parade rings. saddling. unruly horses at the starting stalls.

​There is a call from certain influential people in the sport for trainers to be required to have their horses saddled and in the paddock nice and early to allow spectators plenty of time to inspect their well-being and demeanour. In a perfect world this would be a reasonable request, and even in a less than perfect world it is something trainers should aspire to. Lateness in any walk of life is close to unforgivable.
When Aidan O’Brien can saddle his Derby runners in the centre of the collecting ring – did you see how quiet City of Troy was during saddling, quite remarkable – I cannot understand the trend for trainers to saddle in the racecourse stables. Without accusing anyone of any rule-breaking, I would have thought stewards would not wish to encourage the habit of saddling out of the public eye, if only to prevent the temptation of nefarious practices. If a horse is not ‘wanted’ that day, the easiest stopping method is just to give the horse a bucket of water. I think the act of saddling-up in public view, or in view of stewards, might be considered best practice. 
Of course, there must be exceptions to the rule. Some horses can be dangerous to saddle when wound-up by the noise and activity of the racecourse and there is a strong case for this type of horse to be kept in a quiet area to be saddled if only for reasons of health and safety. Though even in this situation, I believe a steward should be present.
What any horse does not need in the build-up to race-time is to be hurried and hassled and to that effect perhaps there should be a longer period between races to allow trainers a chance to get a blow between runners, especially if they have had to collect a prize after the previous race. The racegoer is important but so is the trainer, groom and horse. That said, there should be an emphasis placed upon a trainer to have his or her horse in the pre-parade ring by the time the runners in the previous race are going down to the start, with it expected of any trainer without a runner in that race, having his horse saddled and ready to run by the time the judge is calling the winner of the previous race. I know Francesa Cumani would appreciate all the horses being in parade-ring at the same time during her paddock walk for the benefit of I.T.V. viewers.
That said, as with any activity involving animals, it is easier said than done and there must always be wriggle-room when it comes to applying new guide-lines.
An aspect of race-day where thought should be applied is at the starting stalls. Before the advent of starting stalls, races were regularly late-off, sometimes by up to 20-minutes, due to the near impossible exercise of lining-up a large number of excitable horses in correct order behind a barrier. Starting stalls have greatly reduced late starts, though even the shorter delays achieved nowadays can be associated with incidents that risk the health of jockeys and horses, when recalcitrant horses hold up the start by arguing their case for a day off games. 
There needs to be a set number of minutes allowed for stalls handlers to have horses loaded, with any horse refusing to enter their stall at the first time of asking not asked again until the majority are loaded. Too much time is wasted getting misbehaving horses in the stalls, while well-behaved horses must wait in an enclosed space while ‘wired’ to race. Any horse that is not loaded within the time-period allowed for loading should be considered non-runners. At the moment, some well-behaved, perfectly schooled horses, are having their chances diminished by the unruly behaviour of horses, who when installed will have to stand still for far shorter periods.