48-HOUR DECS DEBATE THAT SHOOK THE FLAT TURNS TO THE JUMPS.

ON SATURDAY, Haydock begins a great weekend's jump racing in Lancashire, but how much will readers of Friday evening newspapers in the north-west know about the day's runners? Very little, is the answer, but they will know everything about the same day's fields miles away at Lingfield and Kempton.

Steve Simpson, dual Racing Post-Coral naps table winner and racing editor of the Blackpool Evening Gazette, sums up the frustration he shares with colleagues in Manchester, Oldham and Preston.

"We will be carrying only one Haydock race in Friday's edition, the Betfair Chase, because it has 48-hour declarations," he says. "Try explaining to readers why we carry a Saturday afternoon or evening all-weather card, but not a big jumps meeting at one of our own courses. They don't see the logic - and nor do I."

Simpson has a staunch ally in the Racing For Change project, whose newly appointed consumer PR director Nick Attenborough is an enthusiastic advocate for 48-hour jumps declarations.

"Forty-eight-hour declarations is the single most important change that jump racing can deliver for them right now," says Attenborough.

Simpson's view is also echoed by the vast majority of regional racing editors, as well as a number on national newspapers such as The Sun.

He points out that on Newspaper Society figures, there are 1,300 local newspapers in Britain, with a readership of 40 million, which he says "nails the lie to a quote from trainer Paul Nicholls last season when he said, 'No-one reads evening papers'."

The problem has grown worse over the last 18 months, he says, with the majority of regional evening newspapers bringing forward print deadlines.

"The system of 48-hour declarations dovetails perfectly during the Flat season," he explains, "but it falls apart completely in the jumps season, and we are having to resist calls from executives asking whether it's worth carrying all-weather cards, just so that racing can maintain any kind of presence in the paper during winter."

There is no such frustration among leading jumps trainers, who to a man are as vehemently opposed to the idea as many of their colleagues were to its introduction on the Flat.

Philip Hobbs typifies their opinion, saying: "It would be a total disaster for jump racing, mainly because things can change ground-wise so quickly, more so than in Flat racing.

"There is also the issue of abandoned meetings, because of which you might not make a 48-hour declaration that you otherwise would have done. It wouldn't be a good idea."

However, Simpson's plea elicits some sympathy within the BHA racing department, from where assistant director Richard Wayman says: "If I were in his position, I'd be saying the same thing."

However, Wayman has other constituents to consider. He adds: "The question of extending 48-hour declarations for jump racing from Grade 1 races, some major Saturday handicaps and Sunday fixtures to all or even Saturdayonly meetings comes down to quantifying the benefits.

"The betting industry tells us that 48-hour declarations for jump races would mean more non-runners, which equals lower betting turnover and less in levy. There's an obvious upside from better media coverage, but if that was outweighed by more non-runners, we would find it hard to justify going to the board with a proposal."

WAYMAN believes the issue, which has commercial implications, belongs primarily to Racing Enterprises Ltd (REL) and its partners, the Racecourse Association and Horsemen's Group, which negotiated the arrangement with At The Races and Racing UK that heralded a universal 48-hour system for Flat racing.

He explains: "If REL came to the BHA and said they'd reached agreement on finance, I'm sure the board would consider it very seriously."

RCA chief executive Stephen Atkin offers little hope of immediate action, saying: "The Flat arrangement is going okay, but we've not looked at extending it to jumps racing recently and there's been no lobbying to press it.

"Nevertheless, there's probably some merit in it, even though there will be difficulties with more non-runners, so I'm sure we will look at it again."

Atkins' apparent lack of urgency is partly echoed by senior figures at ATR and RUK, whose main thrust overseas remains in promoting readily recognisable Flat racing.

ATR chief executive Matthew Imi says: "It's not something we are pressing for in the very short term, but it would certainly help us to put together a better programme in Australia, for instance, where they are on the verge of taking more racing from the UK."

HE ADDED: "And it would be important for our internet bookmaking customers with big businesses in Asia and certain other markets we are opening up, where we need to provide data and information in a form that punters understand and in the time that they need it."

RUK counterpart Richard FitzGerald adds: "It could help us in the international market, especially in places where jump racing is familiar, such as France, which is looking to take more UK racing. And it would help in the internet business. But it's not top of our immediate agenda."

One positive international vote for 48-hour jumps declarations comes from Scott Finlay, US agent for RUK's South African-based partner Phumelela, who says: "I believe strongly that betting turnover in the US on UK jumps fixtures would increase, if we had the cards and form in front of punters and distributors on the same timetable as for Flat racing.

