The strict UK lockdown means that this virtual race could pull in more viewers than the actual Aintree spectacular couldAround lunchtime on Saturday, somebody somewhere will hit “enter” on their keyboard and, a fraction of a second and many millions of calculations later, it will generate the result of the 2020 Virtual Grand National. A few hours after, many millions of viewers – more, perhaps, than might have watched the real thing – will tune in to ITV to watch as the computer’s thought processes get the full CGI treatment and its calculation becomes (virtual) reality.If algorithms are not your thing, think of it as the rolling of a 100-sided dice, with Tiger Roll’s name on about 16 of the...
Enchanting jumps course on Devon’s Riviera line could be biggest victim of racing’s suspension Newton Abbot is one of British racing’s great delights: a small, independent jumps course a short walk from a station on the famous Riviera line from Exeter to Paignton.However your luck runs at the races, the train ride down from Exeter St David’s with the sea, at times, just a few feet from the window, will always make it a memorable day out at the track. But the very elements that make it special also mean Newton Abbot could be hit hardest of all the country’s 60 racecourses by the suspension of racing during the coronavirus pandemic. Related: Talking Horses: Devon Loch bellyflop remains a mystery...
Tributes paid as Yorkshire trainer who won Cheltenham Gold Cup and three Irish Gold Cups dies aged 85Peter Beaumont has been hailed as among of the last of his kind, following the Gold Cup-winning trainer’s death on Monday morning at the age of 85. Based near Brandsby in North Yorkshire, Beaumont was a quiet man who never sought the limelight and never had more than 30 horses under his care but had a fantastic eye for a long-distance steeplechaser and won some of the sport’s biggest prizes. Related: Talking Horses: Richard Hannon counts blessings and plots way back for racing Continue reading...
Jessie Harrington’s prospect has bloomed over fences and looks the best value on Saturday’s card in front of the TV camerasThere are British punters who never so much as peek inside the Irish form book outside of Cheltenham week, but such hidebound attitudes must be abandoned now the action in this country has been stilled.The ITV4 cameras will be at Thurles to show five races from an absorbing card full of the names we were bandying around just last week, including Jessica Harrington, who can land the big race with Sizing Pottsie (3.10). A powerful looking animal, he has apparently been held in high regard since arriving at the yard, which is as it should be for a horse that...
The meeting, and subsequent spectator-less fixtures, will have an ‘industry SP’ generated off-courseIt is anyone’s guess how long it will last, but British racing will head behind closed doors at Kelso on Monday and, from “later in the week”, at the remainder of Britain’s racecourses too.No spectators, no bookies, no Tote, no atmosphere. Jockeys in particular will soon be working in a very odd environment, at least for as long as it is possible to run a race meeting without breaching the government’s rules on mass gatherings. Related: Horse racing in England and Wales set to be run behind closed doors Southwell2.00 Virnon 2.30 Twotwothree 3.00 Haasab 3.30 Exelerator Express 4.00 City Never Sleeps 4.30 Hang Tough Continue reading...