Weights And Measurements: The times, they are (not) a-changing

I believe I can hear the howls of derision from the usual suspects. The forces of conservatism are sure to be unleashed to counter this assault on the very essence of what it means to be British.

Charlie Mann is doubtless planning another flat-capped protest "on our behalf". Major Ponsonby-Learmouth is already penning a letter to Racing Post of such length and impenetrable tendentiousness that it will be published - inevitably - in a full-colour "fantastic" and "unmissable" 20-page pullout in the paper.

Paul Dixon is, as I write, booking seats for the Dixon family on the next plane to an exotic location to speak on the matter - or possibly about something of even less relevance -"in the name of (at a cost to) British racing". Paul Roy will be doing what he does best: absolutely nothing.

Was it for this that past generations made such sacrifices to preserve the British way of life? Whatever next: drink at racecourses sold by the litre; multilingual signs; vegetarian food? Harrumph.

In truth, this initiative is likely soon to be forgotten once the outcry has abated. But British racing does need to be reminded from time to time that there is a big world out there which does not do things the way we do things, and that the disconnect is an obstacle to understanding in an increasingly global marketplace.

My main contribution to the "debate" at this stage is to point out - feebly and pedantically - that a furlong is not strictly the same as 200 metres (it is about 201.17 metres) and that a pound is not strictly the same as half a kilogram (it is about 0.45 kg). It matters. To me, at least.

If Racing For Change is short of things to do this summer, as it would seem, it could tackle a far more immediate and relevant problem associated with measurement.

This is the measurement in use when returning official results to races. Margins returned between horses are in fact time lapses between them converted, by the racecourse Judge, into "traditional" lengths for our delectation.

This conversion is made according to the official state of the going but can be complicated by different official goings on different parts of the course and at different times of the race meeting.

Whatever happens, the public must not, it seems, be told what the actual time lapses between the horses were.

There is plenty of anecdotal evidence that Judges sometimes get the conversion wrong.

One correspondent on Twitter is emphatic that the wrong margins were returned in last week's Betfair King George - it was only the most important race in the world at the time, so maybe no-one cares - due to procedure being followed incorrectly.

It is, I would suggest, not too cynical to suggest that the BHA's stubborn resistance to publishing individual horse times and/or the conversion used by the Judge in individual races has more than a bit to do with trying to avoid howlers being exposed.

The presence of precise and reliable information is at the heart of ensuring that racing fans have the confidence in the integrity of results to continue to engage with the sport.

It should be no more acceptable for the margins between horses to be a matter of guesswork than it should be for the weights (in pounds or kilograms: it's your choice) carried by those horses to be guesswork.

Time moves on, personnel at the BHA have changed. Racing For Change may find that it gets a more accommodating response than I have ever got from racing's governing body in the 15 years since time became the preferred means for converting margins.

This - ensuring public access to each horse's individual time - would be one "initiative" clearly worth tackling. And to hell with what the usual suspects might say.