I don't usually listen to much that the O'Learys have to say but I must admit Eddie has hit the nail on the head with his rant that "Irish Racing is being treated as a second class citizen on Racing TV" https://www.racingpost.com/news/lat...ike-a-second-rate-citizen-on-racing-tv/367112 I particularly agree with his assessment on the quantity of races shown, thus: "From what I've seen of Racing TV so far, it's like sitting in a betting shop. They go from race to race to another race. It's boring. What is the point in having great presenters like Gary O’Brien, Kevin O’Ryan, Kate Harrington and Donn McClean when we never hear from them? There are no stories being told any more." Last Saturday was, at times, a joke (split screen or races just not shown) and often there are simply too many races for any meaningful discussion or insight to be presented between races. The complete opposite to this used to be Racing UK's presentation of the Cheltenham Festival, where they only covered that one meeting each day, had a great preview of each race with their knowledgable panel and had plenty of time to show the scenes in the winners enclosure without having to rush off to Hexham or Towcester for the next race. I think true racing fans want to hear experts views ahead of the big races - I guess that is one reason why preview nights are so popular. I also applaud the efforts made by ITV to present short pieces about racing from a different angle to try and engage viewers from outside the sport. I wonder where Racing TVs real motives lie? I would also like to see better access to live racing content online. As I live in Germany I cannot access the Racing TV live stream as it is limited to UK and Ireland residents. Even then, the prices are pretty steep. Surely it is in racing's best interest to spread the sport as widely as possible? There is certainly a school of thought that the free ATR coverage of Irish racing added a huge publicity benefit to them, and that now seems to be eroded once again by Racing TV. I wondered what people's views on this were? Who has a Racing UK subscription? Thoughts on "max number of races vs. more discussion and content"?
I don’t watch either channel live, I don’t find sitting and watching racing very interesting, I’d rather just watch the races that interest me without having all of the other fluff around racing. I either watch live if I’ve had a bet, or watch the archives, I find this means I take my own opinion on the races without listening to “expert” opinion. I actually prefer to listen to racing in the week, Will Hill radio is interesting because they often have tipsters who have different styles (pace, form, speed ratings) which I find more informative than you get on TV. I’ve seen bits of the SkySports Racing coverage and that is moderate but not watched RacingTV!
I used to find that infuriating with Channel 4 when they were covering racing. They would add almost meaningless races when a nice build up to the 'big race of the day would have been lovely scheduling. ITV are also in danger of doing this adding too many races to the program. It should be about quality rather than quantity but I do prefer their coverage. It was disappointing to see that the posh totty was added to the coverage on Saturday just gone. What the f**k? Keep her to the flat please which is more her bag. I didn't understand this move. We have some good women already in the team 'Sally Ann Grassick and 'Alice Plunkett'.... I personally like it when 'Lucy Verasamy' puts in an appearance. I mean talk about hot to trott..could do with a bit more meat on the bones but what a splendid looking babe that is... I tend to watch live racing on terrestrial tv.
But if you'd spent ages studying, say, the Betfair Hurdle, wouldn't you like to have a good 15-20 minutes preview before the race? See them in the paddock and all that? Just watching the 4 minutes of the race and then switching off feels a bit sterlie doesn't it?
Watching ITV racing last year I got the distinct impression that young Lucy’s charms were not lost on Sir Anthony McCoy. In fact AP/Lucy horizontal jogging would have been my entry in Bustino’s almanac comp under the scandal category. Sadly I couldn’t come up with answers for the horse racing questions. #shallowasfook
Nah, if I’d studied a race I wouldn’t want so called experts prattling on about the form of the race. I get the point for days like the festival or Royal Ascot but on busy weekends the option should be to get racing on the TV and leave the paddock for those who are at the course, Sometimes less is more, and I always think less Matt Chapman et al is more enjoyable for me!
John Mcirrick should be back. Why francomes not on TV more is astounding. As for Irish racing I thought that was all bent?
I like Chapman. Behind all the bravado he really knows his stuff and is not afraid of addressing issues. A bit like McCririck was. Big Mac wouldn’t fit in today’s PC media world. I really liked Francome and would love to see him in the Mick „this orrrse“ Fitzgerald role.
Or alternatively they might put me off/change my mind/annoy me so much that I turn off. Chapman is a frustrating character, I watched a few races from Southwell when the jumps was frozen off and he was brilliant. He was interviewing a small owner and sounded interested and informed about them. He then turns up on ITV and acts like an opinionated buffoon and clearly plays a character. The spat he is having with Nicholls at the minute is showing some in racing’s frustration with how he talks about their horses.
