Gina Harding has tweeted " 1 of my last days working on @channel4Racing today. Makes me even more appreciative of moments like walking back next to stars like Churchill"

It is a shame that she has not been considered by ITV. She would have been good for them.

She'll always have a place on ATR. Hopefully Emma gets a gig there as it appears ITV don't want her services.

Sorry, I meant to say a letter missing from one of the words...

"Off" our mainstream channels for ever"

From Charles Sale: 'There seems to be a potential conflict of interest in the Jockey Club’s appointment of race commentator Richard Hoiles to the Wincanton board and the expected selection of racing presenter Alice Plunkett to a similar position at Cheltenham.

Both are part of the new ITV team. Clare Balding has also joined the Epsom board but her personal involvement in TV racing ends at Ascot on Saturday.'

ITV will never ever have a meeting at Wincanton as its main card so how is it a conflict ?

I don't watch enough racing so am not sure if the below would be an issue.

However, IF there is an issue I suspect it would be to do with the fact he has been appointed by the Jockey Club which could create a conflict if a situation arose where he needed to comment on the Jockey Club during a commentary.

ie nothing to do with Wincanton specifically.

Still cannot see an issue. His job is to commentate on the race not on events outside of it. If he were a pundit perhaps but not as race commentator

Sure - you may well be right - I don't watch much racing.

I can’t imagine anything arising during a race but I guess he might have to comment on broader issues like a Stewards Enquiry, problems at the start (eg starting stalls issue, horse withdrawn). A good example might be the Grand National false start many years ago.

Obviously all the above might be very rare indeed but something might come up very occasionally.

The conflict is that Wincanton - as well as Cheltenham (and Newmarket, Epsom, Aintree, Sandown, Haydock and Kempton to name other major racecourses) - is owned by Jockey Club Racecourses, whose meetings are contractually broadcast by Racing UK, whose parent company is the Racecourse Media Group, the powerbrokers who engineered the deal for ITV for exclusive terrestrial TV rights for horse racing for the next 4 years commencing from 1st January 2017.

Apparently ITV are going to announce full details of their coverage on Saturday to coincide with Champions Day

A look at the online presence of Channel 4 and ITV Racing
http://www.racingpost.com/news/horse...=last7DaysNews

Claude Duval has announced his retirement today after 47 years as racing correspondent of The Sun

Thank god for that!

A more patronising know it all I have never seen on TV. How she has ever attained the status of 'national treasure' in some peoples eyes is beyond me

Anything happen today?

Absolutely nothing at all

More likely to be in the coming week (especially in light of the fact that Francesca Cumani will have to go back to Australia soon for the Melbourne Cup and other big races Down Under around that time).

I don't think anyone would expect the announcement to be at the weekend. Press officers tend to be Monday-Friday people.

That said, tomorrow's Racing Post should have the story, so they'll probably start Tweeting tonight.

Is there anything we still really don't know or may their be one or two little surprises to end with?

I was wondering if it would be the full press release with team pic

I've lost track if what's been announced, and what is just rumoured.

They've obviously announced Chamberlin, Cumani, Chapman, Fitzgerald, Plunkett and Persad.

Are Hoiles, Johnson, Weaver, Harvey and Turner announced or just strongly tipped by the Racing Post?

Not sure they've even formally announced Plunkett to be honest.

The Racing Post have strongly tipped the other's.

http://www.itv.com/news/2016-10-16/i...2017-coverage/
Oli Bell will present ITV’s weekly racing morning magazine show and Richard Hoiles will be the lead commentator, joined in the commentary box by Mark Johnson. Experts on the team include Hayley Turner, Mick Fitzgerald, Jason Weaver, Luke Harvey and Brian Gleeson. Brough Scott will also appear as a regular guest offering his insight 30 years on from when he presented ITV’s Racing coverage.

Frankie Dettori will be a regular contributor to the programmes working around his riding commitments and Victoria Pendleton will bring her perspective to the channel’s coverage.

Alice Plunkett, Rishi Persad and Sally-Ann Grassick all have reporting roles. Lucy Verasamy will provide reports on one of the key elements of any racing meeting – the weather.

These new appointments follow the announcements earlier this year of Ed Chamberlin as ITV’s main racing presenter and his co-presenter for the Flat season, Francesca Cumani, as well as Matt Chapman as betting presenter and reporter.

Well that is one big yawn.

Surprise about Brough Scott and certainly glad Alice Plunkett will remain.

Very glad to see Nick Luck, Enna Spencer and certainly Jim Macrath go to name a few.

Why ?