A belated thanks from across the pond...

[Hwjb]

Steve, sorry should have posted this in pol/soc in the first place.

Really enjoyed your 'Newest Column' on the homepage re stewards. You'll be unsurprised to know that the same problems abound over here. From a bettor's viewpoint all you can ask for is consistency, and that's the one thing we lack. Stewards over here appear to be privileged members of the aristocracy who enjoy a free lunch/drink before casting their untrained eyes over proceedings. There is recourse for appeal, but that will happen several weeks after and, if the verdict is overturned, it doesn't change a losing ticket into a winning one. You lose on the day, you've lost. I can think of three instances where I've backed a horse who, weeks later, has been awarded the race yet I've had to mark down as a loser. Stewards are the bane of my flippin' life!


As for my punts, you may know that I'm predominantly a jumps man nowadays, and all I can suggest is that you back Diamond Harry for the Ballymore Properties Hurdle at Cheltenham in March. In my life I've never been so excited about a horse before. On the Flat, the horse to follow in Europe this year very much is Crowded House; the guy who owned Wilko and Red Rocks has him, and he just looks monstrous.