11.30am Racing Explained: Bid to engage the casual racegoer

Chris Cook: If you’re at Aintree or Sandown on Saturday, you’ll see the first steps being taken in racing’s latest attempt to attract new supporters. ‘Racing Explained’, unveiled at a press conference in London yesterday, is a Jockey Club venture but the hope is that all racecourses will use it and that it will be of lasting benefit to the whole sport.

The problem being tackled is this: around 80% of racegoers consider that they have little or no knowledge of racing, according to research. These people tend to enjoy their day at the track but, because they have no great attachment to the sport and feel distant from it, they don’t go racing more than once a year, whereas engaged and knowledgable fans will do so several times.

The Jockey Club’s research showed that those once-a-year types really do have a very low level of knowledge. They’re not sure what they’re meant to do when they arrive at the track, or which parts of the course are open to them. They don’t know where to begin with the task of choosing one horse over another and they’re apprehensive about betting. They want to feel welcome but they’re often left with the feeling that they’re intruding on the turf of those with a specialist interest and that the occasion has not been arranged with them in mind.

That last point is particularly worrying but, if we’re being honest, is hardly surprising. Aside from a “how to use this information” page in a racecard, what consistent effort do we make to welcome newcomers? Essentially, we let them sink or swim, perhaps reasoning that it took each of us years of effort to learn about racing, so why can’t these newbies make a similar effort?

Well, that’s no longer an acceptable approach in these competitive times. If we don’t put out a red carpet for the unconverted, they’ll be made to feel more wanted elsewhere.

Recognising that, the Jockey Club have made a series of films to help the uninitiated and you can see them here. The intent was to make films similar to those shown at the 2012 Olympics to explain obscure sports to first-time spectators and indeed the same film-makers have been used. There is, I’m told, scope to make more of these, perhaps to explain the significance of a particular race on a particular day.

Racing Explained has its own website where you can go to find out more if your interest has been piqued. An app will also be made available for mobile phones which offers to explain particular parts of a course to you once you’re there.

The films, along with various ‘infographics’ (posters, to you and me), will be aired at Jockey Club tracks from Saturday and will be offered to non-Jockey Club tracks from some point next year, once the Club is satisfied they’ve hit on the right way to use them.

It seems to me to be exactly the right thing to be doing. As with the ‘Racemakers’ initiative, this is an excellent plan that we ought to have been following before now. It should be seen only as a start because, as you’ll all be aware, there are a lot of things to explain in horse racing and a lot of barriers to entry that need to be dismantled.

11.15am Mullins upbeat on Annie Power return

Tony Paley: Willie Mullins has issued an upbeat bulletin on Annie Power who he expects to return to full training following Christmas period after scans revealed her injuries were not as bad as first feared.

The mare was expected to make her reappearance in the Hatton’s Grace Hurdle at Fairyhouse on Sunday, but was found to be lame and was withdrawn from the Grade One contest.

The champion trainer feared the six-year-old could have suffered a possible stress fracture, which would have meant eight to 10 weeks box rest.

Mullins said: “Annie [Power] will walk until Christmas and be checked again and then hopefully be back to full training. [There is] no fracture. Just a stress reaction.”

Owned by Rich Ricci, Annie Power lost her unbeaten record when second to More Of That in the Ladbrokes World Hurdle at Cheltenham in March, before bouncing back at Punchestown.

Mullins is hopeful she will return to Prestbury Park in March and has not ruled out giving her a prep run.

He said: “We hope to make it [to Cheltenham]. If we can we will run before.”

Thursday’s best bets, by Greg Wood

The ground has dried a little overnight at Wincanton, where the going is now good, good-to-soft in places, and the popular west country track can boast decent fields for all its races too, with at least eight runners in every event and a double-figure field in four out of seven. Alan King’s Ziga Boy (2.15) looks like the best best on the card, despite having finished only eighth on his seasonal debut at Exeter last month. His placing does not tell the full story, as he was running a big race back from a break until making a bad mistake at the second-last, and his two outings last season after arriving from France both suggested that he is a horse with plenty of potential over fences.

Powerful Action (2.45) will be popular too in a competitive handicap hurdle, and has not been overly taxed by the handicapper for a win on good ground at Ludlow in October. Sportsreport (12.35) was racing on different ground when an easy winner at Lingfield last week but should have enough in hand to defy a 7lb penalty, while on the Flat card at Kempton, Aaronyow (4.45) and Vaguely Spanish (6.45) both hold strong claims.

Tipping competition, day four

Our winners so far:

Monday

Hold The Bucks 9-2

Ballyvoneen 5-1

Shirley’s Pride 3-1

Tuesday

Jigsaw Financial 7-2

Baraboy 7-2

Rowlestone Lass 9-1

Wednesday

Gorsky Island 9-2

Seaviper 8-1

Crouching Harry 8-1

And our leaders are:

Wiggy12 +24.5

Diegoisgod +14

72Luca +12.5

... after Wiggy12 found all three winners yesterday and took a clear lead.

Today, we’d like your tips, please, for these races: 2.05 Leicester, 2.15 Wincanton and 2.45 Wincanton.

This week’s prize is a copy of the Racing Post Annual 2015, now in its fourth year and running to 208 colour pages packed with stories from this racing year and some of terrific photos of the greatest moments. Interviewees include Willie Mullins and Tony McCoy. If you don’t win, you can buy it here.

As ever, our champion will be the tipster who returns the best profit to notional level stakes of £1 at starting price on our nominated races, of which there will be three each day up until Friday. Non-runners count as losers. If you have not joined in so far this week, you are welcome to do so today, but you will start on -3.

In the event of a tie at the end of the week, the winner will be the tipster who, from among those tied on the highest score, posted their tips earliest on the final day.

For terms and conditions click here.

Good luck!

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