Harness Racing: finding new ways to reject trotters...but why?

Juliet:
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."
Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)

Some people dislike trotters because they think they break excessively.
Some people dislike trotters because they think they are difficult to train.
And some people dislike trotters because they can't pronounce their names, or remember which ones they've previously gambled for future flutters with the bookies.

I know right, hard to believe anyone has ever admitted to the third complaint.  Alas, the debate is currently raging on Facebook about this very thing, and it has had me laughing and holding my head in my hands in despair in equal measure.

I don't speak a word of French.  When I arrived in Paris in December 2016 on my first international visit as a STAGBI Director, I literally showed a taxi driver the printed address I had for the hotel that all delegates were staying at.  When he dropped me off at the hotel and handed me my suitcase from the boot of the car, I couldn't for the life of me remember how to say 'thank you' in French.  So I ended up saying 'thanks' (CRINGE).  Now if Le Trot were in fact Der Trab and the trip had been to Munich not Paris, I would have been able to hold half a conversation with the taxi driver.  Unfortunately for me and my semi-fluency in German, this is not the case.

One of the best things about going racing with William Smart Snr before he passed away was sitting in the car with him at a track and going through the card together.  Smarty and I used to purposefully skip to the trot race and get him to tell us which ones he fancied.  Remember this was back before the TF had arrived en masse, so it was a variety of Swedish, Norwegian and Dutch trotters primarily, but even at that...he just could not pronounce a single one correctly.  His variations on their names were so much better than their actual names.  Over the past few years we've often joked about what he would have called some of these French Trotters that have arrived.  It would have been a hoot.

When I was at Portmarnock back in August for the VDM meeting, Darren [Owen] and I went around the paddock before racing on the Saturday to interview some of the trainers and drivers for pre-recorded segments to be shown during the course of the afternoon on the big screen.  I interviewed Sean Kane, who coincidentally has been on both of my trips hosted by Le Trot at Vincennes, and we had a huge debate before filming as to the name of one of his horses.  I thought I had gone mad because I had three Irishmen trying to tell me how to pronounce the horse's name and what they were saying versus what I was reading on the racecard appeared to be two different things.  Darren got involved and his interpretation was different to both versions that had previously been mooted.  The main thing is: we had a laugh about it.  It didn't matter in the grand scheme how we chose to pronounce it.  After all, there are two very separate and distinct camps when it comes to pronouncing the late and great Kauto Star.  Tomato/tomato, potato/potato...even names which appear so distinctly 'British' can confuse people.

For it to then be bandied about on social media this afternoon that in order for trotting (as opposed to general harness racing, including pacing races) to be shown on a mainstream racing channel such as At The Races ('ATR') and be welcomed by the general public, horses from France should have their names changed in order for them to be more easily remembered and for people to start following these horses, to me seems absolutely ludicrous.  One comment from a horse owner was that if their horse was exported to a country where its name wasn't easily pronounced or understood, they would have no issue with the horse's name being changed to something more appropriate in that new country of residence.  Whilst as an owner they may be happy for a name change, I suspect that the majority of breeders would not be.  I know I certainly wouldn't want any of my horses' names changed.  Some of mine have our registered prefix; some do not.  We don't simply allocate names by plucking them from thin air without any forethought.  A lot of time goes into choosing a name that often means something to us, even if the history behind the name never becomes common knowledge.  Naming a horse is a breeder's way of putting their stamp on something they helped to create.

Some people might tell you that it doesn't matter what a horse is called; if it's good, it's good.  It doesn't know what its name is and that has no bearing or relevance on its ability to race.  Therefore, its name should be adapted where necessary to suit those whose sole involvement in racing is to hand their money over to bookmakers and hope for more back.  These people, apparently, can only remember anglicised names; they are only willing to remember anglicised names.  So either the country is full of close-minded racing fans or these people making these bold claims are massively underrating their compatriots.  Somehow though, I suspect these people didn't forget to back Buveur D'Air from one Champion Hurdle victory to the next.

