Letter: Could Thyestes day not finish with a flourish?

Sir, I have been attending and enjoying Thyestes day at Gowran Park for many years. Big crowd, great atmosphere, a good card for jumps fans (could be better).

I am familiar with all the deserved clichés re: Thyestes day - their big day of the year, a flagship race of the NH season, the race that stops a county, et cetera, you know them all.

However, I find it incredible that the authorities allow the card to end in a damp squib, a non-event of a bumper with (invariably) a very small field and a long odds-on favourite. Why they persist with this formula is beyond me.

We are constantly reading in the media re: the need to improve the ‘product’, TV rights, generating betting revenue for the industry, et cetera. In that context, surely the last race on a flagship day should be something competitive, worth winning, a race that punters and bookmakers (both on and off course) could get stuck into with enthusiasm?

I won’t bore you listing the various alternatives, any of which would lead to the card ending on a high note, as opposed to the current non-event. Any jumps fan could suggest a few good options.

I will continue to attend and enjoy their big day in January and live in hope that someone in authority will improve the card’s last race.

- Yours etc.,

FRANK SUTTON

13 Slievenamon Road,

Clonmel,

Co Tipperary