World's Weirdest Racetracks: #7

Even though it's far too well known as one of the world’s weirdest racedays to retain much of the spirit that originally characterized the event; the setting and iconic status of the place should ensure that it remains a unique one for decades to come, even if in a totally different way.

This annual event, first held in 1882, doesn't bear much resemblance to its early days anymore, or even to what it was two decades ago, when it was still largely an authentic Outback festival. The famous Birdsville Races have pretty much become “Royal Ascot meets Spring Break meets Burning Man” by now. Not many of the 5.000 visitors who make their way to this 120-inhabitant village, otherwise best known as the first re-entry into something remotely resembling civilization for travelers crossing the Simpson Desert, are from nearby towns (or whatever nearby means in an area where postmen deliver by plane and the average farm is bigger than some European countries).

The racetrack itself has basically remained the same tough, an oval route through the desert (talk about an original Dirt Track!), ending at a winning post that seems randomly-placed, somewhere in the overwhelming vastness of the Outback's Great Big Nothing.

Not so well known is the fact that Birdsville is merely the first of three stages for the Simpson Desert Racing Carnival. For an experience that more closely resembles the original Birdsville, the other two stages - Bedourie (where the focus is just as much on rodeo and camel racing) and the “family-oriented” Betoota, - are certainly better alternatives. As are other Outback racedays like the ones at Cloncurry, McKinlay or Boulia (all in Queensland).

Make no mistake though, Australia has for the last few decades been more radical than any other country in selling out every bit of its sporting heritage for the almighty AUS$, which means that any of those that you hear about for the third time has probably lost much of its appeal by then. For the purpose of the WWR however, there’s no denying that precisely this over-the-top kind of joyful larrikinism is what sets Birdsville apart from the other Outback racedays (and for all parties involved, let's hope it stays that way).

Watch this clip for a decidedly touristy and kitschy account of what has become a decidedly touristy and kitschy raceday.

A better account, albeit with lower-quality footage can be found on youtube.

("Downtown Birdsville scene", although presenting Birdsville as an isolated cowboy - or jackaroo - community is a pillar of most articles about the raceday, the village's economy is actually tourism-based all year; Panoramio images by Jonathan Berry and A2thaMFK [top])

World's Weirdest Racetracks: #8

If ever there was a region tailor-made for horse racing, it’s Yorkshire. This Northern England (ceremonial) county has the gentle hills, vast countryside and soils that just scream “build a grandstand, paddock and some rails here, or at least a stud farm and gallops”. Not surprisingly, it was one of the cradles of modern thoroughbred racing, and remains a stronghold for thoroughbred racing, training and breeding.

For a detailed history of racing in Yorkshire, this great site (one of my all-time favorites) offers everything you need to know, and then some. Other Yorkshire contributions to sports history: Sheffield is home to the world’s oldest Association football (Soccer) clubs, while industrial West Yorkshire was the birthplace of Rugby League.

Today, Yorkshire offers the highest racecourse concentration of any British county, ranging from top-level tracks York and Doncaster to the charms of small-town racecourses such as Thirsk, Catterick or the WWR’s #8.

While it may not look like a true World’s Weirdest Racetracks contender at first glance, the beauty of Pontefract Racecourse is in the dimensions. It’s home to the world’s longest regular flat Hcp race, the 2m 5f 122y Pontefract Marathon Hcp (held in April) as well as probably the only remaining track in the world to frequently schedule lower-level races over 18 furlongs. In a way it has to, given that the course itself is also the world’s largest thoroughbred racetrack. Thanks to a circumference of no less than two miles, the entire town park fits into its infield. Extra points are awarded for the unusual feature that the stretch is barely half as long as two other straights (it’s still slightly longer than 2 furlongs).

("I really wouldn’t want to be the track announcer on a foggy day"; Panoramio image by Lee Collings, not even showing the full extent of the Pontefract infield)

World's Weirdest Racetracks: #9

This Glasgow area racecourse demonstrates how you can effectively cram a track into just about any location, even if there really doesn’t seem to be enough space, or suitable terrain. It’s not technically featuring a unique layout since Salisbury (a few hundred miles to the South) uses a similar one, but Salisbury’s is larger, and its uphill stretch pales by comparison.

