changes to racing post website

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Fantasy_World

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Yes they are at it again. Didn't take the new owners that long to try and recoup some of the £170 million it cost to purchase the newspaper less than 2 years ago. racing post sale 2007
It is worth checking out the following link as I do know some of the members of this forum do check out the website from time to time. For those interested in anything from racing form, old racing news and bloodstock information you need to take heed as the new changes mean that you can no longer gain FREE access to many of the previously free sections on the Racing Post website. You now have to become a member via the member's club at a cost of £7.50 per month.
See here:
racing post members club
I wonder if any bookmaker will lay me a bet on the website becoming a total pay to view site by 2014?
 
Thanks for the warning. I'll study it in detail later. They don't seem able to stop mucking about with it now. None of the changes improve it and now it looks as if we're being charged for the privilege.

It's not a patch on what it was a couple of years ago.
 
Daffodil and Luddite I couldn't agree with you more.
I can remember sending a snotty email to them a while back when they started shifting columns around on the website and making you pay for them as you had to buy the PDF of the paper to get access to it.
I used to enjoy reading trainer's quotes in the previews on a raceday ( as well as post race interviews) as it gave you an extra clue on the chances of their runners on the day ( ie if they were praying for rain and so on). It got moved to the betting section of the paper which you then had to pay to read/access.
Before this though the stable tours were a useful asset when entering the racing post/tote jumps or flat ten to follow competition as it allowed you to build up a likely list of runners to perm in your selections.
Again this was removed by the post website too.
The first move they made was to make it vanish from the free website section and then after the competition entry date had closed they suddenly appeared in the news search section. They even had a separate section for it allowing you to access the tours easily( this was for one of the jump comps btw, think it was either 06/07 or 07/08 competition? Anyway it really messed it up for me personally at the time because I couldn't afford to buy the newspaper every day and to go into town to buy one -as I didn't drive at the time- cost me nearly £3 a day. I was pretty incensed at the time.
This year has been the worst though and they just couldn't leave it alone. I found the new format harder to use and more time consuming. They made certain sections such as sales details and quotes etc a members area where you had to log in. I have had a username on the website for a few years now and just had to log in but it still meant more time trying to find information. Then today I went on the site to see the above news item in relation to the new members club meaning you now have to pay for quite a lot of things in my opinion. They have tried to defend their charges by saying how many people they employ researching data and racewatching etc. All twaddle to me to be honest.
First of all the newspaper gained a monopoly in the racing press industry by the sad loss of the printed Sporting Life ( which was far superior in my opinion), they have the Weekender paper and then also bought out a newspaper I had an admiration for the Raceform Update. They started making cut backs in information in the latter newspaper until in the end I stopped buying that too. At the time I was buying The weekender and Raceform each week but in the later years just the latter. But when the Racing Post got their hands on that paper as well it did it for me to be honest.
Like I have said in my original post I wonder if any bookmaker would be brave enough to give me a price on the Racing Post website becoming a totally pay to view site within the next five years?
 
Just been trolling through my old emails cataloguing horse items bought ( as I'm a little behind, naughty me) anyway I came across this in an email from them.
This was in relation to me asking why the jump stable tours of Autumn 2007 were not on the website when they had previously been available on there in previous years.

Email received 18/10/07 14:15:28 GMT Standard Time


Dear user,

Apologies for the delay in response.

The Stable Tour is exclusive to the newspaper and will not be appearing on the website.

For back issues of the Racing Post newspaper, Historic Newspapers can be contacted on 01988 402221.

Regards,

Racing Post Internet Desk


This is when it all started that I noticed with the features that were previously available for free to all users being suddenly taken off the site or else being moved and users being asked to pay to see them.
 
Some more dates. Another email in relation to race previews, sent to Racing Post online enquiries in Jan 2008

email received by me on 14/01/2008 12:09:06 GMT Standard Time

Dear user,

For the time being no Racing Post previews or race briefings will appear on the website. These have become part of the new RPTipping section, the majority of which is newspaper exclusive.

Regards,

Racing Post Internet Desk
 
I think you're right Staffs_, it's been on the cards for a while. Well I am not paying to join their club.

I don't bet, I just like to read reports and news to keep up to date, so I will just have to look elsewhere.

Has anyone tried the At the Races website - that's supposed to be free? I hope it's better than their programme though...
crazy.gif
 
I do bet Luddite but not as much as I used to and I certainly wouldn't call myself a major player. I do like to read form, statistics and news though which I find enjoyable to read as well as helping me to try and pick winners. As I don't bet big bets I cannot justify paying for a service that was previously available for free and neither can I afford to buy the newspaper on a regular basis. I suppose I have a gripe really but I don't think for one minute that I am alone in that opinion.
I just cannot understand why they have done this at a time when it is hard enough for racing punters in this credit crunch. People will always enjoy a bet no matter what. Regulars that I have known for years would rather reduce their stakes than to stop betting completely. Especially form students like myself who don't use names/pins to try and pick winners but spend hours perusing form.
Although like you have said in agreement with me that this situation has been planned for a very long time. Subtle changes here and there to layouts and accessibility were done most probably to try and fool most punters into it just being the designers trying to improve the overall 'look' of the site. When really their main agenda was to make provisions for the overall switch to a pay to view section far more easier.

In relation to the attheraces website, yes I have been on it a few times but much preferred the post for trying to understand raceform. I think maybe it is time for me to seek out another site that will provide the information I require with form analysis as I certainly won't be paying to access the Racing Post sections that were previously free. I just cannot understand how they can justify the charges to be perfectly honest and that is what makes me very angry about the whole situation.
 
To answer your question. That is because you don't get all the information on the website that is available in the newspaper and as far as I am aware this has always been the case.
The point is that changes have been made to the website over the last 2 years in particular, with most occurring this year. These changes have not made the website user friendly and I have read other people's comments elsewhere that have also made this point. These changes have also affected what can now be viewed for free and what cannot.
Point is being that if you were going to charge people for the privilege of being able to read a WEB version of the newspaper, then why not do so in the first bloody place when the website was inaugurated? Not just keep tweaking it here and there, making it a slow and awkward site to navigate and then on top remove access to sections that were previously available to view for free.
That is the point. There are other racing information websites available that are free to use. Most rely on advertising to help pay for being able to supply information to users. Point also is that the Racing Post do also attract a lot of advertising. Just look at how many links to bookmakers there on are the site for a start and that is not including banners advertising companies as well.
No what I and I think others are mainly griped at is how the Post had supposedly rebranded the website for ease of use for punters and users. This is false in my opinion. What is the saying, " if it ain't broke don't fix it". So why make changes that have not improved much for the users at all? And then why make other changes which means people now have to pay to access certain information and sections?
It does not add up. Except maybe to cover the cost of purchase for the whole set up by the new owners of 2007.
Instead of keeping punters and users truly informed of the bigger picture it has been done very sneakily in my true opinion. The real reason I believe for alterations on the website is so they could make it a whole lot easier to deny access to sections for the FREE users. By making changes subtly perhaps they were hoping punters would not notice it so much. Rather than go offline for a lengthy period while changes were made the site has been going offline during certain times during the day while 'maintenance' was taking place. That 'maintenance' was obviously a code word for making sections unreadable and inaccessible to users unless they join the pay to use Members Club. It is underhand in my opinion and I don't believe for one minute I am alone in my way of thinking in the world of punters/race readers and racing enthusiasts.
 
I'm just thankful that I work in the industry, so won't have to pay for the privilege myself. However, I do not think it is fair for the laymen to be charged for much of what is available to view on the RP site. But if the info is being used in a professional context, then I can see why they wish to charge for it.
 
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