I don't hang about with big gamblers.  I don't make a habit of hanging around with bookmakers either, save the one I happen to live with.  I do hang about with a lot of occasional gamblers though; people who put a 50p accumulator on at the weekend or beg for a tip off me in the week so they can have something to cheer on at the weekend in front of the telly.  I know, from spending time with them, that it doesn't matter if a horse has an easy to pronounce and remember name or not - if it puts money in their pocket on a Saturday afternoon then they follow it from that day forth.  When I was younger, I followed Hors La Loi III.  The fact that his name isn't the easiest to get your tongue around had absolutely no bearing on my support for him.  Edredon Bleu, Voy Pur Ustedes, even Senor El Betrutti (not French, no, but one of my all-time faves)...they hardly roll off the tongue do they?  And yet the betting public were able to get behind them one way or another.

So what is in a name?

To those of us not connected to a particular horse, nothing.  But to the person who bred the horse, potentially everything.  Every breeder has a method of naming, whether it's a prefix or suffix, naming with the same start letter as the dam, following a theme of the dam's name, following a theme of something the person is interested in...anything.  It might even be something totally random in the moment of decision-making, but from that point onwards that name belongs to that horse.  No matter where that horse ends up, the breeder has given it something that will stay with it forever.

I'm that much of a naming obsessive that I have to tell people the stable names of horses I sell.  I was affronted after selling Merrington Missile (known to me simply as Missile) as a rider to learn that his new owners had renamed him 'Sgt Bash', or 'Bash'.  One of my friends nicknamed his foal one name, then changed it when the horse was a yearling.  I told him it was bad luck.  Another of my friends bought a horse that I had known several owners previously.  I told him its stable name from when I knew it (which he thought was weird that I would know such a thing) and he told me its new stable name.  Within a fortnight he was back to calling it by its original stable name, the name I had told him.

OK, so French names are a little challenging.  They aren't as challenging for us as they are for our commentators.  I simply take my lead from Darren Owen.  Whatever he calls them, I call them.  And yes, it can be confusing with the three- and four-year-old trotters, whose names all begin with the same letter, but that is the naming system in place in France and we must respect that.  Remember that one of those horses whose name begins with a certain letter may have been the only foal bred that year by its breeder - it wasn't one horse lost in a sea of horses with names beginning with the same letter.  I dislike the younger trotters personally, but not because their names are so difficult to differentiate on a start sheet or a bookie's board.  I adore the older trotters (and I appreciate that the younger trotters of today will become the aged trotters of tomorrow).  I don't have a photographic memory.  In fact, I have a memory like a sieve.  If things aren't written down, I've no hope of remembering them.  But we have a finite number of horses racing in this country.  We see them almost on a weekly basis.  If you can't remember the names of horses, that's your problem and not the problem of those who name the horses.

I didn't hear anyone demanding that the Kane family change the name of Maitha Buachaill, even though to date that remains THE hardest name for any non-Gaelic speaking person to pronounce.  Martha Buckle got bandied about A LOT.  Ffairrhoshillbilly, or Fire House Hill Billy as he's known to the non-Welsh speaking division of our household (that's Smarty, in case you're wondering) - not so simple is it?

Let's just face the facts here: people who moan the loudest about the French Trotters aren't going to like them even if they had anglicised names.  Then they say they don't like them because they gallop excessively.  I put forward to you that the aged trotters gallop about as frequently as pacers do, and yet those who moan will still *try* to find fault.  They moan that the trotters do not provide a spectacle for race-goers and are too unpredictable to gamble (or lay).  The fact that they are racing for vastly increased purses compared to pacers is irrelevant to them because racing should be doing more for the spectators.

And yet, these same people are almost always the first to complain that pacers don't race for enough money and the sport doesn't do enough for those involved in owning/training/driving horses.  Pacers provide a better spectacle for the crowd, they say.

WHAT DO YOU WANT?

Do you want a good spectacle and betting opportunity or do you want the money in the sport to be better for those directly involved?

'Both'.

Well to have both, you need to accept both divisions.  By accepting both divisions, we might actually have a chance to move forward so that the trotters can begin to become a better spectacle for the crowd and the pacers can start to race for increased prize money.

