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Horse Racing on Terrestrial TV |
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#676 |
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Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: West London (ex-Scotland)
Posts: 4,719
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What betting at Longchamp could Tanya possibly comment on?
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#677 |
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Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Leamington Spa
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why are people moaning about the coverage, BE GLAD its on Free to Air TV!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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#678 |
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Inactive Member
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 13,188
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Quote:
As this is Europe's premier flat race meeting in the autumn, you'd want adequate resources to cover all bases, for instance, you'd normally have someone - like Tanya - covering the betting.
Put it this way, for the Derby or even upcoming, Champions Day at Ascot on Saturday week, would you have your C4 team being just Balding, Luck, Fitzgerald and Holt only? Channel 4 has always over committed itself staff wish and the revelation this week they wanted to have Gok Wan as part of the team shows how much free time they have to waste. If they just covered the actual races they could show more meetings on a Saturday. |
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#679 |
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 50,507
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Excellent prize money and calibre of horses and jockeys participating aside, I still don't get all the fuss around this race.
Winner was impressive but I don't like the way the track rides, it makes for unexciting racing. |
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#680 |
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 50,507
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Quote:
Today C4 are covering the Arc de Triomphe meeting at Longchamp for the first time since 2001, albeit with a small team; only Clare Balding, Nick Luck and Mick Fitzgerald will be there, along with Simon Holt commentating.
This may well be down to budgeting reasons; IIRC, C4 signed a deal with the French racing authorities to cover the Arc for this year - and the next couple of years at least - about 6 months ago, after budgets had been set. This time next year, there may be a couple more bodies at least; Tanya Stevenson for the betting and one of Graham Cunningham and Jim McGrath. Any episode of C4 Racing without McGrath's input does feel lacking. He is easily the strongest member of the team right now. |
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#681 |
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Join Date: Nov 2002
Posts: 76,822
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Quote:
Why all she does is read what's available to see on the screen the main presenter can read the betting odds.
Channel 4 has always over committed itself staff wish and the revelation this week they wanted to have Gok Wan as part of the team shows how much free time they have to waste. If they just covered the actual races they could show more meetings on a Saturday. |
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#682 |
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Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 1,793
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Quote:
What betting at Longchamp could Tanya possibly comment on?
Quote:
Why all she does is read what's available to see on the screen the main presenter can read the betting odds.
Channel 4 has always over committed itself staff wish and the revelation this week they wanted to have Gok Wan as part of the team shows how much free time they have to waste. If they just covered the actual races they could show more meetings on a Saturday. Gok Wan, I presume, would have been part of their team to comment on fashion at the summer festivals (a role which Brix Smith-Start - ironically who appears on Wan's programmes and is the ex-wife of Mancunian nutcase/rant 'n raver Mark E Smith of The Fall - filled at Royal Ascot this summer). As for showing more meetings on a Saturday, how many meetings would you show and how many races would you show from each meeting, given you have a limited (2 and a half hours) window? |
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#683 |
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Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Walsall
Posts: 1,716
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Quote:
What betting at Longchamp could Tanya possibly comment on?
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#684 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Hull - UK City of Culture
Posts: 27,235
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Quote:
Why all she does is read what's available to see on the screen the main presenter can read the betting odds.
Channel 4 has always over committed itself staff wish and the revelation this week they wanted to have Gok Wan as part of the team shows how much free time they have to waste. If they just covered the actual races they could show more meetings on a Saturday. |
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#685 |
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Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Close to the Toon
Posts: 1,465
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Quote:
why are people moaning about the coverage, BE GLAD its on Free to Air TV!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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#686 |
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Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: West London (ex-Scotland)
Posts: 4,719
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It's one of the meetings that does need a betting expert. The PMU and the British bookies can vary wildly and a betting expert will point you as who to bet with.
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#687 |
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Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Walsall
Posts: 1,716
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Quote:
So putting both odds on the screen would not be enough for the viewer to make up his/her mind? You might as well be in the London sudio to comment on odds from two different sources. Tanya's and John Mac's job was to comment on the odds fluctuations on course which viewers could not see.
