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The meeting at Doncaster this Saturday looks like a high quality card but as planned i will be at Wetherby for the Towton Novices and the first Hunter Chase of the year which is a real higlight.
Why oh why have the BBC not used their initiative and decide to televise this meeting as it would increase their ever diminishing fixture list which is shrinking all the time, after all they gave up Newbury and Goodwood and didnt seem bothered thats on top of C4 now nibbling into the odd Ascot meeting.
Who else agrees that Doncaster should have been shown on the Beeb this Saturday even if it was on BBC2
1) C4 have the rights to Doncaster.
2) The BBC wouldn’t entertain Doncaster as I doubt it fits in with the image they want (also doesn’t fit in with Zoe Bird’s image as she moans eveytime she sets foot in the town).
3) The BBC only want the top action now and if C4 are not showing it then it won’t interest the Beeb.The lack of interest from the BBC can be explained in three words – Six Nations Rugby.
My best guess is that this meeting woud have been mainly a low key one, but has been transformed by the sponsorship input from William Hill, who are rewarding the course for sticking with SIS. Of course, now that they’ve signed up with Turf TV after all, they will be able to show Sandown and Wetherby in their shops anyway!
AP
I think it’s pretty poor planning – sadly indicative of the ‘de-regulated’ calendar. A couple of Saturdays ago there wasn’t a race meeting north of Chepstow; this weekend Yorkshire’s top two jumps courses will be scrapping over a presumably finite number of racegoers.
I usually go to Wetherby for the Towton, but I admit I’m tempted to head down to Donny instead to see how the new card pans out – especially as it isn’t televised, as Neil points out (and also because the chases at Wetherby are still by no means certain to go ahead – parts of the course are still waterlogged).
Bear in mind there is a chance that the chase course may not be in use at Wetherby this weekend. They have some hurdle races on stand by just in case. Looking forward to seeing Doncaster go ahead. Andreas in entered in the valuable 2m handicap. Still not given up hope he could develop into a Champion Chase contender.
The fixture is being staged at the request of BAGS/SIS. Before the deal with TurfTV was completed the major bookmakers were faced with a number of Saturdays when they only had all weather racing available to be televised in their shops. They requested the courses aligned to them to fill the gaps, in this instance Doncaster has done so.
As has been noted already in a different thread Saturdays feature race is the Mansion House Chase, with a new name, a week later and more money.
I know C4 have the rights to Doncaster but BBC have Ascot and C4 also show races from their and even when BBC do a Haydock meeting C4 also shoiw races.
I know the 6 Nations is on Saturday but what about BBC2 or even use BBC 3 or 4 as these do nothing uintil 7pm anyway.
At one point the BBC portfolio was really good but the fact that they were not fussed about losing Goodwood was annoying, i bet Julian and Sir Peter are amazed at the BBCs atitude that they show towards racing now.
You’re fighting a losing battle Neil – far easier and will get higher figures putting three or five plonkers in a studio to discuss rah rah and watch two matches than a proper broadcast of the racing.
don’t forget bbc don’t care about racing or other sport any more, but they are showing the superbowl this weekend – how many people go and watch american football in this country each week, compared to racing ?
sad as it is, if we want to watch sport, either generally or a specific sport i think terrestrial tv is pointless these days, we just have to pay via cable or satellite for what we want to watch
i could say i don’t want to see the licence fee spent on the crap broadcasted that i don’t watch but i’d be outvoted by those licence payers who do want to watch the crap so there you go, gotta pay for it
in the grand scheme of things, it’s quite good value imo
anyway, i’m going to lingfield saturday
C4 have to be careful if Sandown and Wetherby were called off and they’d given Doncaster to BBC they would have egg on their faces.
Theres no point in showing them on BBC3 or 4 as the point of racing on BBC and C4 is for those that still have analogue. Also as there are restrictions on hours on freeview they wouldnt be able to broadcast any earlier anyway.
Mark my words in 2012 C4 will shove racing to More4 if they bother continuing with it at all.
Personally I think ATR should try for a freeview channel.
Has any one noticed how the sports bulletins on BBC news conviently are lead by sports that they have rights too ie darts, snooker tennis and African Nations Cup if they hadn’t got the rights to these they wouldnt even get a mention on the main news.
Maybe Racing can do what other types of programmes do and stoop to the lowest common denomenator.
Why not have them teach a celeb to ride in a race in the same way that has dumbed down Ski Sunday.
Have Chefs cooking meals for jockeys and learn a jock to do some cooking(cant have enough cooking shows)
Have a jockey idol with someone guranteed a job at a yard if they win using premium rate phone lines.
Or if it is really desperate why not get Kieran Fallon to do Strictly Come Dancing.
Basically if racing can get dancing,cooking,singing or anything involving a premium rate phone competition then we get more exposure
neil may be onto something with the motor racing link – perhaps racing could tempt murray walker out of retirement – him and thommo – what a dream team
perhaps racing could tempt murray walker out of retirement – him and thommo – what a dream team
"And unless I’m very much mistaken… oooh, it’saphoto!!!"
etc
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.
anyway, i’m going to lingfield saturday
Nah. Horseheath ptp for me, I think. Maybe Donny instead if that gets rained off.
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.
Post website reports that C4 have agreed to show the valuable 2M handicap chase from Doncaster – the race has been switched to an off time of 3:00 to enable them to fit it in between the scheduled 2:50 and 3:10 races.
Plans still dependent on weather – a frost of -4 is forecast for Doncaster and Wetherby on Friday night.
AP
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