One of five racecourses in Scotland, Hamilton Park is the only one to exclusively conduct flat racing (Perth and Kelso are National Hunt courses, Musselburgh and Ayr offer both modes). In 1947, Hamilton conducted the first evening meeting in British racing, now a staple of British and Irish racing during the summer months. In 1971, it also premiered morning racing, which was not picked up as a regular feature.

(Graphic from gambling-guru.com)

Basically, this 18th century racecourse is nothing more than a six-furlong straight, with a loop near one end of it. Undulations are hefty even by British standards, the 6f start is at 61 meters above sea level, dropping to a low point of 47m, then uphill to 58m about hundred yards in front of the Winning Post (which is at 56m). The loop is even more extreme, going downhill from 48m to 38m, then steeply uphill until it joins the straight course at a height of 59m (measured using Google Earth, so it might be off by a meter or two).

This layout allows races of up to 13 furlongs, with those over the maximum distance actually starting some way in front of the winning post, going up the stretch, through the dip in the loop, up the hill and then back down the stretch.

For races over a distance of 11 furlongs and beyond, this layout means trouble whenever a horse unseats their jockey at the start. For the purposes of the World’s Weirdest Racetracks, it means #9.

World's Weirdest Racetracks: #10

Thoroughbred racecourses have been used for any number of events over the years. Until the 1940s, football matches were frequently played at British racecourses. In Cup competitions small-town teams would take advantage of the existing large grandstand and even larger amount of quality lawn. The site of the world’s first International football match, the Racecourse Ground at Wrexham (Wales), was a regular venue for Cricket, Horse Racing, Association Football (Soccer) and Rugby in its early days.

To this day, several modes of racing are often conducted at the same track. In France, New Zealand and a few other countries it’s common for provincial tracks to host harness and thoroughbred racing on the same card.

Another combination is that of motorsports and horse racing. Aintree, site of the Grand National Steeplechase, is also home to some amateur motor racing. Dover Downs in Delaware would be a lock for a World’s Ugliest Raceways Top 10, but is ineligible for this list.

There are however two Southern Hemisphere racecourses that are host to both Thoroughbred and major-league Auto racing. One is Australia’s Sandown, by far the least important of Melbourne’s four designated metropolitan tracks, which also hosts races of the V8 Supercars series. The second one, host of the only V8 race in New Zealand, is the WWR #10.

Pukekohe Park is home to Counties Racing Club (which refers to Counties Manukau, a semi-official designation for the Southern part of Auckland Region). Its most important race is the G2 Counties Cup, held in late November. Due to its inside all-weather training course, Pukekohe also functions as one of New Zealand’s foremost training centers.

For the purposes of our Top 10, it gets the nod over Sandown because of the decidedly utilitarian appearance of the whole plant, with the pit lane area along most of the stretch and the infield training tracks as eyesores, compared to Sandown’s infield lake and meadows.

Being surrounded by an asphalt circuit, the racecourse at Pukekohe might not be the prettiest place to watch the ponies, but it definitely is a notable one.

("The racecourse must be somewhere around here"; Panoramio image by Rameez Saldin)

World's Weirdest Racetracks Top 10: Intro

I decided not to spend many lines on smartmouthing about the sad but predictable news racing offered those past two weeks (Ziadie, Hollywood etc.); bitching about the easy targets (e.g. how Shirreffs’ #2 horse contested the Hollywood Gold Cup, while his HOTY candidate has her eyes on the big prize – the Clem Hirsch at DM) or about how American racing officials, for once trying to be tough on doping, do it in such an objectionable manner as to find the only course of action that makes them look even worse than their usual sweep-it-under-the-carpet ways.

Instead of focusing on the madness, I have chosen to concentrate on weirdness for the next ten days or so. In this spirit, let me proudly present my personal Worlds’ Weirdest Racecourses Top 10 ranking, compiled by the staff of The Dresden File.