Moaning, on the other hand, because you don't like the 'new' (hardly new now, but comparatively speaking, it is) style of racing on these shores, and finding fault in anything and everything (including the horses' names) won't bring about any positive change.  I see things I don't like and I approach the relevant groups or individuals privately to express my concerns and to make suggestions for improvement.  This doesn't always go down well, but I have learnt over the years (and from the mistakes in the past of jumping straight on social media to crab things) that this is the proper and appropriate way to do things.

If trotting from France makes it on to the telly in the UK, at least people in this country won't automatically assume we're all road-racing travellers who leave horses in the ditches to die.  They'll have half an idea about what our sport is.  Names, and galloping when they should be trotting, won't come in to it.

There's not much going wrong here... (Pikehall, 2017, Sarah Thomas photo)

Over and out,

#1 Groom

Aka Sarah, not Sara, because Sarah is my name and I don't want it changed, thanks.

Harness Racing: The Shows

Let's totally ignore the fact I haven't posted since about five years ago (OK, so more like two months ago, but we'll get back to that another time) and just jump straight into talking about something REALLY IMPORTANT:

The Shows.

Cumberland
Kilnsey
Wolsingham
Longnor
Stanhope

(Feel free to click on any of the above to take a peek at their respective websites).

'What's so great about these shows?' I hear you ask.

Well, if you've never been, let me paint a picture for you:

Imagine thousands of people descending onto a grass field, often on the outskirts of the village/town that the event is named after, browsing various stalls and stands, arts and crafts tents, machinery displays; enjoying fairground rides and main ring attractions; and taking part in various competitions such as animal showing (sheep, cattle, in-hand and ridden horses), gymkhana, jumping, 'Best Cabbage' etc.  Then at the climax of the day these thousands of people, many of whom only see harness racing on ONE DAY OF THE YEAR, line the entire length of the home straight to cheer on those taking part in the most thrilling event on the schedule.

I'm not over-egging the pudding - there are literally thousands of people at these events all picking a horse, having a bet and cheering it home.

These shows have one thing in common which separates them from any other harness racing events in the entire country: after each of the races, the crowd give a genuine ROUND OF APPLAUSE.  These people are clapping in appreciation of the spectacle that we, harness racing people, are putting on.  Just imagine that.  Now I know this isn't something which goes unnoticed, as Kilnsey 2018 was driver Lauren Moran's first ever visit to the show and immediately after the first race she turned to me and Richard [Haythornthwaite] in disbelief and said 'they're clapping?!'.  I felt the exact same way back in 2013 when I attended Kilnsey for the first time.  I couldn't believe that such a large number of people were applauding what I, and others who race on a weekly basis, take for granted.  I know that after most races at Corbiewood for example, most of the crowd don't even watch the winner's presentation as they have their backs turned to the track waiting for the bookies to price up the next race.

When did we stop appreciating the spectacle of what we are doing?

I'll leave you all to ponder that one.  Try to take a step back and consider what you have achieved this year in your efforts as an owner/trainer/driver/groom.  You may not have hit the heights that you dreamed of back in the spring when the racing season was a distant glow on the horizon, but I can guarantee that you have achieved something along the way that plenty of people who go about their day-to-day lives haven't.  Remember that.

All too often we hear complaints that as a collective we are not doing enough to promote the sport of harness racing.  It can be very difficult to tap in to such a competitive market with a product that is so far behind its Thoroughbred counterpart.  Yet, these shows are ready-made platforms upon which we can reach out to the masses to showcase what we have on offer.  Yes, we are racing, but we could be doing more.  Pre-race and post-race driver interviews, an introduction to the breed and sport, demonstrations and explanations of the harness used (and why).  Filling the race cards with the fixture list, BHRC website, social media pages, information for people to read when they get home after an enjoyable day at the show.  A trade stand to draw people in and get the message about what we do out there to people who might be interested in getting involved.  There are people with even better ideas than these crying out for their voice to be heard and for an opportunity to take on some of the workload involved.  Let's see if we can work in conjunction with these show committees to make these things happen.  Jump on my 2019 Show Bandwagon if you dare!

Now, I can hear some of you readers saying to yourselves 'why is she making such a big song and dance about racing at the shows?'.

I'll tell you why.

Some of these shows are beginning to struggle for entries.  You may say that's because they are 'low level' racing, unsuitable for big name stables and high quality horses.  You're wrong.

