Cheltenham in firing line of punters' body for 'wrong' going description on opening day of the festival

The accuracy of the official going description on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival has been criticised by the Horseracing Bettors Forum (HBF), which said it reflected a trend at courses across the country.

The meeting opened on going described as soft, heavy in places after significant overnight rain, despite a morning GoingStick reading of 3.7, the lowest recorded for a Cheltenham raceday. 

The Supreme Novices’ Hurdle won by Slade Steel and Gaelic Warrior’s Arkle success officially took place on going that was soft, heavy in places before clerk of the course Jon Pullin updated conditions to heavy, soft in places before the Ultima, the third race of the meeting. 

The HBF, established in 2015 with the assistance of the BHA to represent the interests of punters, has argued for the ability to retrospectively alter going descriptions in light of possibly incorrect readings and believes improved procedures are vital towards re-establishing punters' confidence in official ground reports. 

In a statement posted on X on Thursday, the HBF said: "Following last week's Cheltenham Festival and in advance of the start of the turf Flat season at Doncaster on Saturday, the Horseracing Bettors Forum is calling for British racing to up its game regarding correct reporting of the state of the going. 

"The official going description at the start of Cheltenham was given as 'soft, heavy in places' despite a pre-racing GoingStick reading that was easily the lowest (softest) at the course on record. 

"That official description was altered to primarily 'heavy' only after two races had been run in times that indicated exceptionally testing conditions, and without rain having fallen in the meantime. 

"In effect, the clerk at Cheltenham conceded that he got the initial going description wrong, but those first two races will appear in most form books as primarily 'soft' until the end of time. 

"At the very least, there should be a system in place to alter official going descriptions retrospectively when the evidence suggests they are wrong. More than that, though, greater efforts should be made to describe the surface correctly and objectively at the time."

The HBF's most recent survey, published in 2023, showed almost 40 per cent of respondents had little or no trust in official going descriptions.

The statement continued: "Independent assessors disagree regularly with official going descriptions, on turf and all-weather, sometimes on a daily basis. 

"Punters and racing professionals deserve better, and their lack of confidence in official assessments has been communicated loud and clear in all surveying that HBF has conducted on the subject over the best part of a decade now. 

"HBF finds it most disappointing, and frankly unacceptable, that there has been no apparent progress in this area despite the horseracing public's clear concerns. 

"Confidence in the accuracy of fundamental data is paramount in order that people continue to fund the sport through their betting."

The BHA and Cheltenham were approached for comment but have yet to respond.

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