As with any good ranking, let’s start by stating the guidelines used to assemble this list:

1. This Top 10 ranks racetracks by weirdness of the course(s). It is neutral towards a course’s beauty (or lack thereof) as long as they offer truly remarkable features.

2. Physical features trump atmosphere. The reason is largely a practical one: I can only guess at the atmosphere of candidates. In some cases, I can’t even do that. For example, it’s entirely possible that tracks such as N’Djamena (Chad) or the Hippodrome de Beyrouth in Lebanon (heavily damaged by Israeli rockets during several attempts to establish peace by killing civilians) would out-weird some of those on the list had unique atmosphere counted equally, but I have nothing to base such judgments on, and considering the worldwide scope of this ranking, I doubt anyone has.

3. Only tracks that offer halfways professional thoroughbred flat racing are eligible. They can of course offer other modes of racing too, but there’s gotta be a minimum of common ground. As tempting as it is to place those countryside roads and farm lanes used for the Kiplingcotes Derby at #1, I feel there needs to be a clear line, after all there also are endurance races run in the Sahara.

4. A quality racing product is a plus, but not required.

So without further ado...

BC Thoughts – The Juvie Turf Is A Bad Idea Now, But It Doesn’t Have To Stay That Way

As I was typing up a rather lenghty response to a post by Glenn Craven, trying to find some middle ground between our opinions, a quite radical idea popped into my mind.

Craven (of Fugue For Tinhorns, for those who don’t know) argues that the Breeders Cup shouldn’t cut down on its current 14-race program (or 15, including the Grand National). I disagree for the most part, but one good argument he brought up was that the BC, initially intended primarily as a North American Championship, should indeed include races for every division, even obscure ones.

On the other hand, the BC is also intended to attract more interest to the sport, and has a somewhat unhealthy focus on presenting itself as a “World Championship” (a pointless focus, as I’ve argued elsewhere). To that end, races like the Juvenile Turf divisions rightfully attract ridicule, and races like the Dirt Mile or F&M Sprint are just diminishing the quality of the BC’s real Championship races. They thin out the quality, provide the Discreet Cats of this world a chance to add a BC win to their resume without actually facing Championship opponents; and ultimately water down the prestige of the BC as a whole.

The same was true for the 12f Marathon, although at its new 14f distance, I find that race a most welcome addition. See, I’m not generally against using such races to encourage a shift in the breeding industry, I just don’t see much reason to encourage a shift towards the breeding of more turf horses with premature and/or sprint-oriented pedigrees in America. Plus, a 14f dirt BC Marathon still is an international "championship quality" race, if only because Argentina, Chile and Uruguay are the only other racing jurisdictions with a heart for the dirt stayer.

Still, Mr Craven has a point that there should be Championship races for the Turf Sprint and Turf Juvenile divisions.

But should those races be run in their current form, as part of the BC?

The Juvenile Turf races as contested last year are a joke. They will more often than not be won by second- or third-string overseas raiders, or occasionally by a top American (dirt) juvenile with a strong turf pedigree, whose connections decide to skip the more testing “real” BC Juvenile divisions. Same goes for the BC Turf Sprint.

However, such Championship races could make sense outside the current BC structure. In the process they could offer the first-ever productive application of the “Win & You’re In”-concept in racing, and finally offer a good idea to fill the BC Friday.

How about running those races as Finals, open only to horses that have qualified via the currently existing, regionally-focused, juvenile turf races?

Those races would be closed off to overseas competition, except if they go through the qualification process, effectively eliminating the “quick hit” option. They could be included in the main BC program or run independently of it as part of a separate Championship day, one more geared towards existing racing fans. If run on Grand National day (on another track, obviously) there might even be potential for some cross-promotion.

