Normally, as regular readers know, I like to accentuate the positive and highlight the good things going on in my blog, but on occasion, there is going to be a morning when I will focus on an issue that doesn’t just impact on me and my job, but the industry as a whole.
Racing professionals rely on the Racing Post – fact.
We need to able to use and trust the information provided, whether it is the accuracy and integrity of the racecards, the results or the details about future entries.
Sadly, and regrettably, I find myself increasingly frustrated that details that used to be part and parcel of the newspaper are no longer included as standard.
And it is not as if the Racing Post is a cheap purchase, coming in at £2.40 on a Saturday.
As things stand, I try to use the only industry newspaper to work from in terms of finding the information I need to do my job, but now have to do that in conjunction with other online services to fill in the gaps.
That is not good enough and I am beginning to consider whether the Post, and their corporate owners have the best interests of their most avid readers at heart?
Last week whilst in Ireland I wanted to check on the claiming details for a race at Kempton, but the Racing Post card for the relevant race included no information on the price for claims, or the relevant telephone number.
This morning, and this now a daily issue, I was checking upcoming entries and racecards, looking for handicap priority listings and ballot marks, so I can assess the likelihood, or otherwise, of entries making the final field.
And to make things worse, the tiny typeface used on the advanced cards make both seeing and working from the paper nigh on impossible – time to go to Specsavers?!
Trying to use the online Racing Post website to get up to date information on declarations, final fields, jockeys etc is now a slow, tedious and frustrating process. Not that long ago, I could rely on the site to give me what I needed in a timely and accurate fashion.
Perhaps with the way things have gone in recent months, I and other racing professional s will take the view that the Racing Post is purely a news service and that the integrity information and services will be provided online via the BHA website.
Browsing online social media sites such as Twitter, it is clear to me that I am not the only one to voice concerns over the current state of the Racing Post and its services with all too regular comments being posted about the accuracy of data, issues with race video provision and the like.
The Racing Post needs to shape up and do so quickly.
As always with my blog posts, please feel free to get in touch with any comments via my email address (info@ianwilliamsracing.com)
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