the final sporting life. (part 2)

​I wonder why Tuesday, May 12th, was chosen to be the last publication of The Sporting Life? It was the first day of York’s Dante meeting, so wouldn’t the Friday have been a more appropriate day to finish? A drawing of a line after an important meeting? Or the previous Sunday or Monday. Not that it matters, 1998 was the end of a newspaper that had adorned the publishing world since Saturday, April 30th, 1859, and which was formerly known as Penny Bell’s Life. Which is another date they might have chosen, April 30th, the 139th anniversary of the paper’s founding.
Although the ‘Life’ was a broadsheet – it is presently taking up most of the limited space on my desk – and reading it now, it feels like I am wrestling with sailcloth, the content is more or less the same as you would expect to find in today’s copy of The Racing Post. Incidentally, the title Sporting Life, still alive today, of course, remained on the front cover of the Racing Post as the two papers merged, rather than one taking over the other, although that in fact is what happened. By 1998, the Post was out-selling its only rival. If the Post had opposition today, its cover price would be half what it is.
Anyway, Section Two of this final publication had a photograph of Jack Berry and Gary Carter bathed in smiles after a second winner at Redcar. Jack, as always, wearing a red shirt. At the bottom of the sailcloth were the runners and riders for the two main races at York, the Musidora and the Guilbert of Rex Rated (I assume Stakes). The only jockeys still riding that were in competition that day are Frankie Dettori, Robert Winston and Royston Ffrench. Alex Greaves represented the female jockeys.
The inside page was a Marker Sheet, comprising the horses running at the day’s three race-meetings, plus the greyhounds at Catford and Sunderland. There was also a Runners Index and BAGS Index.
The main story of ‘The Sporting Life at the Races’ was winner number1,500 for Jack Berry. 
Graham Cunningham, reporting from Southwell, gave a mention to Friendly Knight, winner of the Italy Handicap, trained by Alex Johnson and owned by her husband Mark, the racecourse commentator. And as he does with regularity today, though I didn’t think him that ancient, Tony Carroll won the Germany Apprentice race with Lucky Begonia, ridden by Craig Carver. I wonder what happened to him?
No prizes for guessing who was leading the Jockeys’ Championship with 248 winners from 802 rides. Robert Thornton was leading conditional with 66 winners from 503 rides. And Martin Pipe was atop the trainers championship with 201 winners.
Beverley’s new weighing-room complex was getting a lot of stick. Did they ever make it safer for people? Gary Bardwell had broken his leg and was pissed-off about it. Captain Tancred, hurdle winner saved from drowning in a dramatic sea rescue, was to be featured on B.B.C.’s 999 series. And Danny Wright was expected to appeal against the disqualification of Cantina at Chester. Where’s Danny Wright now?
We think of Aidan O’Brien as being all-conquering, yet at Killarney on this day he had Lady Moskva in a mares maiden hurdle, form figures 243240, ridden Charlie Swan, and Ithastobedone, form figures 3415, ridden by J.A. Robinson. I mention the form figures as none of the other horses he ran that day could boast similarly respectable numbers. Loquacious, Corket, Oakler and Blasket Sound who ran in the handicap chase, though the latter had won that season, and his runner in the Bumper, Supreme Beauty, had finished 2nd on its last run. Willie Mullins had a runner in the race, ridden by the promising amateur Mr. R.Walsh. I wonder what happened to him? And would a young amateur in the Hunters’ Chase remember a horse called Desertmore. I am guessing that its rider, Mr.N.D. Fehily, goes by the Christian name Noel, a jockey who eventually was recognised for the great horseman he must have been for years before.
The prize money at Hereford that day is worth noting. The 4-year-old hurdle had £2,179 to the winner. The Selling Hurdle £1,523 to the winner. The 3-mile chase £3,048, the conditional jockeys hurdle £2,442, the handicap hurdle £2892, the Hunters’ Chase £1,390 and the 2 divisions of the bumper £1,229. Apart from virtually everything else, including the cost of living, nothing much has altered when it comes to prize money.
It's good to go back in time, to reunite yourself with something that was always really important to you, even if a softening brain has deleted so much of what has gone before. Or even two-thoughts ago. I had forgotten how reading the ‘Life’ was an art form in itself. Essentially, though, even if the Racing Post would claim otherwise, not much has changed, not for the better, anyway. Yesterday’s racing was better reported on by the ‘Life’, and though, I believe, point-to-pointing is carried in the on-line paper, the Post does not think it necessary or prudent to publish point-to-point results even though it is a seedbed to the professional side of racing.
Don’t get me wrong, much of my enjoyment of life and racing comes from my daily interaction with The Racing Post. My life would be lessened without it. But it is not the same value for money the Sporting Life was. The Post cuts, trims and lessens, while all the while, each Cheltenham Festival, it puts itself further and further out of reach of the ordinary working man and woman.
What the Racing Post needs is competition. It’s monopoly does horse racing an injustice.