Today horseracing returns to the Wolverhampton all-weather track that has witnessed the deaths of five horses since early November. Despite recommendations from the RSPCA that the track be closed while the surface is assessed in order to determine the cause for the mayhem, the Horseracing Regulatory Authority (HRA) has given the course a clean bill of health.
All-weather courses are key to both racing and the government's coffers over the winter months due to so many cancellations of turf meetings. It is naive to think that the welfare of the animals is any concern of the HRA.
Punters should keep away from the all-weather meetings as they are the most manipulated part of a very manipulated "sport". My career as a Professional Gambler began with horseracing and one has to be very selective in the type of races that one trades on - my PhD showed how betting money influences the outcomes of much of British horseracing.
My last race meeting was at Ludlow in the mid-nineties. I had backed and won on a 1/4 David Nicholson horse in the final race on the card. Having pursued the bookie towards the car park to collect my winnings, I returned to my vehicle to witness the shooting of one of the losing animals a mere couple of yards away. It still seems like a good prompt for making a change in career direction.
© Football Is Fixed/Dietrological