Firstly, these shows offer phenomenal prize money in comparison with other weekly meetings on dedicated harness racing tracks where racing is the sole event.  Prove it, you say.  Well, in 2018, Cumberland Show ran a £4000 handicap final; Kilnsey Show ran a £900 handicap final; Wolsingham Show ran a £1000 handicap final; Longnor Sports ran a £500 handicap final; and Stanhope Show ran a £900 handicap final.  Do you see a pattern emerging?

There is really good prize money on offer.  Longnor Sports even gave FREE entry to all horses to race, and to all connections of horses into the event.  I myself travelled to Longnor with Smarty and G Whizz, our driver for the day, with two horses.  Winning both heats and the final, we left that day with £1100 in prize money between us.  Not a bad day's work, especially as our costs were limited to the fuel to get us there and back.

Secondly, the quality of the tracks is often exaggerated to their detriment.  Having attended all bar Stanhope (which is on my bucket list for 2019), all I can say is that as long as you drive according to the conditions on the day (which should apply everywhere) and harness your horse according to the track (again, which should apply everywhere), there is little wrong with the tracks.  You're not going to set any records or earn a decent lifetime mark there, granted, but the variety that these places offer compared to the larger tracks allows for horses who don't necessarily suit speed mile racing to excel.  There's a lot to be said for three minute racing as well as two minute racing after all!  And variety is the spice of life, so they say...

Thirdly, these places DO attract successful horses from big stables.  Happy Hands (trained by Alexis Laidler and driven by Rocker Laidler) was the winner of Kilnsey 2018; Rhyds Solution (from the same barn) has won TWO Scorton Feast finals (a meeting which was not staged this year due to an archaeological dig at the venue but which it is hoped will return in the future).  Over the years, there have been numerous top class horses which have raced and won at these shows.

The fact that so many people look down upon these shows is having a detrimental effect on their viability for the future.  In addition to Longnor struggling for entries (which seems mad considering the already-mentioned FREE ENTRY and good prize money), it now appears to be a given that these show meetings are allowed to suffer fixture clashes with other harness racing events that definitely draw participants and spectators away from the shows.  Those in charge of approving the annual fixture list do not seem to appreciate the importance of supporting these shows.  If harness racing dwindles at these events and fizzles out completely, they will be lost.  To explain the severity of this, let me explain that all of these shows, bar Cumberland, have the majority (if not all) of the prize money provided by the show itself.  If a harness racing event which has harness racing sponsors is lost, there is a possibility of that sponsorship money being secured and redistributed at another harness racing event.  If the racing at the shows is lost, that prize money is also lost.  It would not be handed over to another event entirely separate to the show.  These show committees have ringfenced prize money for us and we must not be so shortsighted as to forget this.  Remember: the shows don't need us, but we do need them.

As I write this, Smarty has the pre-race parade from the Little Brown Jug at Delaware County Fair, Ohio, blaring from his laptop.  If that isn't akin to our shows over here, I don't know what is.  In America they've managed to make one of their 'shows' one of THE biggest events of the racing calendar.  Over here, our LBJ would be Wolsingham Show.  I don't often say we should 'copy' other countries (because I get annoyed that we pick and choose what we copy, often inappropriately) but in this instance, I think we should.  Let's celebrate the show circuit and make Wolsingham the BIG ONE.

And if Wolsingham Show is our LBJ, then Peter Deighton is our Roger Huston.  He has his critics, but man you can't knock him for his commentary at the shows.  Peter has a real knack for bringing the crowd right into the action and encouraging them to support the different horses and drivers as the races progress.  He did suggest at Longnor a couple of weeks ago that this year would be his last as commentator, but both Smarty and I sincerely hope this isn't the case as he brings something to the table that I'm yet to hear from any other commentator (although young Stephen Lees Jnr showed great promise at Longnor!).  The way he notches things up as the horses head into the last bend and he begins throwing suggestions out about this horse needing to make a big move or that horse taking the tough route three wide to mount a challenge, it all adds to the atmosphere and the crowd really gets into it.  I've been there, immersed amongst all these people who don't really have any idea what's going on but who wholeheartedly get behind the competitors, and I tell you what, it's really hard not to get caught up in it all.  I think I cheer loudest at the shows than I do anywhere else, even if I haven't got a horse racing.  At Longnor Sports he announced to the crowd that we had travelled all the way from Motherwell to support the meeting (OK, Motherwell was like the closest big town that G could give him as a point of reference for Cleland and Allanton respectively) and people actually stopped me in the crowd to double check that we'd really travelled that far.  It was almost like being famous for an afternoon.  He even thanked us publicly on the mic after the final.  Madness.

