Bittar a bitter disappointment....

[Posts: 2164Joined: 06 Dec 2003, 19:04Location: Luton]

Mr Bittar was interviewed on ch 4 today ,if fairness to Cattermole he did not shirk any difficult questions

The upshot is , Bittar is with the bookies and the racecourses, he defended the low dross racing as essential for underpinning the industry ....in a nutshell , the bookies rule again , they will dictate when and how many of these class 5. 6. amd 7 , races will be run , diluting the quality of what was the best standard of racing in the world , but now languishes very low in the pecking order

The Quipco series will be protected and enhanced , meaning the small amount of good stuff remaining will be below par for the future



Surely owners will vote with their feet and run more horses in France and in Ireland , leaving British racing a lot poorer in the long run


The question has to be asked , how much progress has Racing made since the Saville Era , in my view the answer has to be not a lot


I think we have seen the best of British racing , what is left is a pale imitation

In my opinion of course


Ricky

[Posts: 1067Joined: 12 Jul 2002, 10:58]

Agree Ricky.
99% of UK racing is now of absolutely no real interest to anyone on the planet excepting the winning connections, who can then self delude themselves for another few weeks.

Australian racing is stuffed with these admin numpties. Now we have imported one. A PR puff below as to how he will be speaking management speak with the elite tells all but NO SIGN AT ALL that he even considers consulting with PUNTERS who have far greater knowledge of racing than anyone at BHA and who also fund his inflated salary.

Leaders in Racing‏@LiR_Mark

@paulbittar, Chief Executive @BHAPressOffice, has been announced to speak at Leaders in Racing 2012. http://bit.ly/NuyOzE

BHA Chief Exec, Paul Bittar, to address Leaders in Racing


"Paul Bittar, the Chief Executive of the British Horseracing Authority, is the latest top industry speaker to be announced for Leaders in Racing, the prestigious industry gathering on the 10th and 11th October 2012 at Stamford Bridge in London.

In his first year at the head of British racing’s governing and regulatory body, he will be joining a panel of other leading figures from the global industry to discuss a range of topics covering international leadership, co-mingling, promotion of the sport and the future of international bloodstock.

Bittar said, ‘I have already heard great things about the Leaders in Racing conference and, in my first year with the BHA, really look forward to having the opportunity to take part in what should be some lively discussions.’

He worked in New Zealand until 2009, during which time he successfully re-structured NZTR whilst delivering a significant expansion of both the racing calendar and international broadcast of New Zealand racing.

Leaders in Racing is an invite-only event launched in 2011 with a sell-out attendance of 250 director-level executives from over 25 countries, including representatives from 18 Jockey clubs, 33 associations and 40 betting operators. It is held as part of the world famous Leaders Sport Summit, which attracts the top 1,500 executives from world sport for 2 days of learning and networking."

[Posts: 2164Joined: 06 Dec 2003, 19:04Location: Luton]

Yep , I noticed his inserts of corporate speak , pathways to streams etc. Gosh do they have any idea how the ordinary Joe/ Joanne Punter sees this , the word gob........comes to mind swiftly

I first became hooked in the early 60s , in my view the standard of racing for the next 20 years or so was the best and the envy of the world

look at us now .....


class 5/6 underpinning the industry , his words .....why cant we have an English or Irishman , like Dennis Brosnan , who can revolutionise the scene again


we Just need some brave man with brains , not a numpty from Oz thanks


IN my humble opinion of course

[Posts: 4148Joined: 20 Jan 2006, 11:28Location: The Ainsty of York]

When Mr Bittar first landed on these shores, took his post and first opened his mouth I sensed a little hope: here was someone with a smidgen of original thought and one who'll not be afraid to challenge the status quo, sacrifce holy cows and be prepared to upset a rickety, rotten applecart. Oh well, the dream was nice while it lasted

This latest missive is nowt but the same old, same old...zzz

It would seem the Ostrich is not the only flightless bird to bury its head in the sand; its antipodean cousin the Emu does so too

[Posts: 2032Joined: 06 Jun 2011, 14:34Location: Bury St Edmunds]

When Mr Bittar first landed on these shores, took his post and first opened his mouth I sensed a little hope: here was someone with a smidgen of original thought and one who'll not be afraid to challenge the status quo, sacrifce holy cows and be prepared to upset a rickety, rotten applecart. Oh well, the dream was nice while it lasted

This latest missive is nowt but the same old, same old...zzz

It would seem the Ostrich is not the only flightless bird to bury its head in the sand; its antipodean cousin the Emu does so too

It might just be time to casserole the cassowary.