You are assuming that the viewer by just seeing the on-screen graphic would know how to place a bet on the PMU? |
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#688 |
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Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: West London (ex-Scotland)
Posts: 4,719
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Yes she could have done it perfectly well from the London studio.
You are assuming that the viewer by just seeing the on-screen graphic would know how to place a bet on the PMU? |
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#689 |
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Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Walsall
Posts: 1,716
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Thought they did a good job with British Champions day.
Some discussion as to why they didn't show Cheltenham but I feel it was the right thing to do. |
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#690 |
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Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Leamington Spa
Posts: 3,216
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Thought they did a good job with British Champions day.
Some discussion as to why they didn't show Cheltenham but I feel it was the right thing to do. |
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#691 |
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Inactive Member
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 13,188
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They spend too much time talking twaddle in between races there were 35 minutes between races plenty of time to fit in some from Cheltenham and maybe another course.
Since the new C4 started they have done a few Saturdays of one meeting and it's not fair on the other courses who used to get the publicity. |
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#692 |
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Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 1,793
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Quote:
Thought they did a good job with British Champions day.
Some discussion as to why they didn't show Cheltenham but I feel it was the right thing to do. Quote:
They spend too much time talking twaddle in between races there were 35 minutes between races plenty of time to fit in some from Cheltenham and maybe another course.
Since the new C4 started they have done a few Saturdays of one meeting and it's not fair on the other courses who used to get the publicity. |
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#693 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 210
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Quote:
Jim and Graham were there as spectators and contributed in a pre-race feature with Clare.
Any episode of C4 Racing without McGrath's input does feel lacking. He is easily the strongest member of the team right now. He has been so fortunate in that he was brought into the coverage thanks to Brough Scott & in recent years has had a very easy ride alongside the great John Francome. Had Jim had to establish himself as a watchable presenter as quickly as many others are expected to he wouldn't still be there. But as you say, he is the strongest of the present crew. I just wish they would make it more about racing & the horses, rather than just tipping & the same 4 faces constantly bigging each other up. |
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#694 |
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Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 210
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Hear hear
Champions Day is the richest single days racing in this country, so deserves stand-alone terrestrial tv coverage, like the Grand National and the Derby, and worthy of the money C4 paid to be the sole terrestrial broadcaster of horse racing, rather than the samey diet of handicaps which clutter up the regular Saturday afternoon C4 coverage (which viewers are deserting in their droves). But I feel very strongley that the Champion Stakes is/was a race run at Newmarket (for 130 years) and the event now run at Ascot under the same name is really an entirely different event constructed entirely to give weight to a half-baked, highly expensive marketing project to sell Ascot rather than racing. A great shame that Qipco have put their terrific support behind a non-starter of a concept. So many ways they could have put that backing & support into sound, long-term ventures which would have enhanced the great sport with more respect to all the true champions who have been part of improving the breed. |
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#695 |
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Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Walsall
Posts: 1,716
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And funny/sad thing is, he was the weakest in the old team.
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#696 |
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Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 210
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Quote:
Was he?
And certainly in terms of character and personality. He was completely drowned in the old team, but now is the only one of the Shed Four who has any kind of grasp of the heart of the sport. So I reckon, the answer to your question is yes. |
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#697 |
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Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 2,779
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I rather missed the last meeting of the season at Newmarket in today's coverage. I know there is now a "core" Flat season which starts later and ends earlier than the Flat turf season as such, but it was always one of my favourite meetings for reasons unconnected to and uninfluenced by its modest quality - the melancholy of it all, the dying time of the year ...
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#698 |
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Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 210
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Quote:
I rather missed the last meeting of the season at Newmarket in today's coverage. I know there is now a "core" Flat season which starts later and ends earlier than the Flat turf season as such, but it was always one of my favourite meetings for reasons unconnected to and uninfluenced by its modest quality - the melancholy of it all, the dying time of the year ...
Also miss the Craven meeting and the contrasting feel. |
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#699 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Walsall
Posts: 1,716
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Any idea whether Big Al is being used at the festival?
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#700 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Cumbria
Posts: 16,967
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Next month is the 30th anniversary of weekday racing being moved from ITV to Channel 4.
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