Scrabbling in the bins at Lingfield Park

It was only in the morning that I noticed the racing at Lingfield Park was over the jumps. Known for years as Leafy Lingfield, maybe it should be renamed 'Lucky for some Lingfield' for reasons which will become clear later.
Making it to the track with only 3 minutes before the first race cost me the chance to back the winner. Galling in itself, but when you are late because you are fulfilling a commitment to go to Haskins Retirement Home Garden Centre (to be subject of a whole separate report) then it is more like despair.
There are meetings at Lingfield over 60 times a year, making a season ticket very good value. The problem is that most of the meetings consist of poor quality horses running on the all-weather track to provide betting shop fodder. Most serious punters gave up wagering there some years ago, when it was suggested (falsely obviously*) that the senior jockeys decided who was going to win in turn.
Jumps meetings at Lingfield are now a rarity, and with these often called off because of water logging, the chance to take one in was too good an opportunity to miss.
The high number of race days has had a noticeable effect. Entry is slick, the gate staff know what they are doing, and there are those bloody fixed odds betting terminals in the on course Ladbrokes. These machines are mini casinos, and it was so dispiriting to see Tobys** sat playing them even during a race.
There is also a certain complacency about the place for what was to ARC (the company which runs Lingfield) presumably a low profile midweek meeting.The bars were understaffed, and most of the food outlets were shut. A small coffee stall sold 6inch greasy sausage rolls (not of the type The New York Times has discovered were made by the aristocracy). The one lonely 'Cornish' pasty was quickly snapped up. My hunger pangs were bad enough to lead me to buy a vegetarian pie. Does all veggie food taste of cardboard? The corporate customers and restaurant diners are obviously preferred by ARC to the ordinary racing enthusiast.
Halfway through proceedings a group of children appeared covered in sheets and (presumably) fake blood and engaged in a 'zombie walk.' It was all for Children in Need, so that's alright then.
The quality of the racing was actually pretty good. I reckon there will be a few future winners coming out of the novice hurdle.
Gary Moore had 3 winners at Sandown on Sunday, although suggestions his horses run at their best when he is in hospital are perhaps unfair. With the stable in such good form I backed his Mr Fickle in the 4th race. Mr Fickle duly lived up to his name by finishing second.

The highlight on the card for many was a hurdle race in which all the horse had to be ridden by flat jockeys. The paddock was a picture beforehand. Lots of jockeys, smaller than normal, smiling (having been able to eat rather than skip breakfast before a race) but now nervously contemplating going over the obstacles at 30mph plus. Since most of them  can do 8 stone 3lb or less, riding a horse carrying 11st 5lb meant the saddles were heavy with lead. 
The flat jockeys hurdle race was won by a punted horse ridden by Tom Queally,

Frankel's jockey. I could not back him at the price (6/4 on) and Tom's win may not not be seared in my  memory as was Frankel's irresistible triumph in the 2000 Guineas . He had been helped (understandably in the circumstances) by a number of normally brave jockey colleagues, who on this occasion 'did not give up the outside the anyone.'  Still at least I can truthfully say this time 'I was there Tom.'
To be honest I would have struggled to report much else from a routine day's racing except for Queally's triumph. The dull day  though was transformed by the drama provided by the little known Clerk of the Scales.
The 6th race was a poorish novice chase contested by 5 runners. The outsider bucked and broncoed on the way to start, threw his jockey off, did 3 circuits of the all weather track and was withdrawn. Already we were therefore down to 4 runners, had a 'rule 4' and no each way betting.
The race itself was nothing special. Arthamint, ridden by David England, crossed the line first and was well backed. Eaton Rock shouldered the burden of my funds and came second, never really looking like winning.
This gave me enough time to study the last in order to save wreck the day, when 'ding-dong' and the klaxon sounded for a 'steward's'. 
The PA announcer said, "Stewards' Enquiry, Stewards' Enquiry. There has been an objection to the winner by ......... (a dramatic pause?)  ..... the Clerk to the Scales.''  This was a  knowledgeable crowd. They knew immediately that the rider of winner had weighed in light. Jockeys are allowed a bit of wriggle room. They can lose up to 1 pound in weight during a race, but jockey David England must have lost more.
There was only one possible  conclusion - disqualification for the horse first past the post and Eaton Rock to be declared the winner..
By pure luck I still had my losing betting slip which was now a winning one. Judging by the  scrum round the bins across the course a lot of other people had already disposed of theirs.
It took a while but Eaton Rock was eventually officially declared the winner. I collected (thank you Bartholomew Barry), 

and then contentedly listened to the conspiracy theories as  to what had happened. The minority view was that the disqualified jockey had dropped a bit of equipment. The cynics suggested a deliberately lost weight cloth. The official explanation was that there no explanation. No equipment was missing. The jockey was fined £300, and said he must have sweated while waiting for the loose horse to be caught. 
Who knows? But what fun and an enjoyable postscript as well. As is normal for what had looked a straight forward race the on track bookies had been paying out out before weighed in was declared. In this case of course to people who had punted on a horse which was not the actual winner. It took someone with a heart of  stone (well most of us punters actually) to not feel a little bit sorry for the well known bookmaker Barry Dennis who shouted, 
"Can all those people who I paid out in error please form an orderly queue to pay me back''
Shockingly for the Romford Foghorn there were no takers.

Lingfield Park marks (out of 10)
Welcome/friendliness 4
Atmosphere 5
Betting ring (size, competitiveness) 5
Racecard (cost, quality) 4
Queues for bar 2
Viewing 7
Standard of racing 5

Total (out of 70) 32
Punting success - small loss (but could have been so much worse)

*libel lawyers please note
** Toby jugs - mugs