I would also like to take a quick moment to congratulate the winners of the finals from the 2018 show season:

Cumberland Show: Midnight Diamond - owned and trained by James Winter, driven by James Haythornthwaite
Kilnsey Show: Happy Hands - owned by Raymond Huschka, trained by Alexis Laidler, driven by Rocker Laidler
Wolsingham Show: Mayfellden Hetty - owned by Brian Laidler, trained by Alexis Laidler, driven by William Greenhorn
Longnor Sports: Elmo Hanover - owned and trained by William Smart, driven by Richard Haythornthwaite
Stanhope Show: Porterstown Jimmy - owned by Jody Foody, trained by Jack Foody, driven by Lee Fletcher

Mayfellden Hetty @ Wolsingham Show (Sarah Thomas photo)

Elmo Hanover @ Longnor Sports (Graham Rees photo)

I was present at four of the five events to enjoy the success of those involved (especially as Elmo is actually my horse, and I watched the race from inside the last two bends so I had a front row seat for the perfectly-timed challenge on the long time leader in the last eighth!), and despite being at Tir Prince for Crock of Gold Final night when Stanhope Show was being staged, I actually missed the draw for the racing because I was glued to my phone (along with a number of boys from the north east) watching the final from Stanhope on Facebook Live.  We had our priorities right!  It also allowed me to give Lee Fletcher and Porterstown Jimmy a big shout out on the mic when we did the draw for the CoG in front of the crowd.

Before I sign off, I think I need to ask the question:

What does the future hold for the shows?

Well, I'm no Mystic Meg so I can't tell you.  As long as the respective committees keep asking us to come back, and we keep providing the horses, the future remains relatively settled.  But we shouldn't 'settle for settled'.  We should be looking to build on these solid foundations that have been laid over multiple generations.

Firstly, I think we need to ensure that these shows have some sort of protected status when it comes to the fixture list.  In particular, Stanhope and Wolsingham.  Next year will be the 240th year for Wolsingham.  In 2018 it attracted 25,000 (yes, 25,000) people through the gate.  They are planning to be bigger than ever next year.  We need to tap into this, big time.  Having checked the dates, the 240th staging of the show will be on 7th and 8th September.  I would hope that no major event would be allowed to clash with this as although the event attracts primarily those in the north east of England (and Scotland), many of the top trainers are based in this area and it seems unfair to draw them away to other parts of the country.

Secondly, I think we need to work in closer conjunction with the show committees to really make our event on their schedule more than just racing horses.  I have stood and watched other displays at these shows and all the while that the spectacle is happening, there is always someone on a microphone talking the crowd through what goes into making this happen and what is actually happening.  I know we are the best people at talking about what we do, so let's do more of it.

Thirdly, we need to shake off this idea that the tracks at the shows are not fit for purpose.  I have raced my horses around two of the five this year and cannot fault them.  I fully intend to continue racing, when possible (remember I need to travel a minimum of about two hours - and a maximum of five and a half hours) at these tracks in the future.  The leading stable for the last eleven years bagged two of the five this year.  Bigger isn't always better and it's horses for courses as well.

I was asked to write something to draw some positive light onto the diamonds in the rough that are the show meetings.  I've tried to dispell some of the myths surrounding them.  If you've never been, I encourage you to go.  If you have been, let me know what ideas you have to make them even better than they are.  The shows have been running for, in some cases, hundreds of years with great success and for reasons unknown to me, they are allowing us to piggyback on their success so let's not waste these opportunities.  If we build on the existing shows, we might even be able to tap into new shows and before you know it, the Yanks might be flying over HERE for WOLSINGHAM before we all fly back over THERE for the LBJ!

Over and out,

#1 Groom

Described as "far-fetched, but funny"