Southwell - Epsom and my least favourite - Windsor - I wouldn't go again with a free ticket - awful racing that only used to be known for the Hannon / Hughes benefit nights on a Monday and must be the worst course to watch live or on Sky Tv
Long before there was an “all weather” course at Southwell, I knew an old boy that stood there as the rep for one of the big bookies because he could easily get the train to the track. Southwell racecourse is right next to Rolleston Junction station on the line between Lincoln and Nottingham. I was led to believe that it was never very well attended; hence the bookies sending a rep who lived locally rather than have somebody travel, especially since on the days that Southwell raced there was usually a bigger meeting or two somewhere else. I cannot imagine that Southwell is especially well attended when the action is not on the turf, so like several other venues that were under the auspices of Ron Muddle, the switch to polytrack was entirely driven by fixture list potential and the money that was generated off course. As somebody who scarcely gives racing on artificial surfaces a second look, I could not comment on how favourable the results are to punters. Obviously punters will always be keen on tracks where they perceive they have the advantage over the old enemy but over a period of time he does eventually cotton on and adjust his odds accordingly.
it's low grade fare mainly at Southwell , but being the only fibresand track in Britain it provides a different test to all the other artificial venues , there are a lot of horses that cannot perform on the other tracks , as a few have alluded to , the one good thing about these places the going doesn't tend to alter much , so you have one less variable to worry about -- as for bookies getting wise to winners , their book is an overound like any other , as long as they keep it that way they are happy . the advantage as a punter is just knowledge of horses / trainers and their habits ---oh and low grade racing !!
The reason some people have an "edge" on races at Southwell is due to the surface being fibre-sand which is a deep soft surface. Generally bigger, stronger horses seem to fair better there. Coarse form is very, very strong at the track and makes it easier to read. As far as I know Galileo once worked there ahead of his trip to the Breeders Cup.
