The 3.30 at Catterick or Kempton Park could become the 3.29 or the 3.33 in the new year, when the British Horseracing Authority will launch a trial of “non-standard” race times in conjunction with its Irish counterpart, in an attempt to cut the number of clashes between events at different meetings.
Races which are run simultaneously, or with an overlap when one contest finishes as another is in its early stages, cause significant irritation to punters and television viewers who are forced to watch the action on a “split-screen”, potentially while following a bet in both contests.
Clashes also cost the sport money, as betting turnover on both races is likely to be reduced. This is particularly frustrating for all concerned when a major race is affected, as was the case this month when the first half of the Grade One John Durkan Chase at Punchestown was shown on split-screen – and without commentary – on Racing TV while a less significant race at Huntingdon was followed to its conclusion.
The trial of non-standard times will begin in February, on 11 days during the month – five Saturdays and six weekdays – when there are four or more meetings being staged concurrently in Britain and Ireland.
The BHA said on Wednesday that the possible benefits of non-standard times “may include improving the scheduling of race times through periods of congestion so that there would fewer clashes and delayed races”, while also “reducing the number of 35-minute intervals and introducing a more even distribution of time between races”. It is also hoped that there will be fewer “on-the-day hold requests” when races are delayed at short notice to allow another contest to conclude.
Non-standard times are taken for granted by punters in the United States, where the number of meetings spread across the country on a daily basis makes it much more difficult to schedule contests on a five-minute basis without impacting on betting turnover.
Hereford 12.40 Special Princess 1.10 Encounter A Giant 1.40 Steal A March 2.10 Grania O’Malley 2.40 Northofthewall 3.10 The Brothers 3.40 Misstree Song
Exeter 12.50 Feuille De Chene 1.20 Exod’ela 1.50 Midnight Tune 2.20 The Crooner (nb) 2.50 Kiwi Myth 3.20 Johnbb 3.50 Avithos
Southwell 1.30 Blackcurrent 2.00 My Excelsa 2.30 Slingshot 3.00 Sociologist 3.30 Divine Gift 4.00 Crazy Spin 4.30 Lightning Charlie
Wolverhampton 4.50 Locked N’ Loaded (nap) 5.25 Qatar Queen 6.00 Elzaam’s Dream 6.30 Kamra 7.00 Excellent George 7.30 Mansfield 8.00 Muraaqeb 8.30 Tulane
It is a fresh departure in Britain and Ireland where it will have a noticeable effect on the “look” of the programme, which has been familiar to generations of punters and racegoers.
The US stages only Flat racing, however, and the much longer duration of National Hunt events, along with occasional mishaps such as false starts, could mean that non-standard times are less effective in avoiding clashes.
“Working closely with our colleagues in Ireland and other partners across the sport, we are always looking for ways to improve our scheduling of races to benefit racing’s customers,” Richard Wayman, the BHA’s chief operating officer, said on Wednesday. “The impacts, both positive and negative, of non-standard race times will only be known once the initiative is trialled.
“The hope is that they allow for a more even spread of races without requiring longer intervals between races, and potentially fewer clashes or delays. However, we’ll be taking in feedback from all parties before deciding on whether to make the trial permanent.”
Should the trial be deemed a success, non-standard times will presumably become increasingly familiar, though it would still remain to be seen if high-profile events like Royal Ascot were willing to change race times that have been fixed for decades.
The final day of the Royal meeting on 20 June next year, for instance, is one of six afternoon cards on the schedule, but it is difficult to see the traditional start time of 2.30 being switched to 2.34 to fit in with Perth, Redcar and Down Royal.