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to date the BC has been largely overlooked in HK – no cover most years, and this year the simulcast was just the race before Rich Tapestry’s and then Rich Tapestry’s race.
one reason is that HKJC is restricted by government in the number of overseas races it can simulcast, so in choosing which ones there is close attention paid to public interest as expressed through betting turnover.
there must be some connection of punters with the horses / jockeys / trainers involved – so in HK most simulcasts are from Aus, GB, France, Japan, Dubai.
that said, at a time when HKJC is looking to draw US money into HK pools through commingling, it may well in future encourage more involvement by HK horses in US international races just to try raise HK’s general profile with US punters.
I side with IB on this topic. I really hate USA racing, the razzmatazz, terrible course commentaries, flowers on the winners, dirt, tight tracks and most of all the drugs that give the USA runners an unfair advantage.
I think that our racing is the best in the world. I really think it is sad that owners and trainers feel compelled to send horses to this meeting. It doesn’t seem to follow form very well and European horses are at a huge disadvantage, even on the turf, as they are not pumped with lasix, bute and steroids.
Has it an influence on stud careers?
For me it’s up there with the Shergar Cup. As for betting at least you can exclude the European ones first.Is this some sort of an excuse for bigging up ourselves and a bit of American bashing at the same time? That would be a rarity wouldn’t it?
Would this thread have appeared had the Europeans won a few more races?
With the exception of trying to substitute Matt Chapman for The Works I thought ATR did a pretty good job. It is the home of US racing so it is clearly the right channel for the event. Other than the annoying presence of Luck I couldn’t see much wrong with the NBC coverage either.
I know very little about American racing but I put a bit of effort in and made a small profit. The only problem I found was some past performances were not readily available.
Yes, a few outsiders won but it wasn’t impossible. I would have thought not that much more impossible than expecting Menorah to bolt up.
Champions Day or Breeders Cup? Personally, I would take the Breeders Cup any day of the week.
Years back the Breeders Cup used to be on terrestrial TV. I know that cause the first race I saw was when a friend was watching it on his telly and Royal Academy won.
I saw that arch flat lover Nick Luck reporting from the course on ATR yesterday, took me ten seconds to turn over to the next channel with indifference
It’s an unanswerable question really.
It’s a complete irrelevance to me, but could be the highlight of the year for others.
Mike
I haven’t got much interest in it nowadays
Agree with much of what others have said……what particularly irritates me with the presentation is the interminable interviews with trainers, jockeys, owners…….none of whom have anything at all to say of any interest. And the interminable ‘human interest’ stories……OK, I realise that the US broadcasters have to present it in a way they think the general public will want to watch as this is racing’s big day in the US when it gets more than niche coverage…..it’s a bit like us having 8 Grand Nationals on one day. There’s be more dead grannies and mums with cancer than on the X Factor…..
My main gripe and reason for loss of interest is just the massive dilution of races where there now seems to be half a dozen races that any given horse could run in…….how many 2yo races are there ? What’s the difference between them ?
It’s getting to be like swimming where you have a gold medal for the 100 metres., another gold medal for the 110 metres, another gold medal for the 120 metres and so on
All in all I can’t be bothered with it any more.
My interest in the Breeders Cup began to wobble in 1986 when a certain superhorse got a ‘clod of dirt in his eye’ but was a spent force after a long, hard season
To be quite honest, the only highlights that are etched in my mind are Lester Piggott’s ride on Royal Academy, Arazi’s demolition job in the BC Juvenile, Raven’s Pass stuffing Curlin and the sublime victory of St Nicholas Abbey in the BC Turf.
I only tuned in to the BC to watch Toronado last night but that turned into a damp squib.
The Breeders Cup is rapidly dwindling in my eyes.
Is this some sort of an excuse for bigging up ourselves and a bit of American bashing at the same time? That would be a rarity wouldn’t it?
Would this thread have appeared had the Europeans won a few more races?
With the exception of trying to substitute Matt Chapman for The Works I thought ATR did a pretty good job. It is the home of US racing so it is clearly the right channel for the event. Other than the annoying presence of Luck I couldn’t see much wrong with the NBC coverage either.
I know very little about American racing but I put a bit of effort in and made a small profit. The only problem I found was some past performances were not readily available.
Yes, a few outsiders won but it wasn’t impossible. I would have thought not that much more impossible than expecting Menorah to bolt up.
Champions Day or Breeders Cup? Personally, I would take the Breeders Cup any day of the week.
