It's not complicated: a nice day out helped by nice people is what we all want at the races
I've spent the best part of a long career writing about needless and pointless restrictions on racecourses.
I suppose it started in earnest the day I was refused entry for wearing one of those nice button-necked, collared woollen jumpers under my rather smart suit, instead of a shirt and tie. To compound the insult, I was then offered a tie from the racecourse's 'lost and found' drawer – an item I described at the time as "looking as though it had last been worn by a tramp in a vomiting contest" – which I wore at half-mast, knot down to the chest, after which I was nodded through approvingly for obeying the rules, despite looking like a complete dog's breakfast.
The worst thing about it was not so much that somebody, somewhere, thought it was a good idea to tell somebody else what to wear on a day out, but that the people charged with enforcing the regulations seemed so numerous and utterly suited to the task, while those who were supposed to be stopping besuited young men from brawling in the bars were thin on the ground.
Read the full story
Read award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing, with exclusive news, interviews, columns, investigations, stable tours and subscriber-only emails.
Subscribe to unlock
- Racing Post digital newspaper (worth over £100 per month)
- Award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing
- Expert tips from the likes of Tom Segal and Paul Kealy
- Replays and results analysis from all UK and Irish racecourses
- Form study tools including the Pro Card and Horse Tracker
- Extensive archive of statistics covering horses, trainers, jockeys, owners, pedigree and sales data
Already a subscriber?Log in
- Ascot should be begging Frankie Dettori to return - a royal meeting with him will be far better than without
- Cash injection or switching dates might be needed to stop the Guineas becoming irrelevant
- The Derby day winner from North Yorkshire who is making the training game look easy
- Ascot's smart approach to selling racing tells us we can be royalty - even if just for one day
- Sectional timings for the Derby suggest City Of Troy isn't the only Ballydoyle star worth following
- Ascot should be begging Frankie Dettori to return - a royal meeting with him will be far better than without
- Cash injection or switching dates might be needed to stop the Guineas becoming irrelevant
- The Derby day winner from North Yorkshire who is making the training game look easy
- Ascot's smart approach to selling racing tells us we can be royalty - even if just for one day
- Sectional timings for the Derby suggest City Of Troy isn't the only Ballydoyle star worth following