- This topic has 51 replies, 28 voices, and was last updated 17 years, 1 month ago by
.
- Posts
As I am a day or so behind watching the racing, I have only just got through Friday’s card. My God, the BBC need to seriously overhaul their racing coverage.
It is nearly unwatchable.
First, the positives. Darren Owen has done an excellent job the first two days as has Ian Bartlett.
I am sure Gary Wiltshire knows a lot about racing but I don’t think they could find someone with a more OTT London accent if they spent a night in Hackney. I can barely understand a word he says. And what has an aged snooker player got to do with horse racing – other than he comes from Liverpool (they are welcome to him) and he gambles badly on horses?
I can count the number of salient points Dunwoody, Williamson, Fitzgerald, Pitman and Ian Walker have made on one hand and still have eight fingers and two thumbs to type this out.
I just want to go to the commentary box and hug Jim McGrath and ask him whats wrong? He is still one of my all time favorite commentators but he doesn’t seem to be able to memorize or recall the names of the horses very well at all. It was all once so different. I understand he may have concerns in his life weighing heavily, (I don’t know if he does) but part of the job as the race commentator is too forget those for a few minutes and devote your mind to the job in hand. I just hope he is ok. He is such a nice man as well.
Rishi Persaud (sp?) could be good if he wasnt lumbered with Pollyanna interviews and human interest stories. Don’t kid yourselves, BBC, there is no need for them to attract a non-racing audience, it is lazy journalism, end of story. Not putting that charge at Rishi’s doormat, but he seems to be underused and I would like to see more of him.
Even the excellent Clare Balding seems rushed and not her usual self.
And for the love of Christ, if i want to see continual close up’s of one horse I will go to the track, similarly as the horses are finishing if I want to see the reactions of the connections, I will stand next to the buggers. Enough of this stuff and show the bloody racing!
And words cannot adequately sum up the unenthusiasm of Tony O’Hehir’s commentary.
And the theme music makes me have feelings of suicide. Not very uplifting, is it?
I can save the BBC money so they can cover more racing….
This is the line-up I would use:
Presenter and Interviewer: Clare Balding.
Paddock Commentator: Rishi Persaud and Ian Bartlett who can double up reading the prices.
Race Commentators: Grandstand: Jim McGrath, Darren Owen covering fences 1-4, 10-12, 17-20, 26-28 and myself, available at a very reasonable rate and guaranteed not to sound as if I have narcolepsy covering 5-9 and 21-25 (trade with Darren if he wants!)And look, I have got myself a better team at less than half the personnel costs and promise to concentrate on racing instead of speculating on whether the Duchess of Arbroath is wearing a hat.
Craig.
Disappointed that Rambling Minster – my selection – didn’t seem to have a mention until he pulled up well on in the race. As such a well-backed horse I thought a spotter would be watching him …
I love the Grand National theme music – always gives me goosebumps.
Would love them to do a GN montage to Creed’s ‘My Sacrifice’.
Rocking melody and suitable lyrics – not very BBC-ish, however.
It could have been worse Craig. You could have watched the race on HRTV and got my losing selections…..
It could have been worse Craig. You could have watched the race on HRTV and got my losing selections…..
You were on HRTV this AM, Jeremy?
Craig
As I am a day or so behind watching the racing, I have only just got through Friday’s card. My God, the BBC need to seriously overhaul their racing coverage.
It is nearly unwatchable.
First, the positives. Darren Owen has done an excellent job the first two days as has Ian Bartlett.
I am sure Gary Wiltshire knows a lot about racing but I don’t think they could find someone with a more OTT London accent if they spent a night in Hackney. I can barely understand a word he says. And what has an aged snooker player got to do with horse racing – other than he comes from Liverpool (they are welcome to him) and he gambles badly on horses?
I can count the number of salient points Dunwoody, Williamson, Fitzgerald, Pitman and Ian Walker have made on one hand and still have eight fingers and two thumbs to type this out.
I just want to go to the commentary box and hug Jim McGrath and ask him whats wrong? He is still one of my all time favorite commentators but he doesn’t seem to be able to memorize or recall the names of the horses very well at all. It was all once so different. I understand he may have concerns in his life weighing heavily, (I don’t know if he does) but part of the job as the race commentator is too forget those for a few minutes and devote your mind to the job in hand. I just hope he is ok. He is such a nice man as well.
Rishi Persaud (sp?) could be good if he wasnt lumbered with Pollyanna interviews and human interest stories. Don’t kid yourselves, BBC, there is no need for them to attract a non-racing audience, it is lazy journalism, end of story. Not putting that charge at Rishi’s doormat, but he seems to be underused and I would like to see more of him.
Even the excellent Clare Balding seems rushed and not her usual self.
And for the love of Christ, if i want to see continual close up’s of one horse I will go to the track, similarly as the horses are finishing if I want to see the reactions of the connections, I will stand next to the buggers. Enough of this stuff and show the bloody racing!
And words cannot adequately sum up the unenthusiasm of Tony O’Hehir’s commentary.
And the theme music makes me have feelings of suicide. Not very uplifting, is it?
I can save the BBC money so they can cover more racing….
This is the line-up I would use:
Presenter and Interviewer: Clare Balding.
Paddock Commentator: Rishi Persaud and Ian Bartlett who can double up reading the prices.
Race Commentators: Grandstand: Jim McGrath, Darren Owen covering fences 1-4, 10-12, 17-20, 26-28 and myself, available at a very reasonable rate and guaranteed not to sound as if I have narcolepsy covering 5-9 and 21-25 (trade with Darren if he wants!)And look, I have got myself a better team at less than half the personnel costs and promise to concentrate on racing instead of speculating on whether the Duchess of Arbroath is wearing a hat.