Unlike the current, haphazard BC W&YI, this concept could be effective in both increasing the status of the qualifiers and in creating buzz for the final. The main difference being that there is an actual connection between the elims and the final, other than in the “random races to determine 6 of 12 starters, effectively meaning top horses can just as well skip”-system the BC currently offers. This way, divisions and races that otherwise go largely unnoticed might gain some buzz within the racing world. I'm usually not a fan of playoff systems in the thoroughbred world, but in this instance it might be just the right thing.
Also, this concept provides an American Championship in a division in which American horses, generally speaking, aren’t very competitive in International company. Thus, it would be much more effective as a stimulus. Another perk would be that horsemen with top (dirt) horses couldn’t as easily use the Turf BC as a fallback option, so the extra race wouldn’t take away from the established one.

German Derby - Before And After

The biggest news from Europe this weekend may be Sea The Stars’ victory in yesterday’s Eclipse Stakes at Sandown, but with the start of the 2009 Deutsches Derby at Hamburg less than an hour away, let’s get to that point.

Before:

For the second time this year I drove through half the city just to find that those newsstands that usually sell the Sport-Welt (Germany’s DRF) were sold out. While last time I was fortunate enough to finally discover a hidden exemplar somewhere beneath another stack, this time I went home empty-handed.
So there seems to be a bit of excitement in racing circles. That German racing adds some new fans is unlikely though, as the race isn’t broadcast until 11 PM, and then only on a regional channel (there is the Equi8 livestream of course, but to the broader public the race is lost). It’s not helpful that the Sport-Welt doesn’t even have a website, nor is there any other site to get German race forms from, so ultimately I could only have handicapped based on those extremely sketchy forms my ADW’s offer, and that’s not something I like to do.

Therefor, let’s just say it’s a pretty wide-open field, with Wiener Walzer, Oriental Lion and Panyu (the 1-2-3 finishers of the G2 Union-Rennen), Suestado (impressive winner of the Listed Derby Trial at Hanover), G3 Bavarian Classic winner Saphir and G2 Diana Trial runner-up Bolivia (who was supplemented for 50K) the obvious candidates. Of those, Suestado may well be the best, but he's also the chalk at 52/10 (that's 4/1 American). Update: He was eventually bet down to 39/10, which I think would show up as 5/2 on American ADWs.

With my sketchy info though, I’ll confine myself to a couple of small longshot bets on Ordenstreuer, who finished a good second in the Dresden Trial. That race was predictably several furlongs too short for him, but his late movement was nice, and for 60/1 (betfair, currently 32/1 on the Tote), he looks worth the shot.

In the sire category, Monsun leads the way with 3 of his progeny entered. Tiger Hill, Nayef and Seattle Dancer all have two starters in the field of 17.

After:

With 100 yards to go, right after he declared the winner, the announcer’s mic took a temporary break. Or at least that’s what he claims. Sounded a bit like he just had trouble identifying the group of three battling for second place. If so, no reason to be tough on the guy.

Wiener Walzer (by Dynaformer), the second favorite at 46/10 and winner of the most important Derby Trial, won, but that’s as far as it goes in the “logical result” column.

Sordino (296/10; by Samum) finished second in his fourth lifetime start, showing off some well-hidden talent (you see, that’s what good past performance sheets and replays are for, if only we had them in German racing).

Toughness Danon (179/10; by Tiger Hill) finished third, and thus exactly one position worse than in all of his previous three starts, where he was soundly beaten by two horses he distanced today.

One horse he did finish ahead of however was today’s fourth-place finisher Eliot (137/10, also by Tiger Hill), who in his three lifetime starts (recurring theme!) had never finished better than 2nd and had been beaten by no less than four horses he outran today (to be fair, his forms were a little screwball-y, and in the Union-Rennen he was fifth but beaten only 2 ½ lengths by the winner).

Ordenstreuer, btw, finished a good sixth under the guidance of Dresden’s local boy Alexander Pietsch. He wasn't beaten by much, but may have been in a little over his head here. Still, he's definitely a nice and honest racehorse and should make his way in slightly lesser company.

Besides the winner, none of the favorites showed up. Suestado (39/10, by Monsun) finished 14th, thus never quite entering the internal duel, and leaving his owner Georg Baron von Ullmann only the small consolation of also being the owner of Gestüt Schlenderhan, which in turn is the owner of Wiener Walzer.

Deutsches Derby 2009 (with a couple of glitches, but at least it's available at all)