AT Bad Harzburg Racecourse, deep in the central German countryside, runners in its steeplechases must negotiate a shallow lake in front of the grandstand. The notorious seejagdrennen – literally, sea hunting race – may draw plentiful spectators, but a replica of the spectacle wasn't what organisers of the Golden Button had in mind.
Last season, a week before the last running of the Golden Button, which cuts its course across Ledbury Hunt country in north-west Gloucestershire, the event was called off. The route, said organisers, was partially flooded after adverse weather. Alas, this year's intended Golden Button, on 15 February, has also been cancelled. Gate-jumping and terrier racing are running in its place.
Louise Daly, the Golden Button's long-serving secretary, admits that decent viewpoints can be scarce for what is…