Big race days are becoming increasingly important for the sport

The job of a racecourse ‘clerk of the course’ should be relatively straightforward. A simplified version of their job spec is to ensure the provision of suitable ground conditions, check all rails and jumps are correctly aligned and presented and then sit back with a cup of tea and enjoy the racing. But increasingly the first part of that job description has become something of a nightmare.

Take Fairyhouse last week, the ground was too firm a week out from the tracks’ biggest three days of racing of the year, so the clerk of the course sanctioned artificial watering to commence. That decision was taken after consulting with the available weather forecasts, but unfortunately the course received twice as much rain as had been forecast and we ended up with a situation where Saturday’s fixture had to be abandoned at short notice because parts of the track were waterlogged.

If no artificial watering had taken place and the weather forecasts had proven accurate we may have ended up with ground conditions that were too quick for the safety of the participants.

Weather forecasts are about as reliable as horse racing tips and, while they may be of some use when determining whether or not to take a brolly on a walk, it must be utterly frustrating having to rely on their guesses in order to do your job.

Fortunately the rain relented in time for Fairyhouse to race their two biggest days as scheduled on Sunday and Monday and the course was bathed in sunshine by the time the Irish Grand National runners went to post. A very healthy crowd of 16,577 was on hand to witness a riding masterclass from British Champion Jockey elect Sean Bowen on Haiti Couleurs in the big race.

After all the negative fallout following the death of 13-year-old Celebre D’allen after the Aintree Grand National, it was lovely to view the enthusiasm of the similarly aged Any Second Now in the Irish Grand National. The Ted Walsh-trained veteran jumped beautifully on his way to a second successive runner-up finish in the contest. He also placed twice in the Aintree equivalent during his racing career and will now hopefully enjoy a long and happy retirement.

One aspect of Irish Grand National day that is somewhat sad to see is the demise of the Tote Jackpot. The multi-leg bet was always of significant interest on big days such as this. Even if you didn’t win a share in it yourself, you would check out the results to see how big a dividend it paid.

Not that long ago the Tote Jackpot pool on Irish Grand National day regularly exceeded the €30,000 guaranteed pool, but nowadays without the guaranteed pool the bet is barely a shadow of its former self. Monday’s pool was a paltry €4,717 and that total included a rollover of €1,883 from the previous day.

Changing the subject, the passing of Pope Francis on Easter Monday got me thinking about how much our perception of the Catholic Church has changed during my lifetime.

I watched a parade on Easter Sunday in Spain with hundreds of local families, from toddlers to grandparents, all dressed in replica costumes from the period of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. They walked through the streets of a country town, accompanied by marching bands, in a procession that culminated at the steps of the local church.

Mass then started in the church, but none of the parade participants attended. They simply took photos of themselves and chatted outside before retiring to two nearby bars for refreshments.

I’m sure this parade has taken the same route on this day for hundreds of years and in times past there would have only been standing room inside the church. Now the congregation consists of less than a dozen locals and a few curious tourists as a priest from Africa celebrates the mass.

The church building itself is unchanged in centuries, the mass follows the exact same format it has done since I was a child, but the people don’t go there anymore to pray. They will turn up for weddings, christenings and funerals, but otherwise don’t cross the threshold.

I can’t help thinking there are similarities between the scene I witnessed last Sunday and horse racing in Ireland. The big racing events like Monday’s Irish Grand National can still draw a significant crowd, but most of the run of the mill fare is struggling to attract an audience at all.

Both the sport and the religion are steeped in history and tradition, but to varying degrees they have been blighted by scandals and that, combined with changing times, has left them struggling to engage in a meaningful way with the public.

Horse racing to some extent has developed new angles such as student days and ladies days to entice a broad cross-section of society through its gates for one-off brushes with the sport, but overall it looks to be facing very similar problems to the Catholic Church.

In a similar way that attending a wedding in a church is highly unlikely to convert you to become a regular mass goer, I don’t think too many of the thousands of students that packed Limerick and Leopardstown recently will necessarily return on an average day, and even if they do their experience will be vastly different.

Perhaps the sport is correct to concentrate on the big flagship days as they do at least keep horse racing relevant in an increasingly competitive leisure environment.