Pretty good post. Seems to be a lot of xenophobia in this thread.
I side with IB on this topic. I really hate USA racing, the razzmatazz, terrible course commentaries, flowers on the winners, dirt, tight tracks and most of all the drugs that give the USA runners an unfair advantage.
I think that our racing is the best in the world.Has it an influence on stud careers?
For me it’s up there with the Shergar Cup. As for betting at least you can exclude the European ones first.But let’s face it, Breeders Cup and Champions Day come at that time of the year when our Flat horses become a bit cloudy.
I almost hate the Breeders Cup. I don’t like all the American razzmatazz b******t, I don’t like dirt racing and I don’t like the fact that it is built up as a world championship. World championship with the likes of Caspar Netscher and Toast Of New York running – do me a favour – and one of them nearly won.
It’s crap basically and i’d rather throw my money down the drain than have a bet on any race.One final point – ATR’s coverage – absolutely abysmal. No British studio analysis, nothing, just Nick Luck looking the odd one out surrounded by the Yanks. There was no preview programme either
Breeders Cup, Dubai World Cup – all a load of tosh that in reality 99% of Brits really couldn’t give a flying fig about.Strange that someone who almost hates it, thinks it’s crap and a load of tosh then complains that there was no preview programme (which there was)and that the coverage was abysmal. You clearly had enough interest to watch it then.
The BC is very exciting. Something different. Even from my PC I’ve had a terrific weekend. Nothing’s perfect. As for the Charlie Hall Chase, yes, lots of us love it but by comparison .. really?
If you are really looking for someone who delights in seeking out ‘human interest’ stories look no further than Clare Balding. Nobody better or worse, depending on your opinion.
I’m a great fan of international racing, I think it’s the way forward for the sport and we’re far too insular in the UK, but the drug-fuelled Breeders Cup doesn’t do a great deal for me.
If you are really looking for someone who delights in seeking out ‘human interest’ stories look no further than Clare Balding. Nobody better or worse, depending on your opinion.
Haha quite right. Agree with the negative comments about Nick Luck too! He was certainly the odd one out and incredibly awkward as the prize ceremony MC. Him desperately scratching around for human interest stories with the girl who led-in Main Sequence was especially painful.
I was watching the NBC coverage and must say it was very impressive. Their presenters lack a bit of knowledge on the European horses, but speak so fluently in immense depth about everything else. They went into Beyer figures, previous form, trends, pace biases, the markets and everything imaginable without being condescending or resorting to Channel 4’s ridiculous visual aids. C4 could learn a great deal.
I must be seriously weird. I like just about everything to do with horse racing – the horses, the races, the people, the betting, the politics, the talk, the flat, the jumps.
The Breeders Cup was down a bit on class from most years, but there was no drop in fascination or drama. Over the two days there were some very good horses winning some very good and interesting races.
Would you not want to spend a couple of hours in a pub talking to Michael Buckley about why he wanted to campaign Toast Of New York almost exclusively abroad? Why he thought a horse with that profile had a good chance in the Classic? How about talking to Jamie Osborne about the dangers of possibly screwing up his UK training career to go rushing round the world on a near wild goose chase, the extra work, travel, angst, exhaustion and fear. What a brave man!
Would you not want a long chat with Graham Motion, David Lanigan, and Alan Cooper about what changed Main Sequence ? A horse that had declined from second in the Derby to a nine-time loser being beaten double-digit lengths in two Listed races over his best distance and ground, to become a four-time Group 1 winner, beating the Arc second fair and square last night.
"The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there" may be a famous quote, but the more obvious “5000 miles away is a foreign country: they do things differently there.” is still very true. I think you just have to go with the flow and enjoy the difference. Even the shmaltzy bits like the possibility of Rosie Napravnik being the only pregnant jockey ever to win a Breeders Cup race. There is still much to like about US racing and its presentation.
The only bit that grates is the description “world championships”. The USA used to be the land of pioneers and adventurers, even including in their national song the phrase “The land of the free, and the home of the brave.” A few years ago they flirted with two ideas to enable the Breeders Cup to be a little more like a world championship; banning drugs in two-year-old races (with a view to a total drug ban), and running on a synthetic surface instead of dirt. Some of the US competitors were scared that they might have to fight harder or smarter to win, so they abandoned the changes. It is not only that fewer really top class European horse bother to go, but the same applies to Japanese and Australian too. Shame.
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