ON occasion horse racing can be accused of being slow to change but there are times when an effort to move with the times and innovate should be welcomed and with that in mind this year’s fixture list is worth examining on two fronts.

Firstly, the fixture list contains several blank Sundays and the first of these took place last weekend. Sunday has long been Irish racing’s big day but times are changing and attendance figures for Sundays would suggest that this day isn’t at all as popular as it used to be. Furthermore, consider the level of competition from other sports on a Sunday as it’s not like racing has the stage to itself.