The balloting system in Ireland was described yesterday as "out of date and not good enough" by the chairman of the trainers' association Willie Mullins.
Two races at Thurles today had ballots, with the opening race losing 37 horses and the handicap hurdle losing 34. It continues the recent trend which has provoked many trainers and owners to complain at the lack of opportunities for the majority of horses at this time of the year.
Mullins described the situation as "awful" and said: "There is not enough racing for the type of horses we have for the winter game. Eighty per cent of horses are below the 102 rating and they provide the backbone of racing but at the moment horses are having to have multiple entries in the hope of getting into one race. It's costing owners money and the problem has to be tackled."
Mullins proposed as an alternative the English system where balloting is done on a numbered basis.
"In England, if there is a limit of 20 runners in a race and your horse is the 21st pulled out then you are the first reserve. And on down it goes. The advantage of that is everyone knows at the entry stage where they stand whereas here a horse is liable to balloting on a random basis at the scratching stage.
"We will be having a meeting with the Turf Club about the problem but for the last few years the Turf Club haven't been interested in tackling it. We know the IHA are keen to see it change but at the moment nobody is happy," he added.
The trainer also proposed more divides and more eight-race cards as a short-term solution and pointed to the number of schooling bumpers that take place after racing.
"When you see these schooling bumpers, that are catering for a lot of point to pointers, it makes you think shouldn't we have another race on the card. Eight races at Thurles, for instance, would be no trouble," Mullins said.
The Turf Club chief executive Brian Kavanagh responded by saying that a lack of opportunities for horses is a programming issue rather than a balloting one and that the Turf Club system is not random.
"In fairness, I think there is no such thing as a good balloting system but it's not true that ours is random. If a horse is balloted today, he will be protected in a race tomorrow," Kavanagh said. "But the question of so many horses being balloted is a question of opportunities rather than the actual balloting. There is a clear need at the particular level of maiden hurdles and lower class handicaps for more racing, particularly, it seems, in the Munster area," he added.
The actual racing highlight today is the Grade Two Esat Kinloch Brae Chase, which has an intriguing clash between some stayers and specialist two-milers over a median two and a half trip.
The Thyestes winner and Grand National hope, Micko's Dream, likes to dominate from the front and Mr Baxter Basics was impressive over two miles at Fairyhouse when making all.
Foxchapel King and Padre Mio are other useful, versatile sorts, but the trip looks ideal for Amberleigh House, who ran Florida Pearl to a short head last time, gets 10lb from the others and looks to be running into form.
Amberleigh House's rider Paul Carberry, currently on 46 winners for the season, also looks to have excellent prospects on the stayer, Roses Of Picardy, in the novice chase and looks the ideal man to substitute for Charlie Swan on the tricky ride, Kings Valley, in the opener.
