OVER the last few months the reserve system and its merits have come under the microscope and various arguments have been put forward as to how this system could be improved upon.

There are aspects of the current reserve system that fall short of catering for the wider racing public but these matters have been dealt with here before.

One issue which hasn’t been touched upon, but surely merits more than a passing mention, is how reserves are allocated to a draw on the flat.

Admittedly the turf season has been over for the last fortnight but Dundalk will supply flat racing each Friday through the winter so this is a point well worth examining.

Under the current reserve system the first reserve in a race is allocated the stall of the lowest numbered non-runner on the racecard at the time that the card closes, which is 90 minutes before the first race.

HYPOTHETICAL

At first glance this seems like quite a straightforward situation, but consider the following hypothetical scenario. The trainer of a first reserve gets a phone call from one of his colleagues next Friday morning to say that their charge isn’t running so that trainer declares his reserve and makes plans to head to Dundalk.

For the purpose of this example we will say that the non-runner is number eight on the racecard and is drawn two. Thus the connections of the first reserve can content themselves with the fact they have what could be considered a plum draw in many instances. Indeed, emboldened by this development they may even be tempted to back their representative in the belief that he will have every chance of running well from a low draw.

COMPLICATIONS

However, the current system allows for complications to arise. In this same hypothetical scenario another horse who is guaranteed a run is scratched from the same race and this in turn allows the second reserve to get into the final line-up. For the purpose of this example say the second horse to come out of the race is number four on the card and he is drawn 14 which is the widest draw at Dundalk.

Such a starting position might suit some horses who want plenty of daylight or don’t like being crowded but in many instances this would be considered quite a disadvantageous draw.

In a case such a scenario as outlined above would lead to a situation where the connections of the first reserve head to the races in the belief that their horse will break from stall two but this is not the case. Instead, going by the racecard order rule, the first reserve takes the position of horse number four and will in fact break from stall 14 with the plum stall two draw going to the second reserve.

It is hardly an ideal scenario that the connections of a reserve could head to the races without being absolutely certain of what starting position they will be assigned. Thus the most logical and workable solution to all this is to assign draws to reserves at declaration time.

Admittedly this will mean that you could have horses drawn 17 at Dundalk in a race where you have 14 runners and three reserves. You will not physically have 17 stalls but rather the numbers will be moved in accordingly to take into account non-runners at the time the card closes.

This appeals as a relatively simple and straightforward solution as to what draw reserves will find themselves assigned when they do make it into races and it is also the fairest way to deal with the matter.

‘Surely if you can’t win, you can’t lose’

IT is fair to say that ante-post betting isn’t anything like the draw that it once was. Indeed the flurry of prices for Cheltenham that will accompany almost every graded race or big handicap winner between now and March will be greeted with a fair degree of apathy in many instances.

Another aspect of ante-post betting and one that certainly requires some revision is that of bookmakers quoting horses for races at Cheltenham that they are not eligible for.

One example came to light this week when a cursory look at oddschecker.com revealed that the very talented Willie Mullins inmate Royal Rendezvous was listed by one firm as a 20/1 shot for the bumper at Cheltenham in March.

OVERSIGHT

The reality is that even if connections wanted to run Royal Rendezvous in the Cheltenham Bumper he could not owing to the fact that he ran and won over hurdles at Galway last month. It is entirely understandable that such an oversight could take place if the horse ran over hurdles in the last few days, but he has not been eligible for the Cheltenham race for three weeks!

There are similar examples of this every year and, in the first instance, it surely isn’t asking too much of some odds compliers to at least produce a list of horses that are eligible for a race run in March.

In the second instance, the question arises as to whether a punter would get their stake refunded if they backed a horse quoted by a bookmaker who was actually not qualified for the race in question.

“Surely if you can’t win, you can’t lose,” was the reaction of one racing professional earlier this week, and one would certainly hope that is the case.