Cologne and Mannheim on Corpus Christi Thursday, Dresden the following Saturday, then Dortmund and Hanover on Sunday. Another day before the start of the five-day Derby week in Hamburg, a Saturday in Düsseldorf. And only four days after the Blue Riband, four racing days in a row with Leipzig on Thursday, Hanover on Friday, Magdeburg on Saturday and Cologne on Sunday - the athletes in German gallop racing really cannot complain about a lack of activities at the moment.
But the abundance of events does not seem to match the further shrinking horse population at the moment. This can be seen in mini-cards like the one in Dortmund with seven tests, which also applies to last Saturday in Düsseldorf. Again and again, one has trouble getting a foursome together at all. Often it is in fields of less than twelve horses. How is this supposed to result in attractive odds for the bettors, let alone an adequate betting turnover?
We can therefore only appeal to those responsible when they meet again in autumn to plan the race days and the dates for 2023: Make sure that it fits better, that you don`t overdo it with other dates around the big meetings. It`s better to have a second race day in the winter or at least a date every week so that people don`t get weaned on the German races than to have too much of a good thing in the summer.
