The Year That Was or Wasn’t…

This is a blog post about the year of Racing & a little of Arseonlineracing.
The question is where do we start? From the many malign tribulations to the darn right obscure & the serious stuff that the sport has thrown up in between…

Let’s start in January & see where we end up or we don’t.
The year started with the government restrictions for all of us & we hoped that we would get through this. Jockey’s doing 1 meeting (Obviously in National Hunt but soon the Flat will start!), which shared the work load & gave other less fashionable jockeys a chance to show, how good or bad, they were! This is a good thing, less travel & more time at home with the family…

Many thought it would be, let’s say stopping freedom of trade, as most jockeys are self employed. Now come on, sharing is caring & that wasn’t very caring at a time when the country needs you to entertain us & show solidarity (More on that later)…
The entertainment was there for all to see & soon enough we would have the Irish invasion of Cheltenham but before that, cue a photo from an Irish Yard, that caused a suspension of a license & the outrage that went through racing & Social Media faster than Battaash over 5f…
It brought the dark side of animal welfare to the fore & showed that, racing needs to do more against the Animal Rights Activists, who had a field day!
We all know it was wrong, made zero sense but were not the one’s who have to live with what happened every day…

The Irish came & Rachael Blackmore teamed up with Henry De Bromhead to deliver the perfect Cheltenham Festival, walking away with ALL the big trophies’ & we couldn’t have been happier, racing had a new hero & a role model for all the youngsters looking for guidance to get into the sport. Rachael also went on to land a historic Grand National win a month later at Aintree. She is a genius.. FACT.

The flat season was knocking on the door as the National Hunt (Winter) season was put to bed. We lost some friends along the way, others retired to pastures new & some we will welcome back with open arms…

Some say you cannot beat the sound of hooves on the lush grass as the horses & Jockeys pass you travelling at around 30mph ( I know it’s faster in certain races!) & yet some folk, still seem to think that Jockey’s fall off deliberately… Really… Ever tried jumping from a vehicle at 30mph DELIBERATELY? Nah didn’t think so! Unless your a Stunt person!

The flat season is a nice summer activity, where everyone get’s a chance to dress in their best clothes, get together with friends, have a drink & enjoy a day out at the races (A winner or two, if your lucky), so i don’t really get the idea that folk get hammered, pop to see Champagne Charlie in the Loo’s & try kicking off with everybody, yes, it’s the minority, but that’s what get’s focused on! And the Gig’s that are on too!
Now where was I?? Oh yes, the flat racing season…

The Champion Jockey was Oisin & despite his pitfall’s, which have been well documented, he managed to win the title again. Granted it was close, like his mates at the party but he got the title & we must salute him for that, as every Champion has a side that needs taming… Wishing you well.

With Enable retired, we were all looking for new heroes on the track & we found a few, but do the public really take to a horse from a small yard? Is the media just going to focus on the BIG yards, with more than 1 superstar?
You have to take your hat off to Charlie Appleby & his team, Godolphin, as they had the mother of all season’s, taking all the BIG Classics & Adam Kirby, landing the Derby.
Aidan O’Brien’s had the odd winner in the big races as did John Gosden but it was about time Charlie Appleby won a few as his team have always flattered to deceive…
Then we have Holly Doyle, a bloody fantastic Jockey & for anyone, who watched the documentary (If you haven’t then do so) racing has another Idol, for the young folk to aspire too. Breaking records all over the show, year in, year out. Just like Rachael Blackmore in NH racing – Genius!
Along with her Partner (Fiancé) Tom Marquand, they are leading the charge to take racing back to the young folk & show the doubters that racing does have a place in their hearts & in their family homes. Long may they reign….

Back to freedom of trade, I understand the point, but then again, nobody else can grow, learn & lose if all the BIGGER jockey’s are taking all the best races, so it helps with the next generation of Jockey’s, give’s experience to those who need it & everyone has a chance to lift the title (Just my opinion)…

As for us here, we just sat back & sent email’s hoping that racing would come to the party… Yes we were left feeling frustrated. All we were seeing is that racing is inclusive, well, if your a small blog/website like ours, then some of the time, you are over looked. I don’t have a huge profile & tend to keep my thoughts to myself, but as a team (All 4 of us have Jobs too) we work hard to bring at least 1 racing blog a week & maybe, the odd BIG INTERVIEW.
The response, in general terms has been great & I cannot fault anyone, who has joined the party….
We published 18 Interviews in 2021, with the first back in January when we spoke to Tom Scudamore & our last was published back in September with American Jockey, Declan Carroll.
A brilliant return for a small site, having sent so many more requests & had minor responses OR no response at all, that is the disappointing part, that you don’t get a response at all..
We had a record breaking year stats wise with almost 39,000 views… Thank You.
WE WANT MORE IN 2022!

Back to the rest of the year, so we had a troubled champion jockey & then racing always decides to shoot itself in the foot when all looks to be going well again.
The whispers were around about bullying between folk, pinch of salt until you hear from the powers that be & then the leak…
And then there was the OTHER court case about damages, which also threw some bigger racing questions in the air.
And then there are Jockey bans. For entering the wrong stalls, 1 day ban!
Whip rules, interference, weighing under or over… Substance abuse… Get them help, not year long bans!
Oh dear BHA… Be Better!
All I can hope is that racing learns from all of it’s errors this year, takes stock & that 2022 is a belter of a year as the folk who work in the industry, day in & day out, looking after the stars of the sport, don’t deserve theses bad headlines or to see/hear folk calling each other names/fighting. They are the true heroes in our sport…
RACING MUST DO BETTER!

Thanks for reading, the 4 of us all want to thank everyone, who has contributed to AOLR this year & we would like to wish you all a Happy Christmas & all the best for 2022…

Written by Rich
Pictues – Cover by Fran Altoft – The rest -File

An Arseonlineracing Production.. December 2021