Craig.
You say you are a day behind watching the racing I think you are twnety years behind the times. The point you are missing is the grand national is watched by millions many of which are not racing fans. It’s very much family viewing on National day as well as for die hard racing fans. You couldn’t be more wrong about that and the BBC have experts advising them on this.
Human interest stories showing crowd reactions close up of fancied horses etc etc. is all part of a very well laid out plan.I think if they let you loose their viewing figures would be halved and the other half would probaly fall asleep between fences 5-9 and 21-25 if you took over from our beloved Tony O’Heir.
I think the BBC do a wonderful job have a great team doing a very difficult job. I go out my way just to get a recording to add to my collection every year and have very few complaints.
Gary Wiltshire is dead easy to understand and I’m from the other end of the country. Where are you from that you can’t understand him? Don’t mean to be offensive in any way but I’m not sure as you have a really wierd accent when you are commentating.
I am sure Gary Wiltshire knows a lot about racing but I don’t think they could find someone with a more OTT London accent if they spent a night in Hackney.
I think Wiltshire is what is known as a ‘character’ in television circles. He probably appeals or is expected to appeal to those who watch Eastenders and tune in to racing once a year.
Not perfect but I have started watching the Festivals on Racing UK now.
I wonder what exactly the Racing Post is trying to save as the BBC coverage is increasingly becoming a load of junk.
Hi Aristo!
You said: You say you are a day behind watching the racing I think you are twnety years behind the times. The point you are missing is the grand national is watched by millions many of which are not racing fans. It’s very much family viewing on National day as well as for die hard racing fans. You couldn’t be more wrong about that and the BBC have experts advising them on this. Human interest stories showing crowd reactions close up of fancied horses etc etc. is all part of a very well laid out plan.
My Reply: I do not doubt it is all part of a well laid out plan. The emphasis though should be on Racing Fans and family viewing, not the other way around. As I said in another post, we live in an information age, where people can learn about something they know little about with a few clicks of a mouse. When I met my wife, for example, she knew little about golf, she read about it online and soon was at least able to have a conversation about aspects of it. That was nearly ten years ago, anyone wanting to learn a little more about racing just needs to jump online. I don’t see how "human interest" stories masquerading as journalism achieves that goal of informing and entertaining the public as is the BBC’s remit.
You said: I think if they let you loose their viewing figures would be halved and the other half would probaly fall asleep between fences 5-9 and 21-25 if you took over from our beloved Tony O’Heir.
My Reply: I am more than aware of the fact I am in the minority as far as what I think makes good television. This is true in many aspects of my life, not just racing coverage. Though I do claim at least my accent may make people wonder "Where the heck did they find this guy?" But I think I could do a good job without sounding narcoleptic.
You Said: "I think the BBC do a wonderful job have a great team doing a very difficult job. I go out my way just to get a recording to add to my collection every year and have very few complaints."
My Reply: I have every National since 1960 on DVD and agree the standard of race commentating has improved, but so has conditions for the commentators and of course smaller fields, less daunting fences, etc. That said, as a group I think we have the best National commentators ever. I would not be averse to putting Darren Owen in the Grandstand. Criminally underused, imo. The camera work is magnificent but I think for a live race, there are perhaps too many close up’s, especially (and this isnt so much the case at Aintree but at other tracks) when it is obvious the commentator is just calling off the monitor.
You Said: "Gary Wiltshire is dead easy to understand and I’m from the other end of the country. Where are you from that you can’t understand him? Don’t mean to be offensive in any way but I’m not sure as you have a really wierd accent when you are commentating."
Actually, I am from Cambridge. I think I have just been too long away from England that people with thick accents are becoming harder for my understand just because I am not exposed to many English accents these days. But the clash of regional accents on there really grates with me these days. I am not saying they all need to sound like old Etonians, but if you are going to make a living broadcasting a reasonable grasp of English speaking skills is not too much to ask, is it?
As for my accent, in the last two weeks I have been accused of being South African, Australian, American who once lived in England and so English I may have just stepped off the plane.
My voice is a battleground of dialects, right now. I am grimly hanging on to my English accent. God save me from developing an American accent and commentary style while I am in the Wild West this summer!!
Cheers,
Craig
I think we can agree on one thing Gary Wiltshire wouldn’t have a clue what the meaning of narcoleptic is.
I think we can agree on one thing Gary Wiltshire wouldn’t have a clue what the meaning of narcoleptic is.
Got a feeling he might want to become one after a few drinks and a vindaloo!
Craig
I liked the fact that there was a really competitive handicap at 3.25 which they went over for at exactly 3.24, having a repeat of the story about Andy Stewart’s snowboarding son on until that point. I have nothing against Mstr Stewart, but surely we could have at least a little look at the horsies as they get down to post etc.
Absolute codswallop and if I hear Rishi ask the question "How does it feel to win?" one more time, I swear I may just do myself in. At least AP gave hime the eyes after he won on Don’t Push It!
Sorry to say but I am increasingly wondering as to whether Rishi is only there because he is capable of playing a game of cricket with Stoutey.
I had the telly locked on ATR all afternoon for work purposes (save for a blast of RUK for the National), but I presume Rishi was once more reduced to the how-do-you-feel-interviews-as-Charles-Wheeler-had-never-intended-them-to-be-used role once more.
He is essentially a personable, chipper chap consistently given an utterly thankless remit during Auntie Beeb’s racing coverage.
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.
Considering what Clare said to Liam about his teeth im just amazed she didnt say to Mr Stewart Jnr (ok i forgot his name) "So why are you in a wheelchair?
Does that really matter, this guy has had the most amazing day of his racing career to boot, utterley pathetic.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.