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I know there have been campaigns for AP to be Sports personality of the year before that have tried and failed – if AP makes it to the final 10 – i for one would be pestering a lot of people to pick up and phone for him.
http://www.racingpost.com/news/horse-ra … /standard/
I do not know the number of votes required to win this but he will never get a better chance. I would guess a tenth of the number that vote on X Factor each week.
Haye (though I actually like him) is not exactly revered. Button, did not win the title in any style, we stubled over the line in the Ashes (thankful as I was), but no stand out performers from the team. A gymnist? Surely we can conger up more support for one of the al time greats of our sport.
He is also 100/1 with a few bookies…
- Total Posts 170
Sorry to reply to my own post but I just saw this link…
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/de … rsonality1
720,000 votes in total last year and Chris Hoy was 120,000 clear of Hamilton.
I would assume, with 10 contenders that you would need approx 250,000-300,000 votes to win it. As some of the lesser ’10’ stars will only just reach 5 figures.
The top 10 are announced on the 30th Nov on the one show.
If he did make the top ten, big IF I know, then I would love to see racecourses/ the industy get behind him. I.e. a few posters with the number to call before the night. As I am sure voting opens before the evening. I.e. If AP rides a good winner for you, you may just feel inclined to use your mob and call 2 or 3 times for him as a thank you.
- Total Posts 170
Slim Shady?
I do not see why not. If there was a decent campaign. Then again, I guess half of racing followers are too old to even work the text funtion on their mobile phone
I would love it to happen but just dont think its possible. AP deserves to win but Button was on the BBC all year long and you can be sure they will be pushing hard for him to take the title…
I imagine he’ll get nominated (top 10 i mean) once he wins a National, provided he does.
Believe me, I would love AP to win as much as you, but with the current BBC attitude to racing it will not happen.
They will push Button – no pun intended – all the way (not that I’m saying it’s fixed!)
I don’t think he deserves to win. He’s not high profile, he hasn’t just won a World Championship in anything, unlike a few of the other possibles, and………well he’s got no chance! Of course it will be Button and that’s not because it’s a fix, it’s because Button is a decent, good looking bloke who wears his heart on his sleeve. That’s what people go for.
Who gives a monkeys about the award anymore? It did have some merit many years ago when sport was covered on only two channels but those days are long gone and it’s far from compulsory viewing these days particularly with the way the BBC have treated racing, how much airtime does racing get on the programme itself, was it 30secs?
Go **** yourself Auntie, the licence fee is money under false pretences.- Total Posts 170
Sod it – I wrote a big messge out and then my computer crashed.
To summize – your viewing this the wrong way.
What a great way to stick two fingers at the BBC for their disregard towards horse racing by having our industry take their main award. And no-one would deserve it more.
It may even make them review their policy towards the sport.
Due to the small number of votes – it would be quite easy to manipulate if a campaign was created. Especially with X Factor results also now on a Sunday (it will be late in the competition by then and the voting is huge) -I guess we see if he makes the top ten…
This subject came up on our radio on Saturday night (ample time between the Wolverhamptoning…), and a couple of possibly pertinent points were raised.
The idea that horse racing’s personalities exerted a greater grip on the public consciousness back in the good old days, or at least one that would be converted into sizeable SPOTY votes, isn’t borne out by a glance at the previous results. This will be the 56th year of the award, and to date the third place finishes of Frankie Dettori (1996) and Tony McCoy (2002) remain the ONLY top three finishes that a figure from horse racing has ever achieved in its history.
Remember what each man achieved that year. McCoy beat Gordon Richards’ record for winners in a season in 2002, whilst of course 1996 was the year Dettori went through the card at Ascot.
Arguably McCoy’s 3000th race win on Restless D’Artaix in February of this year is an achievement worthy of equal consideration, but it was reached in the confines of a season where he was champion jockey once again without raising the bar of wins in a season any higher.
And you do get the sense that it’s going to have to take something amazing, even by his own lofty standards, to secure the SPOTY title. That
might
be a long-overdue Grand National win, but there again no previous National-winning rider has ever figured.
In any event, notwithstanding McCoy’s 3rd place in 2002 was predicated largely on what he’d achieved up to the end of April in that calendar year, I wonder if sportspersons who win their titles, championships, etc. in the second half of the year can’t help but have their achievements remembered the most vividly.
That’s less of a concern on the actual awards evening, as the whole year’s sporting highlights are raked over then; but how many people outside of our little world would be able to tell you if asked when, roughly, in the year does the Grand National fall, and what bearing would that have on potentially getting a National-winning jockey onto the shortlist?
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Dead right Jeremy.
When you look at AP’s year what has he done that is any different to other years? His record in the best races is not great, though does,’t have the firepower of Ruby. Yes, AP is (I believe) the best National Hunt jockey ever. But this is a yearly competion. To deserve to win it he must win at least two of the big four Cheltenham races, be top jock at the Cheltenham Festival, win the National, and be Champion Jockey. I think Paul Nicholls has more right to be Sports Personality than AP this year.
Value Is Everything- Total Posts 170
I would argue pretty strongly that Ryan Giggs had no more then an average season last year in comparison to years gone by – but he won the PFA award.
So many year during the sporting calendar have major sporting events (Olympics/ World Cup/ Ashes/ Rugby World Cups, F1 etc etc) that it will always be hard for racing to compete.
It is the sole reason that he stands a chance this year. It was a great Ashes that lacked stand out performers, the other chances are all credible (button being favourite and the BBC will push for him), but I do not see him as a popular driver in the public eye.
Was it AP’s best year in the sport? No. But wouldn’t be great if he was recognised anyhow, the same way Giggs was?
Also, how long has the award been voted for by phone vote – not to long as far as I remember? This can influence things more then ever now. i.e. getting a written vote via the post was a pain. Now its simple.
Having McCoy as a winner would bestow this nonsense with a credibility it does not deserve.
I’m sure Tony does not give a toss about it, and neither should we.
Having McCoy as a winner would bestow this nonsense with a credibility it does not deserve.
I’m sure Tony does not give a toss about it, and neither should we.
Hear Hear
The annual tradition here on TRF of someone nominating McCoy for SPOTY followed by Grasshopper’s bullet-between-the-eyes dismissal of this tired, irrelevant, pointless and crappy shebang really does put me in the Christmas spirit
Ta
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Kind of put me in my place didn’t it!
Must be an age thing. Maybe I am niave enough to think that AP winning this award would be a painful kick in the face to the Beeb.
Now where are my slippers and pipe
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