom before the race but surely they must have serious regrets among other emotions tonight.

RIP Synchronized and According to Pete

On another note, while I didn't see much of BBC's coverage today I have to say I enjoy Mick Fitzgerald's input usually, especially on ATR. Gives far greater insight and analysis than any other expert that I know of.

[Mickey Linden]

For first time in my life I have come to the conclusion the national should be banned. Its such a false showpiece for our sport in what is no more than a glorified handicap for the bookies benefit. RFC promote the derby gold cup or champions day instead. For too long now the national has provided more questions than answers

[GAA_Talk]

Charming. I have no problem with what you said. I have long learned to expect the surreal from your posts and I love them for the way they beat the English language about the head with a brick and fart in the face of sense.

"RIP the horses" was great.

Man, that was bloody wonderful. If you made that up I can only salute you. Nearly pissed myself in bed here.

[beer baron]

Had neptune collonges,after timing i know but hey a 33/1 winner i couldn't give a f**k who believes me or not,had talked myself out of backing him having backed him flat out for about 3 years but my aunt asked me to put a few quid e/w on seabass for her so when i went down i said i better do neptune or i'll be sick-im still full form last night and i think the cure is the order ofthe day too  All thanks to a little tenner e/w yyyyyyyyyyoooooooooo

[Declan]

Whatever about the National this is some story for the Tipp lads:

CLIFFORD COONAN in Beijing

IRELAND IS set to play a key role in efforts to develop China's horse racing industry after it announced a €40 million export tie-in with the country's first national equine facility, based in Tianjin.

The Tianjin Equine Culture City will be the first of its kind in China and the €1.5 billion project will open in phases from next year.

It will generate €40 million for Ireland over the next three years.

The news was announced by Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney, who is leading Ireland's largest agriculture and food trade mission to China this week, the latest in a series of high-profile visits to the key Chinese market.

"This initiative should facilitate the development of a major export market for horses from Ireland and has the potential to provide a range of business opportunities for companies and individuals in Ireland who can bring a wide range of expertise to the project," said Mr Coveney.

The deal marks the first Chinese government involvement with an overseas joint venture in horse racing and breeding.

The element of state involvement is significant because backing horse racing in China can be a bit of gamble in itself.

Betting is a major taboo in mainland China – chairman Mao Zedong's communists banned all forms of gambling after the revolution in 1949. Hong Kong is the only venue on Chinese soil where betting on horses is legal and authorities are unlikely to legalise gambling on the mainland anytime soon.

There have been various projects aimed at taking advantage of the horse racing market in China in the event of the rules changing, but many have failed or been downsized drastically.

At the same time, there has been some restricted horse racing in China in recent years. Rather than gambling, punters can earn shopping vouchers or lottery tickets in raffles held between races.

Bai Zhisheng of the state-owned Tianjin State Farm Agribusiness Group said the tie-in helped ensure the group's project was firmly established.

"We would like to accelerate the progress of the development . . . to get it completed, and with high-level partners this will help us achieve it," said Mr Bai.

The racing venture and racecourse will require 600 to 800 horses for its inaugural year, which is targeted to have approximately 40 race days.

While Ireland has no agreement regarding the export of horses, a delegation statement said discussions were ongoing about sourcing of this bloodstock with Ireland enjoying favoured status.

The new facility in Tianjin, a city of 12 million, will feature 4,000 horse stalls, a horse clinic, 150 trainers' offices, five training tracks, and two international standard racetracks.

It will also host a grandstand, a club house, an international equestrian college and a horse auction house on a 3.3 million square metre site.

The breeding programme will involve an agreement to import over 100 mares in the next three years.

The project will also involve the acquisition of stallions.

The link will include Ireland hosting seven of China's top agriculture graduates, who will spend two months at Coolmore Stud learning the industry.

