Just in case someone at RWWA happens to stumble across this article, I thought I would take a few minutes to give a condensed version of what I believe to be the main causes for small fields at most metropolitan meetings not only of late but actually going back to when the new ratings based handicapping system was introduced.
I have listed the reasons below in no particular order however I am sure that if those reading the article have any racing knowledge, especially the rules and costs involved when it comes to nominations and scratchings, it will not be too hard to follow.
Firstly and by far one of the biggest reasons is that there is to much similarity between the programing for mid week and week-end racing. This problem is compounded by the fact that there is then to much similarity in the ratings bands available between Saturday and mid-week meetings. Let me explain.
If we take two year old racing firstly. Between June 25th and August 13th this year and allowing for the fact that the two year olds turn three on August 1st, there are seventeen races available in the metro area for this age group. Of the seventeen, races programed, nine (9) are over 1200m, Seven(7) are over 1000m and two(2) are over 1300m. WOW!!! That's variety if ever I've seen it. What on earth is wrong with programing something like 1000m followed by 1400m followed by 1200m followed by 1600m on each consecutive Saturday / Wednesday meeting. Or even a 1000m on the same day as the 1600m so that the same horses don't nominate for the same races. And please don't tell me that trainers won't support the 1600m two year old races run in June and July. I mean, could it get any worse than what it is now??
Maybe the reason they don't is that there is only one 1600m two year old race programed all season run on June 21st. The next race run over that distance for the same group of horse is on September 13th followed the following Saturday by another one. Unbelievable!!! Twelve bloody weeks. What owner or trainer can afford to have a horse in work for that amount of time while they wait for the next race to become available. Someone ought to tell those in charge that 1000m and 1200m races for any age group becomes a bit boring when you have it rammed down your throat week in week out. Let alone not getting the opportunity to test out late developing young horses. But wait. I digress.
Now back to small fields. Now lets take three year olds. Most if not all Saturday races are programed as open three year olds while most if not all mid-week races are programed as 0-75 ratings races. Now I don't have the exact figures at my disposal but blind Freddy can tell you that there are very few three year olds who reach a rating of more than 75-80. Those that do are usually classic winners and or in the paddock during winter. So why not restrict mid - week three year olds to 0-65 or 0-70 thereby
forcing the better three year olds which are around to nominate for Saturday races. If a trainer wants his maiden to want to compete against the better Saturday three year olds he knows he will be more harshly penalised if he is to win "out of his class." I say out of its class however that saying is no longer true the way the rating system is framed. A lowly rated maiden with a rating of say 56 is not strictly speaking "out of its class" in a zero to anything race. I'm sure you get my drift. So in other words reduce the ratings for mid week races. Nothing higher than say 70. I expect that will create some growls.
The same thing should apply to mid week races for older horses. Perhaps they should also be restricted to horses under say 75. Perhaps even have some races where the ratings are even lower. Say 70. Maybe the provincials will start to whinge but perhaps they can program more maidens and 0-65. Certainly there should not be 0-79 ratings races programed for mid-week and then 0-79 ratings race programed for Saturday. Get rid of 0-79 on a mid week and perhaps even have No Metro Wins in past twelve months races programed somewhere. Once again I digress.
Let me give you an example of the sensational programing for Saturday July 3rd. The mind dead set boggles. We have a 0-86 over 1200m a 0-86 over 1400m for colts and geldings, a 0-86 over 1600m, a 0-79 over 1300m and a fillies and mares race over 1400m. Trainers, being only human and trying to do the best for their owner, will nominate the same horses for the 1200m race, the 1300m race and the 1400m races depending on sex. (That of the horse not what the trainer got the night before!) Most trainers will also nominate the same horses for the 1400m races and the 1600m races. The reason they will and can do this is that the ratings bands are to close as are the distances of the races. This will create plenty of nominations resulting in big fields however come Thursday morning there will be plenty of scratchings mainly of horses that have drawn wide. I will be stunned if we get any depth to our fields next Saturday. Under our excellent system in W.A. we are given a barrier at the time of weights being issued which gives us the chance to scratch if we draw a wide barrier. Unfortunately the new system requires that all horses nominated must be allocated a barrier. If there are 40 horses nominated something will draw barrier 40 at the time the weights come out. The first and most natural reaction is to say .... too wide, wont run, I will scratch. Having already decided on Tuesday night to scratch the trainer may then alter the horses work or may treat the horse with something which now prevents it from running on Saturday. Not all trainers have got the time or the technology at their disposal to wait until the time of scratchings to make the decision.
Not only do trainers scratch horses because of bad barriers but there may be something amiss with the horse requiring the trainer to scratch irrespective of barrier draw. This is probably more often than we actually realise. In my time in the industry, I have never seen or heard of so many feet problems with horses and certainly nothing like the sorts of respiratory problems that we see today. Sorry. Once again I digress. The trainer is prepared to scratch because he knows that more than likely there is another suitable race over the same or similar distance run on the following Wednesday or at worst the following Saturday. And so the cycle starts all over again.
I do not profess to have all the answers however I am certain that most of the answers are sitting right under the noses of those looking for them. Most trainers that I listen to all seem to have the same opinion however trying to have that opinion heard is impossible. It actually reminds me of the line from the poem DESIDERATA which goes......Listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.
