Hi all, Recently went to fairview with my wife whilst on business in PE and had a most enjoyable day at the races . The new lounge and panoramic viewing had me telling my friends in eastlondon that we got to incorporate this into our next golf trip to the city . We are currently in Capetown for a wedding today so I decided to take the girls racing at kenilworth yesterday . What a disappointment . We had a window table at the pocket power room and in time for race 1 . Unlike fairview where you have a wonderful view of the race and don't need to watch the Telly you cant make out the horses until they are right at the finish line . We then noticed that the majority of trainers and punters watched the races on Telly due to this factor . The other sport channels shown in the lounge were absolutely blaring and so loud that you couldn't really talk at the table . I could go on but on the plus side we ordered fish and chips and that was very good . Kenilworth not for me thanks but fairview different class in my opinion. Cheers all
Sadly you are 100% correct insofar as viewing is concerned and I referred to a 'disconnect' from the live action in an earlier post.
Having raced at Kenilworth for over 40 years I have often been astounded at the apparent complete lack of creativity that went into the grandstand design. It gives one the impression that whoever designed it did not understand the demands of racing viewing or, alternatively, never visited the site to establish what might be optimum for viewing.
Although I would not have expected a building designed +- 50 years ago to have been curved it could, at least, have been angled to the course so as to offer all viewers an unobstructed view!
Shortcomings were then compounded in the 70's when the 'new' longer run in was installed. Due to constraints created by the presence of the 'old' ( or 'winter') course the new run in was even further from the grandstand.
The course itself is a pretty big oval where most of the 'far bend' activity is quite a long way away. The undulating nature of the sprint course also makes viewing difficult if you happen to be at ground level.
A lot of these issues have been partially addressed by television. Let's be frank - it's a lot easier to watch on a monitor rather than carting a pair of binoulars around for half a day and going home with a stiff neck and weight induced headache.
Unfortunately not even cameras can fully eradicate design flaws as all of the bulidings were erected long before this medium was anticipated; resulting in placements dictated by available space rather than ideal camera positioning.
The advent of HD has not helped. We have mostly become used to the pin like precision offered by HD on competitive sporting events whereas we are receiving local racing broadcasts in standard definition and often on ancient (or cheap!) monitors.
Lastly but not least - broadcasting in bright and varying sunlight and sometimes from the wrong angle make it additionally difficult for a production team. Low light conditions usually available in the UK by comparison make it easier to provide a clearer or 'smoother' picture.
Nevertheless -if management are confronted with the choice of improving on course viewing or disseminating a 'better picture' then it is no contest that resources should be allocated to the latter as it has become unquestionably the preferred viewing option.
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