ANOTHER PART OF RACING’S SOUL IS LOST

For those under a certain age who view printed reference type books as something now needless and cumbersome to navigate through, the news that Timeform are ceasing hard copy publication of their showcase product caused no ripples; but to many mature racing fans it ends a link to the sport at its peak era, an era that no one at the time could have foresaw the end of.

The Timeform Racehorse annuals, developed from Phil Bull’s Best Horses annuals, were viewed as collector’s items that owners believed would increase at least modestly in comparable value. All genuine racing fans have shelves lined with copies. 

As the sport has gradually lost its place in the major sport league, its memorabilia has dropped in relative value to other sports, including the Timeform Annuals which from the 1960’s onwards you can now acquire from online stores and private sellers for relatively modest sums.

Computerisation of form books made them less necessary. Indeed for all the benefits that computers and the internet have brought they spoil many a heartfelt nostalgic discussion with quizes, or just plain enjoyable reminiscing somewhat ruined by the availability of speedy, soulless Googling.

This is why you may find yourself falling into a conversation about horse racing with a member of the emerging generations who may initially say something like, “ Cyrname is now officially the top rated chaser which he confirmed when beating Altior  - but it will be interesting if both meet over three miles on Boxing Day when Altior will be fully tuned up”.

Initially you are impressed, but as the conversation continues it dawns on you that they are just repeating almost word for word something they’ve read off their smartphone, probably when browsing through a racing article on a bookmaker’s site which they’d initially been on to look at the odds for footy matches or other sports.

It’s even more demoralising when you find these so called fans have no interest at all in any historical perspective to the sport. Even recent history. Nijinsky, Brigadier Gerard, Phil Bull, Pinza, mean nothing. Same with Persian War, Tom Dreaper, Michael Dickinson, and Pendil.

This may sound of little relevance in the grand scheme of all things racing but if the affinity towards the sport is a tenuous one, then those characters who may be betting on it regularly now, can very easily be weaned off it. This happening in significant numbers would  do grave damage to a game whose future itself is already uncertain.

Contrast with those who got hooked on the game during the 1970's when it was a truly major sport. It was essential to read Oaksey's Mill Reef book and Hislop's Brigadier Gerard book, to compare the two greats. Going back further in history to learn something about the great names of the sport was also an obligation - Atty Persse, Keith Piggott, Frank Butters, Fred Darling, Fred Archer.

We were also aware that over in the USA they were experiencing a decade like no other, from Secretariat, to Seattle Slew, Affirmed, and finishing with Spectacular Bid. We probably still have a Totopoly in a box in the loft, along with Escalado, no doubt with signs of heavy wear and tear. And on the run up to Christmas the telly adverts even use to regularly show a board game called Kentucky Derby.

In the past three decades the sport declined in prominence in the psyche of the general population.This sadly meant that it was only a matter of time before the demand for publications such as Timeform Racehorses and Timeform Chasers and Hurdlers would cease to exist as the older racing fans became infirm, ill of mind, or passed away with the numbers of those with similar enthusiasm that should have been replacing them comparably tiny.

Once the independent Timeform organisation sold out to bookmaking interests respect began to wain and many of us had long stopped purchasing the annuals in real time. Sadly it will now only be from a historical perspective that we will pick up old copies, browsing randomly through, reading the odd essay, studying the posed portraits. 

The physical descriptions used a consistent terminology down the years though there did seem to be some additions added in later years. I've been looking through Racehorses of 1968 and you do not come across anything described as 'good topped' or 'angular', which don't seem to have been introduced until two decades later.

Then you can't help noting the dress of the 'lad' holding each animal deemed good enough for a posed portrait. A cap covering short cropped hair appears mandatory in the 1960's, then all hell looks to have been let loose the following decade when there is no shortage of lads resembling Robert Plant holding on to their charges. 

There are of course some aspects of the publications that should have been arrested long ago. Not least the introduction which claims that the book, as well as being a historical record, is designed for weighing up a race, a purpose for which in reality it is outdated once the new season is in motion. Has anybody actually ever received a copy of Chasers and Hurdlers for Christmas then gone about using its now outdated ratings and comments to assess the Welsh National?

Another point is the weight for age scale. Timeforms varies slightly from the official one but it too has changed down the years. As an example, for the second half of July, the present Timeform weight for age scale deems that over a mile and a half a three year old should be receiving 12lb from older horses. 

Now, when Grundy and The Minstrel won their respective runnings of the King George in 1975 and 1977 respectively, Timeform had the margin at 14 lb which means that if the organisation's present weight for age scale applied back then, Grundy would have ended with an annual rating of 135 instead of 137, and The Minstrel with one of 133 instead of 135,  as both horses performances in the Ascot event where seen as career bests at weights and measures.

Admittedly the response for being nit picky over this issue would no doubt be that the change is merely keeping in line with what is seen ( but not proven) as horses maturing faster than in decades earlier - indeed, the Timeform weight for age scale at King George time for a mile and a half in the 1960's reckoned that the three year olds should be in receipt of 16 lb!

The fact that we would obsess over such issues in being so critical does however go to show how much respect we had for Timeform and the cold objective views of their senior staff whose dabs were on the annuals. Those are days are now gone for good with no hope of them ever returning.

The online Racing Post form book begins in 1988.To start a good level research prior to then it’s your own personal collections of books, magazines, newspaper cuttings and by visiting libraries or the like. Subscribing to newspaper archives is also a great help but limited in the sense that you won’t, for example find an available Sporting Life or Sporting Chronicle archive from the 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s.

The British Newspaper Archive website has both the Sporting Life and Sporting Chronicle available to the end of the 1940’s, while many other racing publications will have been lost too long to be recoverable unless you’ve kept old copies or built up scrapbooks.

When research is needed, the Timeform Annuals form part of the backbone of the material to be  consulted if they cover the period being examined. But if truth be told, hardly anyone without a racing background amongst the under forties will feel any desire to look up an historical racing subject when they can play FIFA 21, or Football Manager.

That the publication is soon to be no more allied to the fact that Wisden remains strong and treasured in hard copy form, says much about the comparable present standings of the sports of cricket and horse racing in Great Britain.

This track is from an album released a few weeks before Comedy Of Errors took back his hurdling crown from Lanzarote, and when Ten Up took the Gold Cup in a quagmire.  The lyrics have no connection to the Alps but the music has a Gstaad or Crans Montana feel and conjures up images of the likes of Roger Moore, Peter Sellers and Clay Regazzoni. No doubt many who visit these locations have full sets of Timeform Annuals.