IN the first of what I hope will be just an occasional series, I intend to flag up some problems with data which make things unnecessarily difficult for the analyst, and which could be solved if Irish racing took its product more seriously.

This week’s offering is a straightforward one. The first two hurdle races at Downpatrick’s meeting on Friday, October 14th were advertised as being at 18f 50yd and 17f 172yd, which is a difference of 98 yards.