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“you should know the colours of what you have backed.”
I sometimes don’t.
So, on those rare occasions, I make the schoolboy error of turning up the volume in the pathetic hope the commentator might actually commentate on the race and take me through the field.
In a 6f handicap at Kempton in a seven-runner race, they can be at the 2f marker before John Hunt has managed to complete a first-to-last running order even once.
It’s dire – and he’s not the only culprit.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"@Seasider- spot on. Visually impaired people rely on the commentary more than those of us blessed with good eyesight.
To be fair, John Hunt is doing a first class job commentating on the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics.
These recent posts have made me consider what I am looking for in a race commentator. I am fortunate enough to not be visually impaired, but would still like the commentator to regularly be mentioning how every horse in the race is performing. Ideally the camerawork should also help me form my own view on this, but this is not always so.
I would also like the commentator to use their expertise to immediately spot and draw attention to noteworthy developments such as fallers and interference etc. At the end of the race, I would like them to provide comprehensive finishing orders and information on the welfare of any human or equine participants where cause for concern may have arisen.
If the commentator wishes to add extra snippets of information, or tries to inject excitement into the race by how they speak, then these are good additional things in my view. However, this should not be at the expense of providing fundamental information about the race. Also the commentator must not become so intrusive that the focus ends up being on them instead of the action.
With their non-specialist audience in mind, ITV will be placing more emphasis on other aspects of commentary than the simple relay of race information. I think Richard Hoiles does a good job of balancing the various competing requirements.
The two key requirements I have from a commentator are:
1) As soon as the race has started identify all the runners, and announce a distinguishing feature about them so that we can follow them ourselves thereafter e.g “Red Sleeves” , “White Face”, “Blinkers”, “Grey” etc etc, that’s not hard to do is it.2) Say what is actually happening not what you think is going to happen. (That means you M Cattermole).
There is absolutely no reason to go through the whole field telling us how to identify every horse – that would be boring. Unless it’s a filler (small field). In bigger fields only the favourites should be identified and then only once.
Value Is Everything“There is absolutely no reason to go through the whole field telling us how to identify every horse – that would be boring. Unless it’s a filler (small field). In bigger fields only the favourites should be identified and then only once”
Absolutely no reason except so viewers can have it confirmed which horse is which. What would you rather have the commentator do instead to alleviate the boredom you would suffer during the 30-45 seconds this would take, crack a few jokes, give us some restaurant recommendations, break into song?
“What would you rather have the commentator do instead to alleviate the boredom”?
Depends on how much time the commentator has to spare, Salut. Got nothing against a commentator telling us if they’ve got the time. Just don’t think they have time to do the whole field in bigger races unless it’s a stayers race. Certainly don’t want to hear it done one after the other after the other either – that really would be boring… And worse still when it’s at the expense of missing what’s actually happening during the race… And then there’s even worse than worse, when it’s well known horses in well known colours.
Value Is EverythingI’d like to think a professional on comms has more important things to describe than just aimlessly running through the names of the runners.
BUY THE SUN
I think commentators should, err, commentate.
If that means continuously going through the running order from first to last until focussing on the leaders at the business end well, that’s err, the job.
Viewers don’t need to know how they all ran last time out, which jockey is chasing a double, or what the trainer had for breakfast.
I was spared ITV Racing today as I was at Didmarton Point-to-Point where the commentator was Darren Owen.
Owen had the virtue of just getting on with the actual job and very good he was too IMO.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"“If that means continuously going through the running order from first to last until focusing on the leaders at the business end well, that’s err, the job”.
Exactly. I want to know the rough order, who is struggling, who has made a mistake or fallen/unseated/pulled up (and it’s wellbeing if known) and I welcome reminders of who is wearing what colours/noseband, is a grey etc (because, while I may manage to remember such details for the one I’ve backed, I rarely memorise them all, particularly if the difference is just down to the colour of a cap). What I don’t need is an alert to the field passing its “point of departure” or some long retired jockey being asked which one he’d like to be riding.
My Granny saw it like this
BBC was GOD
ITV was the DEVIL
She only watched GodThat was the running order
BACK THEN
Not long after the 2nd world
WAR
In seventy years the ADLAB
has made up some ground
but….the BEEB dogs still bark…
sit down next to meMy father, a staunch atheist, was nevertheless similarly religious about it, gamble.
Being first-generation middle class – and having read Jilly Cooper’s hilarious book “Class” and at times seemed to have taken it literally, various things were anathema in our household.
It had to be “napkin,” not “serviette,” it had to be “pudding” and not “dessert” or, worse still, “sweet.”
And it had to be BBC, not ITV.
The channels are virtually indistinguishable on many levels nowadays, of course.
Stupid people have never been so spoilt for choice (they say we all become our parents in the end!).
I met Ms Cooper at Newbury races a few years ago and told her (“You’ve got a lot to answer for, Ms Cooper!” “Oh, really. Why?”) of her unintended impact on my father and our family – she burst out laughing and hugged me.
Apart from seeing Frankel win the Lockinge, it was very possibly my favourite ever moment at the Berkshire venue.
I am "The Horse Racing Punter" on Facebook
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"Last week, the dreadful Hannon said they had gone past their point of departure and then said it again about ten seconds later. Which was their point of departure? I’m confused.
Thinking about the Irish racing, it was good to see a race at Navan yesterday where a Mullins 1-5 chance was gifted a 20 length lead at the start and allowed to have a nice canter around. It was the undoubted highlight of a fairly ordinary afternoon of racing.
One pundit I am starting to enjoy is Freddie Tylicki on SSR.
I think he must have done his money at Newcastle on Thursday after Onesmoothoperator finished second after travelling all over eventual winner Nate The Great all the way up the home straight.
After the race, Tylicki exploded “How has this horse got beaten? I mean, Jesus Christ!!” He then slagged off the jockey for dropping the reins which almost certainly cost him the race.
It was refreshing to see a bit of emotion and no attempt to disguise a bad ride.
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