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Yes, indeed, well deserved. GW and Alan Lee are a class above any other racing writers in the national press.
Disagree entirely. In my opinion, Wood is a hired producer of mind-numbing tedium of interest only to the incurably negative.
Along with his separated-at-birth symbiotic twin brother Alan Lee, (also mentioned in despatches tonight on TRF with another worthless literary trek into the illusory heart of darkness), and Miss Hislop, hitherto of this parish, he’s done more to talk down the Sport of Kings in print than any other voice.
Granted, the man can write (and this may be the point of the award, I don’t know – I can imagine the sodden critics in the Gods hailing "Great Syntax, Greg!", "Wonderful aphorism, Woody!" "All Hail the Wood Preposition!" as he arrives at the podium.) but the substance of his texts are mostly deserving of nothing more than our prozac-free ignorance.
This is a magnificent sport, a tear-jerking, sinew- thrusting, life-enhancing, vein-bursting pastime in which, in the course of one afternoon, the average enthusiast can experience feelings of unequalled euphoria and omnipotence, quickly followed by a hubristic tumble into a pit of near-suicidal despair.
Intellect, emotion, joy and pain. The struggle. The great racehorses. All discussions generally absent from the world of Mr Wood. The sooner this entire Miserablist school leave the stage for the young guns waiting in the wings, the better.
In my opinion of course chaps.
Unfortunately, I feel it’s the lesser of two evils to be a miserablist rather than an ostrich.
If those that run our sport had more idea of where it ought to be heading and how it is going to get there, then we wouldn’t need to be either!
See the thread I started on C4 racing, specifically alan Lee’s article (rather than my comments). More than ever, racing has to engage with the outside world to invite others into its wonderful but too often hidden and secretive world, and it’s good, rather than bad, that journos like Lee and Wood regularly point this out.
This is a magnificent sport, a tear-jerking, sinew- thrusting, life-enhancing, vein-bursting pastime in which, in the course of one afternoon, the average enthusiast can experience feelings of unequalled euphoria and omnipotence, quickly followed by a hubristic tumble into a pit of near-suicidal despair.
Intellect, emotion, joy and pain. The struggle. The great racehorses. All discussions generally absent from the world of Mr Wood.
All true Max, but I think the words of the salaried negatively miserable in the press are only airing to a wider world the sentiments that in general pervade these pages and others on the Racing Web, your good self very much excepted
That [Flat] sine wave of emotion you so vividly describe is in danger of becoming so attenuated that it will at some point be little more than random white noise hovering around the x-axis
That’s what concerns folk I believe. A long-held passion grown stale for many. And that is a life-diminishing experience
On your wider point regarding journalism, as you point out the professional is pretty adept at stringing clauses together so the prose flows sweetly, but from what little I read of them (on any subject) nowadays doesn’t exactly convince me that the meat-and-bones of their words is any more (or less) chewy than the free lunch kindly provided by those ‘men on the street’ here in cyberland; despite the odd lump of grammatical gristle. On that little we do agree, I think
A very well deserved award for Greg Wood.
Those who think the likes of Wood and Hislop are "negative" are missing the point. They recognise that their sport has a number of serious issues and they are using their positions as prominent journalists to highlight them. That is their job. Flowery prose telling us all how wonderful Denman et al are has its place, but it isn’t going to ensure the long term survival of the game.
This is a magnificent sport, a tear-jerking, sinew- thrusting, life-enhancing, vein-bursting pastime in which, in the course of one afternoon, the average enthusiast can experience feelings of unequalled euphoria and omnipotence, quickly followed by a hubristic tumble into a pit of near-suicidal despair.
Intellect, emotion, joy and pain. The struggle. The great racehorses. All discussions generally absent from the world of Mr Wood. The sooner this entire Miserablist school leave the stage for the young guns waiting in the wings, the better.
One of the posts of the year, I reckon.
It doesn’t have to be mere cheerleading or flowery prose, but why not celebrate the gritty pleasures of this sport and stir emotions other than despair, focus on the joy and wonder of it all rather than endlessly sorting through the dry material of racing politics.
Better yet, why not do both.
The racing world is crying out for a different kind of writing that isn’t flowery sycophancy or the kind of dusty analysis that belongs on the business pages with all the other life-draining material.
If Maxilon had a regular spot in one of the broadsheets, I’d buy it.
Those who think the likes of Wood and Hislop are "negative" are missing the point.
Agree. I dont think anyone could question the passion for horseracing of Hislop, Wood, Neesom, etc…it comes across in spades. By and large their criticism is constructive and those involved in the cannibalization of the sport deserve and need to be pulled up over it.
Racings ostrich population is thriving, a lion or three watching over things, essential imo.
Gentlemen, for years, I’ve sat next to punters in bookmaker shops who bet large chunks of their wages on a sport they think is bent. I wrote a short story once called "Pat Eddery is a ****" about a fellow I used to know who held that opinion, despite betting on everything he rode.
Its my contention that racing needs marquee writers like Wood, Lee and Miss Hislop to peddle the good news, not the bad. The bad news is already all around us.
I arrive on TRF every morning to see Glenn (and his staunch pal Ricky Lake), doing a passable impersonation of David Icke; more wizard tramps and ancient lizards than a Magic: The Gathering fan site.
I stopped reading the poisonous Betfair forum two years ago because it was making me hear voices. You ARE affected by the people around you, believe me.
The BBC, disgracefully, want the cherries and not the sultanas. Channel 4 are under pressure on every dimension, not just sport (something Lee hardly mentions in his biased narrative yesterday.)
My local paper are attempting to compressed discussion of horse racing into a tile the size of the weather forecast: They’ve already rid themselves of the dog selections. What about your paper?
I quite like the Racing Post writers but since the death of Sir Clement, there isn’t a tub thumper in there, a showpiece writer, a real Baerlein – someone to inspire a gathering by the river.
The grim reaper himself, Robert Peston, is thought by some to have cost this country thousands of jobs and billions of pounds with his nightly, haunted impressions of Marley’s Ghost. What are Wood and Lee costing racing amongst the readers of the broadsheets?
I’ll get off the Miserablist School’s back the minute they realise their responsibilities.
Anyroad, off to the Sandpit for A Joyous Day At The Races.
Sorry to reply to myself – terrible form – but if anyone knows Greg Wood or Alan Lee, I’m happy to hear their side of the story and debate the points.
Greg Wood reads this forum, I believe.
Cormack – What about a Q+A with Greg?? Sure he would be willing to do one and he would make an interesting candidate imo.
Marble is Ferdy Murphy and I claim my ten pounds.
Congratulations to the Woodsmeister. Keep doing what you’re doing.
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