Racing Post Letters published April 26 1999 from Maria Mc Cabe Rockbourne Hants.

“Is the BHB living in the real world ?”

Is the BHB living in the real world or does it inhabit some peculiar parallel universe in which it thinks 132 consecutive days’ racing in the year 2000 may actually be a good idea ?

Is it aware of the catastrophic effects this could have on the minions upon whom the rusty old wheels of the racing industry turn ? Did it pause for even the briefest of moments to consider just how stable staff, horse box drivers and yes, even jockeys would be able to cope physically with the rigours of such a phenomenally increased workload ?

Perhaps 132 continuous days does not seem an awful lot to them, but would they do it ? I think not. I imagine many of them, in their capacity as owners, would happily enjoy the Sunday and evening fixtures at which they have to do nothing more strenuous than raise their champagne glasses to their lips. But when you work 13 days in every fortnight, your day off is hard – earned, and well enjoyed.

I despair at the thought that, throughout next summer, many of us will have to forgo a number of those days to cover the shortfall, when the stable has runners, either taking horses to the races or working in the yard to replace those who have had to go racing.

I understand that there will be fewer meetings during the week, but this will not benefit us as stable staff because the horses still have to be ridden out, mucked out and groomed on these days, and we cannot do that on a skeleton staff, which is how we currently cope with Sundays.

I suspect there are a few yards in the country where the staff is not already pushed beyond the boundaries of its capacities; we have been in the throws of an acute staffing crisis for many years now.

So, a message to the almighty BHB. Just who were you elected to represent ? Just who is going to benefit from this hare-brained, ill conceived idea ? If the answer to either of these questions is the racing industry, think again.

Maria McCabe