Maybe something will actually get done now that the Racing 240 television service has the Stipendiary Stewards officially recording their unhappiness with the product.
Geoff Curlewis writes in the Sporting Post Mailbag that he has been an avid racing fan for 30 years.
He writes:
I read the official Stipes reports as they are a mine of information and trivia.
Since the 4Racing roadshow cracked the whip at Kenilworth last Thursday, I have noticed that we have twice in six days had the racing regulator waving a red flag at the television crew.
But wait – 2 of the 6 days were KZN racemeetings.
So that means Racing240 effectively have a 50% strike rate – over the 4 recent non KZN meetings – with providing satisfactory on-course delivery for the Stipes. That is since we were told they were really world-class, or whatever they said on Thursday
At Fairview on Friday, I read that the television department representative was interviewed by the Stewards concerning the quality of the available patrol film footage of the first race and was advised that there was no footage of the start pertaining to the horses in the inside draws, ‘which was unacceptable’.
Then at Kenilworth on Wednesday, the Stipes had no head-on patrol film footage from the 600m to the 350m of the second race due to a technical issue. This report will be forwarded to Kenilworth Racing.
So, let’s discount the keyboard warriors or punters, and all the whingers. We know no racing operator ever takes the customer too seriously, anyway.
But if the Stipes rate Racing 240 a 50%, when is Ms Sithebe going to actually do something?
The absence of, or diminished quality footage, surely impacts directly on the policing of our racing? Never mind the havoc they are wreaking on our viewing experience.
Say no more.
Thanks for a great publication. I don’t comment but I read all the great suggestions.
