We all have mental lists of things we wish we hadn't done. Britain's racing authorities might include the curious non-triers charge against Timmy Murphy, which was thrown out by their own disciplinary panel yesterday, and the petty fining of Nigel Twiston-Davies at Aintree, which could be overturned today.

Murphy, whose tender style polarises opinions, is bewildered by an inquiry into his riding of a 50-1 shot called Regal Quote at Sandown in late February. Had he been found in breach - and the panel insisted it was “a close-run” decision - the Grand National-winning jockey could have suffered a 90-day ban.

Not only did veterinary examination show that the horse had blood and mucus in his lungs but the stewards found nothing amiss on the day. It was the race-monitoring team at the British Horseracing Authority that triggered the reopening of a case that ran to a two-day hearing, with high-powered legal teams, before Murphy and the trainer, Emma Lavelle, were cleared.

By contrast, Twiston-Davies will represent himself today as he appeals against the £140 fine for withdrawing Ardaghey from a handicap at Aintree once he had got a run, as first reserve, in the Grand National. As the National is the showpiece of a sport that needs all the good publicity it can get, racing stands to look foolish by punishing a trainer for his desire to run in it.

The Aintree stewards say that they were merely applying the rule. In which case, the rule is an ass and must be changed.

With a name like Blofeld, the new man in charge of the Derby is wearily accustomed to being confused with a Bond villain or a cricket commentator. Though Nick Blofeld has no links with either, he is certainly an action man.

Blofeld, who could hardly have started his role as managing director at a more challenging time, spends spare Sundays with his old mates from the Ghurkas doing endurance exercises. “Last week, we did 40 miles across the Ridgeway,” he said. “Nine hours, 17 minutes... they all think I'm mad in the office.” Interestingly, though, some of his staff now join Blofeld on lunchtime runs round the Derby course.

Plenty of innovations are planned at Epsom but, despite his own tieless regime, relaxing the Queen's Stand morning dress code on Derby day is not on the agenda. “The world has gone casual but I'm not tempted to do that yet,” he said.

Ascot is shedding its old starchiness so fast that it now speaks freely of knickers and zips. In a ‘Do's and Don'ts' list for the upcoming royal meeting, the Queen's racecourse states archly: “Knickers: a definite yes, but not on show, please, ladies.” And “Zips: gentlemen, ensure these are always done up.”

Nick Smith, Ascot's head of public relations, admits: “We're getting a bit more risqué. The world is changing and we have to change with it.” One thing not changing, though, is the trend of dwindling crowds early in Festival weeks. Despite vigorously promoted offers, Ascot's advance bookings are scarcely ahead of last year's shrunken figures for Tuesday and Wednesday. By contrast, 10,000 more tickets have been sold for the Saturday than at this stage in 2007.

Talking of knickers and zips, Jilly Cooper is close to completing her novel based on the racing circuit. Its two-year research and writing period, which has seen the bonkbuster author appear regularly at racedays, has given every jockey and trainer cause to hope he might be the model for Cooper's latest heroic stud.

The FA Cup could be on show at Goodwood next Wednesday, when the track stages a memorial raceday for Alan Ball, who died last year. The Portsmouth team, and their racing-mad manager, Harry Redknapp, are among those invited.