I don't agree with most of what you have written here Danny. There are some OLRs that are better run, but the vast MAJORITY are run poorly. People sending birds that are not good enough? Well I'm certain nobody pays to send a bird knowing its not good enough, maybe their mistakenly sending a bird thinking it's good because it's parents having been bred at a stud come with a fancy pedigree. Whilst your right not all the birds are good enough to complete the OLR program, many OLRs lose many birds loft flying them? including the so called 'well run' ones. The biggest mistake ALL OLRs make is they start with TOO MANY BIRDS. Call me cynical, but I believe ALL OLRs only want a large entry just for the entry money. Once they have that, losses are acceptable and just treated as collateral damage. They only need enough birds to survive to the final. If your losing birds in their 100s at each stage those in charge of the loft are to blame. THEY send the birds that are left on regardless of condition.Rdhd Danny wrote: Sun Sep 06, 2026 2:51 pm There is plenty of well run olrs around but losses are going to happen and on a bigger scale then club racing as the variables are greater, also a lot of people simply sending birds that are not good enough or was bred from inferior none tested birds, ones like Shropshire will come and go as I don't see anyone sending to him again! But uk premier is well run it's simply that very few yb, s are going to complete the programme as they are not good enough it's incredibly demanding seeking to find the exceptional few, I understand it's not everyone's cup of tea but it's here to stay and only going to get bigger for good or bad, personally I enjoy to track the series I enjoy breeding for them also the 45 day challenge is interesting to me with such short judgment period based purely on your understanding of the maturing rate of parents! There early character traits and structure and the demands of the programme, can we say honestly the losses in club yb racing make the sport look good either? Or do we not view it with that lens and like I said we view it for what it is usually an incredibly hard calendar culminating in a 250 to 350 final race for yb that's never going to have big returns!
Your right clocking a YB from 250 to 350 is hard, I've done that many times and ALWAYS clocked. Why, because I could keep at home the ones that I didn't feel were up to it that week. Now I've never heard of any OLR not send birds that were left before the final because they were unfit to send, they get sent and they know many aren't going to return, but they only need a SINGLE bird to 'home' however long it takes.
There's a reason OLRs fly on days and are not up with others, it is that they don't want their birds pi$$ poor performances compared to proper racing pigeons.
The best example of this was the MNFC OLR a few years back where not a single bird arrived home on the day flying around 200 miles. Granted it wasn't easy day but, YBs birds flying over 100 miles further to the Northern sections were still plentiful flying well over 300 miles. So NOT a problem for well prepared birds.
I don't think they are here to stay, or get bigger. Why because the bigger they become are the worse is the result. And even the stupid fanciers who enter now will realize they are just paying for half wits to throw their birds away. And while your right that fanciers do have losses in club racing, THEY CAN stop when the losses get to great. Something that OLRs can't. The losses are EVERY week to the final.
they absolutely do hold birds back which in some can even mean you can't compete in the final as you have to complete all stages along the way the good ones do care and are already well paid in the business model to provide excellent care but will maintain most people sending each year a good 60 percent are sending birds in hope with very little understanding of the calendar the conditions or what there birds are even capable of!