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.

And, yet, it took the runners throughout the afternoon about 20 seconds to cover the actual distance between the two starts when at full gallop mid-race. By way of comparison, I could run 98 yards more quickly than that, and it is a tragically long time since my glory days as a schoolboy athlete.

The distance between the two starts is probably something like 200 yards longer than given, and anyone taking race distances as accurate (which they are entitled to, particularly when those distances are returned to the nearest yard) is being put away. This is very far from being a one-off.

These things show up to anyone who takes times seriously (the readers of this column, hopefully) but are indicative of a sloppiness in providing basic information that is undermining the appeal of Irish racing, at home and further afield.

It would not be difficult to follow the lead of British racing and measure all race distances at their minimum extent in a precise manner, before requiring that any race-day additions to those distances be calculated accurately and communicated effectively.

The Turf Club knows what it should do.