[Posts: 339Joined: 03 Jul 2010, 12:34]

Perhaps a few of the questions at the BHA job interview were:

Do you have any ambition to get to the top of the tree in an old-fashioned corporate hierarchy?

Do you have any ambition to use your vision, leadership and creativity to move a great national sport from a declining apologetic shadow of its former self, to something that will come close to a world-leading racing enterprise that will enthuse its participants and followers?

Are you happy to contemplate a working future consisting of doing what you are told, starting with pushing unimaginative corporate speak to the racing public?

[Posts: 4148Joined: 20 Jan 2006, 11:28Location: The Ainsty of York]

It might just be time to casserole the cassowary.

Ostriches, Emus, Cassowaries etc. - the Palaeognathae, roughly translated as 'old mouths' - appropriate or what Mr Bittar

[Posts: 317Joined: 01 Jan 1970, 01:00]

sberry & cav to rebut, then we can file it away until the outbreak of next groundhog day thread day after tomorrow.

[Posts: 935Joined: 28 Feb 2011, 13:01]

"The right man for the job as BHA Chief Exec" - that's an oxymoron.

The challenges of the post are such that an astute manager would never take it on.

In tamely surrendering control of fixtures for commercial purposes (they claim they were forced to by the government: if so,they should have fought till the government changed its mind), the BHA lost all meaningful power.

Mr Bittar has no tools with which to do the job. It's not his fault the toolbox is empty. It is his fault that he didn't have the foresight to realise this.

[Posts: 317Joined: 01 Jan 1970, 01:00]

What was nirvana again? 12 races, 2 early birds and 9% tax. Geez, those were the days weren't they. We can only dream about them now. In our feckin nightmares.

[Posts: 4415Joined: 14 Mar 2006, 11:35Location: Doha, Qatar and Co.Clare, Ireland.]

"Tough crowd", Paul Bittar must utter in his saner moments.

You give em a multi-million quid, Group laden, end of season extravaganza at one of the worlds most iconic racecourses and the bend is a problem.

You give em a 15 million quid longish term terrestrial tv deal and the ads are a problem.

You give em an organization that genuinely attempts to promote the sport (however ham-fisted at times), and their entire existence is a problem.

You give em a racecourse full of joe soaps spending money on drink and gambling and the "public" are a problem.

etc...

And the thing is, the people who depend rather largely on racegoers and punters for their very existence, tell us there is enough demand from those same customers to keep the show on the road generally as is, but they have an issue with the same organizations wanting an input into the product that are expected to pay tens of millions for. A deal to replace the current deal they want replaced in the first place.

And I'm not having this more quantity equals less quality fable either. The pattern remains unaltered or upgraded, the Flat at this time of the year where one time immemorial world class racing festival rolling into another. The champion racehorses remain the champions, as good as, if not better than ever. I consider myself blessed to have witnessed so many incredible thoroughbreds in a decade of following this overwhelmingly engrossing pursuit, daily.

So carry on with your calls to close down racecourses, cull the beautiful animals and put people out of a livelihood they love.

Myself and the lateral thinking Mr Bittar will fight you all the way.

[Posts: 2164Joined: 06 Dec 2003, 19:04Location: Luton]

Utter Bollocks Cav , total and complete nonsense


please take off those rose tinted glasses and smell the coffee

The pattern is the same but for much reduced prize money , Ireland and France make us a joke in real terms ,


The future is caving into the bookie's commercial demands , putting on as much dross as you can shake a stick at , sit back and wollow in the knowledge that the world of british racing is safe


Meanwhile , next week at bath or somewhere else , 80or so nags will compete for prize money less than 25 k in total , the diesel costs alone in getting them there could well be half that , the costs of staff to deliver and look after them will come to more than the rest

work it out slowly .....who is paying for what , and where does the standard of day racing compare to the rest .....


Have you lost your mind or what , to even condone this is wrong , to actively encourage it and use it as your bread and butter for mug losses is immoral

Wake up man


Ricky

[Posts: 372Joined: 26 Feb 2011, 00:03Location: Stroud]

Way to much negativity going on here. Just exactly how would you change the racing structure to improve the quailty of horse racing. That is like saying get rid of all the Football teams below div 1, sounds silly doesn't it.

And as the BHA CE said that there is a demand for lower end of the scale. If punters keep betting on these meetings then clearly there is a demand. Bookmakers will continue to sponsor these races as long as there is a demand for this.

Why get rid of the lower end any way, it isn't just connections that take advantage of this. Some of you could too take advantage of this. Some people are not too fond of the top end of the scale, however it doesn't mean they campaign to abolish the group 1. That would be silly too.
As in life we need balance, we need equilibrium. If some could explain sensibly as to why the class 5 and 6 should go for the greater good of horse racing. I'm all ears. cheers