One of my horse racing links has some “sports simulation” games that you might like to have a look at. They include “Two Furlongs From Home” a horse racing (flat) game which includes being able to re-run "big" races from the past, including Epsom Derbys from 1953. The link is below.
http://www.freewebs.com/johnbowness/
1953 is a little before my time as I first got hooked on horse racing around 1960. Thinking back, it was not long after that there was a spate of racecourse closures. Alexandra Park or “Ally Pally” went in 1970. The London Cup run there that year was won by a young 5 pound claimer – a certain Pat Eddery. Another familiar name to current racing fans, George Duffield, rode the winner of the very last race at the track. Duffield of course only retired quite recently.
Hurst Park was another track to close around this time. They used to stage races named after Henry VIII’s 6 wives. The Jane Seymour Stakes, the Catherine Parr handicap etc.
The name Hurst derives from "Hyrst", an Old English word for a small wood that presumably once stood there. The land was once used for other sporting activities -archery, cricket, pugilism, golf and occasionally for illicit duelling. The first game of cricket known to have taken place here was on 13th July, 1731, and the earliest recorded instance of a player being given out leg-before-wicket occurred here in 1795. Several bouts for the Prize Fighting Championship of England were fought on Molesey Hurst in the early part of the last century. I think there is a Tesco store where the old racecourse used to be now.
Pass Me By, took the £30,000 Sussex National at Plumpton for Suzy Smith recently. Ms Smith trains at the defunct Lewes racecourse. The Lewes track was another to bite the dust in the 60s. The great Fred Archer once rode 6 out of 7 winners at Lewes. He also had his last rides there in November 1886 shortly before falling ill and committing suicide during a bout of delirium. He was only 29.
Anyway, back to the present day I thought that Verasi was a game winner of the Lanzerote Hurdle. He is one of those horses that always seems to win at a big price. His 3 successes in handicap hurdles have come at 16/1, 12/1 and 20/1.
Although we have had a steady stream of winners from the list to follow they have been at skinny prices in the main. There is only one lister in action tomorrow at Fakenham and that is Dom D’Orgeval in the 2.20. He ran up a hat trick of hurdles wins last season and made a fine reappearance when 3rd to Inglis Drever in a Grade 2 at Newbury. He makes his chase bow here and if reproducing anything like his hurdles form he should win. The fences at Fakenham are not difficult but the tight track does not suit every horse.
We also have one “lister” at Plumpton. Ring Back runs in the 2.30. She won a bumper at Warwick last March and has shown enough in novice hurdles to suggest she can land a small race.
Returning to the 60s nostalgia for a moment, I have been listening to a Nancy Sinatra CD whilst penning these notes. The line from “These boots are made for walkin’” that goes “You keep losing when you ought to not bet” is perhaps one we should all take note of!
Take care.
ahorse 