"One of the primary reasons that we decline to market major jumps meetings, other than the Cheltenham Festival, is because of 24-hour declarations for most races. To have a mix of information means distributing data, cards and form is a nightmare."

Finlay has pressed his point through the Racing For Change project, which may prove to be the starting point for Richard Wayman's observations about REL's pivotal position.

At the RFC, Attenborough has canvassed opinion among the media at the sharp end of newspaper production, and says: "At the very least, we owe National Hunt fans earlier access via the media to the runners and riders on Saturdays and at the big, midweek meetings.

"There are over 80 regional papers in the vicinity of racecourses that would benefit from this change, plus many others read by racing followers, offering combined circulation that runs into several million."

Charlie Mann "You can''t do 48-hour declarations over jumps with the weather we have in this country. To do it over jumps would be a non-starter. If we did, you would end up with 50 per cent non-runners. I am dead against it and it would be a very bad mistake. Henry Daly "What a shambles - I have always vehemently been against them. With the winter weather we have it will be to the detriment of racing as it is so changeable and the ground can change so quickly. Even this weekend when we have overnight declarations there were plenty of non-runners when the ground changed and with 48-hour declarations it would only get a lot worse, which would not be at all helpful to the general public."

Matt Sheppard "I don't think it would work particularly well and the ground would be the main problem. There is not as much jump racing as there is Flat and it is very much a case of knowing where everyone else is going and picking your race where you want to avoid certain horses. With 48-hour declarations that would be a lot more difficult."

John Harris "If we had 48-hour declarations over jumps I think there would be too many non-runners. With overnight declarations we have got a little more time, but there are still plenty of non-runners." Nigel Twiston-Davies "There would be an awful lot of non-runners, as has been seen on the Flat. Nobody knows what the weather will do, and the weather is so much more problematic for jumping than the Flat. It would be a huge worry and non-runners would abound." Nicky Henderson "I don't like them really. It makes life impossible, especially over the winter, and there will be too many non-runners. Forty-eight hours is a lot of time in a horse's week and anything can happen in that time. The horse could take a knock or the weather could change. It just doesn't work."

Colin Tizzard "There would be a lot more non-runners, that's all. It's the nature of the horse, one day you might want to run but you don't know how they are going to be until the morning."

Nick Mitchell "If they want non-runners to increase it would be a good idea! It's not workable, things can change so much in 24 hours. You could have horses who can't get a run because they were balloted out and then have a load of non-runners and trainers would be pulling their hair out. It's not going to help anybody." Ron Hodges "You tend to get more things go wrong with jumpers, so you'd get a lot more non-runners. I can't see how there is anything wrong with the way it already is."

Tim Murray, racing correspondent Leicester Mercury "From a journalistic point of view, 48-hour declarations are a major plus for a regional paper."

Derek Fish, sports editor Sheffield Star "I am delighted that the BHA are looking into the possibility of 48-hour declarations for national hunt racing. The Sheffield Star has a very early deadline and cannot currently publish jumps cards from Doncaster, Wetherby etc as the overnight declarations have not been produced by the time we go to press.

"It is extremely frustrating to continuously field calls from readers who cannot understand why, on Charlie Hall day or Great Yorkshire Chase day, we have to run with Flat cards that are nowhere near as interesting as our local jumps fixtures.

"Regional newspapers have a strong and loyal racing following that has been gradually eroded over the past couple of years.

"While the advent of 48-hour decs was a blessing in that it allows us to publish overnight cards every day, early deadlines mean a complete loss of jumps programmes with the result that the public will gradually lose interest in the sport.

"Roll on 48-hour jumps declarations!" Liam Sullivan, sports editor, Evening Post, Swansea "Obviously, it would be a huge boost to the followers of national hunt racing in the South Wales area if 48-hour declarations were brought in. Currently we are unable to publish the following day's card from Ffos Las due to early deadline times. We do publish the card on the day of the meeting but it is too late for the majority of our readers.

"Having to explain to irate jump racing fans that we have to go with an all-weather card at Kempton or Southwell instead of their local track is a thankless task.

"We always try to publish the main races from the Cheltenham Festival (those with 48-hour decs) but the format does not sit easy on a page which also contains the remainder of the card which is of course at the five-day entry stage.

"We are all attempting to boost racing in Wales and it would be a huge bonus if 48-hour declarations for jumping became the norm."