Eyes on the prizes

Stephen Pollard on a dispiriting start to racing’s “Premierisation” era

EACH TO THEIR OWN, BUT the prospect of watching four races on a Saturday afternoon with winning prize money of £4,193.42, £4,193.42, £3,247.81 and £3,247.81 respectively — competed over by horses of the calibre you would expect to be vieing for such paltry sums — is not one I would describe as thrilling. But that is exactly what viewers of ITV Racing had on offer on the first Saturday ay of 2024. That’s a slightly unfair criticism, of course. ITV had not been expecting to cover Newcastle, a low-level meeting which was only added to the mix when Sandown had to be abandoned after a deluge. But it’s only slightly unfair, because the context around both meetings is revealing, and telling, about the state of racing as the sport enters…

You're reading a preview of

The Critic (Digital) - 1 Issue, February 2024

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.