"The sector plays a huge part in the Irish economy, currently generating €1.1 billion annually. This industry is something we are good at, and today one of the biggest markets in the world has recognised that and has chosen to partner with Ireland," said racing tycoon JP Magnier, speaking on behalf of Coolmore.

The trade delegation includes 51 companies and 127 individuals active in China. These are drawn from the meat, dairy, seafood, beverage, bloodstock and agri-services sectors.

The mission, which runs until Sunday, will also include Irish universities involved in the provision of educational courses in food safety and agriculture science.

The visit follows the high-profile visit of vice-president Xi Jinping to Ireland in February, during which he visited a farm in Clare.

Irish food and drink exports to Asia are estimated at €370 million for 2011, up 40 per cent on the previous year.

The main components of trade are dairy ingredients, including infant formula, pigmeat, fish and alcoholic beverages.

[thewobbler]

For first time in my life I have come to the conclusion the national should be banned. Its such a false showpiece for our sport in what is no more than a glorified handicap for the bookies benefit. RFC promote the derby gold cup or champions day instead. For too long now the national has provided more questions than answers

Couldn't disagree more. It's the sheer carnage and unpredictability of the National that makes it so thrilling. It's heart in mouth stuff from start to finish, and having watched the banality and boredom of GAA and soccer semi-finals at the weekend, the horse racing was from a different planet.

You can call it a bookies benefit but the champion was a multiple grade 1 winner, who has finished in the top 3 in two thirds of all races he has entered. Apart from Synchronised he was the most decorated horse in the field, but for some reason never caught anyone's imagination.

(I won by the way)

[maddog]

For first time in my life I have come to the conclusion the national should be banned. Its such a false showpiece for our sport in what is no more than a glorified handicap for the bookies benefit. RFC promote the derby gold cup or champions day instead. For too long now the national has provided more questions than answers

Couldn't disagree more. It's the sheer carnage and unpredictability of the National that makes it so thrilling. It's heart in mouth stuff from start to finish, and having watched the banality and boredom of GAA and soccer semi-finals at the weekend, the horse racing was from a different planet.

You can call it a bookies benefit but the champion was a multiple grade 1 winner, who has finished in the top 3 in two thirds of all races he has entered. Apart from Synchronised he was the most decorated horse in the field, but for some reason never caught anyone's imagination.

(I won by the way)

100% wobbler, the national should be left to well alone. In this world of sanitised health and safety PC nonsense we need events like the national. I look forward to it the way i look forward to the first round of the championship (no jokes about falling at the first please) Owners know the risks of putting a horse in the national, but horses die every week be it on the gallops, over hurdles, or a mundane steeplechase around Towcester and indeed every year at the biggest money spinner of the lot at Cheltenham.

[amallon]

Just got a £10 free bet from PaddyPower for the site crashing on Saturday where should I waste it?  Any tips?

[Hardy]

I agree with the lads. It's a highlight of the year for me. I've loved it since the first time I saw it in grainy black-and-white. I love jump racing anyway, but this is a thing apart from normal racing and nothing else like it exists in sport.

I fear its days are numbered, though. You can feel the shiver as the ghouls gather on the sidelines. The headlines, even in the sport section now always include a reference to the dead horses, and hysteria about "carnage" and the like. (Not a word about Noel Fehily's broken leg, though - he's only a human being.) And the BBC feels the need to get Balding to put on a po-faced look and give us a couple of minutes about the "tragedy" (these people shouldn't be cheapening tragedy) of the dead horses and Pitman to give the people of Bambi-land a reassurance that the horses didn't suffer. It's on the agenda in a big way.

It's inexorable. They'll have it banned within a few years. And they won't stop there.

Having completed that rant, I do fear for the safety of the jockeys. But they're all adults.

[thewobbler]

I can't see it being axed Hardy. It is racing's only genuine shop window to the unconverted, and without trying to sound overdramatic, almost the entire racing industry is dependent on the ties it generates each and every year.

Losing a couple of horses in the National is very sad. Putting an industry at risk, much more sad.