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It’s Liverpool so imagine there a roaring trade in coke this week to … and I’m not talking about the kind you put in with your rum or vodka … The racecourses are practically pouring booze down your throat
Pick 3 on Saturday champion 2025/2026
When I arrived on the Thursday, I saw one of the security staff on the gate confiscate some sandwiches from someone. But feel free to bring in as much white powder as you like..
But where is the overground figure for the 4.00 Aintree
Too embarrassing to broadcast?
“Ed said the public haven’t taken to the David Power cup to which Adele disagreed, there was me thinking she had some intelligence.”
I got the strong impression watching her response that she wasn’t overly enthusiastic about it, but she couldn’t really come out and say as much.
At least Chamberlain was correct, the racing public are not interested. Besides, it was a racing certainty at the very start that one of a very select few would win it……..and shock, horror, one did!!
Chamberlain was able to dip into his Memorial Reference Book again, which is very acceptable once, but he doesn’t tend to stop there.
I used to dislike Chapman, but I find his interaction with various people entertaining. His ‘unpredictability’ is amusing, because his victims are not quite sure what to expect. More entertaining than the bias and droning of Fitzgerald and McCoy.
Although there are many parts of the ITV presentation I don’t really care for, overall they do a great job and you are all quite lucky to have it on terrestrial TV.
McCoy reminds me of a mannequin , always in a nice suit …but still a mannequin
Pick 3 on Saturday champion 2025/2026
All I can say is they do try, but my word they have so many people on there now which may be a strategy in it’s own right.
From C4 and presenter’s like Clare Balding, who also managed to kill it on BBC in my mind, the programme is much improved. I do find myself pausing and skipping through the stuff in between however on occasions.
Richard Hoiles has grown on me. I was irritated at first by his non stop commentating without what seemed like pausing for breath at times.
I like Chapman also. So different from the others and to see some of the expressions from the racing fraternity in the early days was a sight to see.
Horse racing coverage does not contain much of the actual sport itself in fact Friday’s Aintree coverage of three and a half hours only 16% of that was the racing itself so there is a lot of time to fill.
The more I know the less I understand.
I’ve mentioned it before but I really miss any proper mentioning of the betting , I don’t want some over tanned Turkey teethed lass pouring pints , I want to know what’s moving in the market …. But alas it won’t gonna happen
Pick 3 on Saturday champion 2025/2026
I’m going to Musselburgh for the Sunday series next weekend …. Should I ask her for a selfie ?
Pick 3 on Saturday champion 2025/2026
I’m not sure what some people expect from ITV Racing.
It’s racing entertainment, pure and simple, it’s not a specialist racing program.
If people want the focus to be totally on the days racing/betting then RTV and SKY Racing can provide that, so I’m not sure why the more dedicated racing fan doesn’t simply concentrate on those two.
ITV Racing will always have an overly ‘PC’ approach and promote the touchy, feely stuff. It’s not there to provide in-depth market movement or race analysis. Analysis is only going to go as far as Walsh and his race observations, because that is easy for non-racing people to understand and learn a little from.
Again, if people want deep dive analytics, then there are other providers, but it also appears that people complain about that as well.I’m not sure what some people want from their racing coverage……when they should feel blessed to get the quality and variety they do.
Griff when ITV do the football they concentrate on the football , it’s analysed at half/full time , CH4 did this with racing and ITV could look at doing similar approach …
Pick 3 on Saturday champion 2025/2026
Griff, maybe people cannot afford to pay for Sky and/or RTV, or don’t want them for other reasons.
Totally agree, Griff
I posted in this thread a little while back.
ITV is a commercial channel and has to produce a balanced prog that will or may, interest viewers who arent complete horse racing enthusiasts.
RTV or SSR is more for the totally dedicated racing enthusiasts. Luck and his chums provide the coverage some of you desire.
ITV’s coverage, imho, has been streets ahead of the ‘old’ Ch4 progs, for the WIDER audience. The increase in coverage and race meetings, in last couple of years, on ITV has been quite noticeable.
In a nutshell it does me just fine and if my wife’s at home, she enjoys it as well, despite being nowhere near my level of ‘involvement’ in the racing itself.
I only watch ITV racing when I am at my parents house. By and large I think the coverage is OK. It could be better but it is not as bad as some of its critics suggest.
I think it is generally accepted that ITV will focus more on human interest stories and adopt a different tone when broadcasting to a general audience. But it doesn’t have to patronise its audience with celebrities and reality TV “stars”. The “Social Stable” stuff does not interest me but I recognise there is a place for it on a mainstream channel (but maybe not quite so much of it).
I recognise the broadcasting landscape has changed but the Channel 4 team of the 1980s and 90s still sets the benchmark. They covered the racing well and opened up racing to a new audience. They were also entertaining but by and large not patronising.
There is a difficult balance to be struck with racing. On the one hand, I accept a mainstream broadcaster has to explain more to a general audience. On the other hand, I think a large part of racing’s appeal is because it is a complex and nuanced sport. There is a lot to learn and it does require effort.
Having said all that, I think terrestrial television coverage is vital to the sport. Racing has been very fortunate. I remember a time when there were only three television channels and sometimes two of them were showing racing on a Saturday afternoon.
Nowadays we are still fortunate that one of the most watched channels in the country is committed to showing racing. And by and large it does a reasonably good job. Without it, racing would be considerably worse off.
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