October
JuneAmateur hour
Having been involved in the racing industry for over 50 years, I tuned into the racing from Ascot last week with plenty of interest.
Congratulations to everyone involved with the Aussie sprinter Merchant Navy, winner of the Diamond Jubilee Stakes on Saturday night (our time).
But what an utter disgrace was the situation with the favourite, Harry Angel, getting its leg caught over the back of the barrier before missing the start hopelessly, finishing a distant 11th (12 ran) and not being declared a late scratching!
The horse wasn’t even pulled out of the gates to undergo a vet check before the start.
I couldn’t believe it.
If that had happened in Australia, the punters would have rioted and pulled the grandstand down!
They may have started horse racing in the UK about 150 years before us here in Australia, but they’re about 100 years behind us in the way they run the industry over there.
You just have to class yourself lucky to be a punter in Australia, and not the UK.
Footscray (Vic)