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It is a small pool of ‘talent’ that they have to call from and I feel it is very unlikely that ITV will go for an all new line up of people who can present/front a show but have no knowledge of the actual product.
Personally, I hope the non comedy duo and US racing/sectional timing sycopants Willoughby & McNae aren’t allowed anywhere near it as I think they would not be a good fit for drawing new potential fans to the sport.
Having Chapman front it would be a big risk for ITV to take as he is kinda like Marmite and you could see him either drawing bigger numbers for his non establishment presenting style or equally driving fans away in droves because they don’t like his new style.
The question you need to ask is do you want top class presenters with little to no knowledge of the product helming the show or do you want individuals with knowledge/experience in the sport who are not the most outstanding presenters ability wise – I would be surprised if Luck, Bell or even Balding are not used up front in some way.
In any case, I don’t think it is the presenters that are the problem with the the current product but more a case of the content mix i.e. we don’t see enough of the horses pre race and we don’t have as much behind the scenes info on the characters/personalities that are in the sport.
Would like to see Alistair Down brought back in some form.
Would like to see Alistair Down brought back in some form.
I think he is quite content sitting by the phone waiting for people to die.
The snivelling little child that is Oli ‘velvet collar’ Bell. There is nothing about his voice which would suggest a career in broadcasting until you realise his dad is Rupert Bell. Racing has always been jobs for the boys and Bell is just another example off that production line of mediocrity.
You’ve hit the nail on the head there. I wrote, a few posts back, that there are many racegoers, punters and betting shop staff who have a high level of racing knowledge and are both eloquent and presentable enough to make a good go of replacing the current uninspiring band of racing presenters on television; the problem is that such people never get a chance.
Todays coverage of the Dante Stakes could have been better. Prudish faces and filler film because a couple of colts had dropped their “yards” All the runners in this important classic trial should have been shown what ever their state of “excitement”. Rishi looked so embarrassed!
I think there is a serious danger of change for changes sake here… Martin Kelly is a bland talking head . For me you can’t beat Nick Luck as a front man ( totally knows his stuff ) and Graham Cunningham is an excellent pundit ( witty informed and encapsulates form really well)…there is nobody that equals either of them in their current roles in my opinion.
Cunningham gets stick from those who remember fondly the glory days of the old Channel 4 team, as boring and no craic. To be fair, he is knowledgeable and I do not mind him . I have no problems with Luck, I like him even if he is a bit posh. The lads in America have no problem with him working with them during the Breeders Cup .
The Current Channel 4 team have had many moments of annoyance but in all are not as bad as many complain about. The fawning over Dettori and McCoy or Fitzy’s answer to everything “isn’t Nicky Henderson” great is frustrating. Balding, we know you are pals of theirs, we know they are great but give over. Even when Dicky Johnson won his title, it was all about McCoy (McCoy was probably embarrassed). Even when Treve won her first Arc, where Frankie was jocked off (but he messed up his leg anyway) Balding (who famous nearly got run over by a horse n cart in the parade ring) kepted talking about Frankie as if he was the reason behind her success and how he missed the ride – not true, Maareek was sticking with her jockey. Granted, Frankie got one back on them (and the owner, who is his retainer) last year with a superb ride.
I know many TV channels do not cover whole cards but it is annoying that someone like Channel 4 can not stick on the first race (especially in jumps) . It is not like they have much to broadcast. Wow, previously is was like over 20 hours a day of Big Brother now they have saturated the daily listing with that Dinner show , before and after the racing
One could say what they like about Matt Chapman, but when he tones it down, he can do excellent work in the parade ring and when given a chance to talk to trainers . Look at his interviews with Jim Bolger and of course the famous one with Sir Henry Cecil, which, ironically Channel 4 used a huge amount of during their tribute to the man during Ascot last year. If ye can, check out Chapman’s post 2014 Arc interview with the connections behind Treve. He got more out of them than the others who interviewed them earlier.
if we are still looking for a front man/ presenter for the new ITV racing cover, what about Bob Cooper? personally i hope they take mick fitzgerald and get him off ATR and he can state the bleedin obvious over there and i can watch atr without hearing “make no mistake about it, if this horse is good enough he will win and if he’s not he won’t”
Definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result, this is how it seems with ITV racing . C4 coverage went to pot and now ITV are going to replicate their coverage with the same tired old faces and expect ratings to rise
Dear god no more Mick Fitz on the new show.
Please ruk sign him up for a 20 year exclusive contract.if we are still looking for a front man/ presenter for the new ITV racing cover, what about Bob Cooper? personally i hope they take mick fitzgerald and get him off ATR and he can state the bleedin obvious over there and i can watch atr without hearing “make no mistake about it, if this horse is good enough he will win and if he’s not he won’t”
Are you insane??? Bob Cooper I mean BOB Cooper,
You want a man who cannot get a jockey to take him seriously I mean Ryan Moore has the right idea when it comes to Cooper and ignores him.Not having Mick Fitz on the new show would require a change to the article of the UK constitution that requires his presence on 66.66% of all televised horseracing output shown in the Kingdom.
Perhaps they could cobble it in with the Brexit vote (vote LEAVE).
Matt Chapman must appear in this latest incarnation.
Bring back Tommo and McCririck too. These blokes are steeped in the game, and have the ability to communicate to a recreational audience.
…vote LEAVE
Dear god no more Mick Fitz on the new show.
Please ruk sign him up for a 20 year exclusive contract.Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!
He has a voice that could grate cheese.
Are there any objections to Oli Bell that AREN’T thinly-veiled class rants?
Of course not, as per Nick Luck. The fact that they seem to be personable, educated and can manage to complete a sentence is always a negative in racing.
Oooh, they’re so smug…etc etc
Mike
Because he’s vice president and prime minister of his country.
By all means ask searching questions of trainers who train horse for him, but I don’t think our government (plus a number of companies) would be too happy if he, or any other memeber of the Dubai ruling family, got an ear-bashing from a sports journalist and this then led to some politically embarrassing diplomatic or trade relations hoo-ha.
I have to disagree with you there – rank or position does not automatically mean someone gets respect or deference – respect has to be earned and his record shows he deserves anything but respect.
Taking your argument to its logical conclusion it also means the likes of George Bush, Tony Bliar,David Cameron even Adolf Hitler and Sadam Hussain should be treated with respect and deference by dint of a political role they happen to hold.
Here’s a hypothetical example: let’s suppose president Obama, the most important man in the world, has a racehorse in training in America, is over here on a visit, makes a visit to Ascot, and then gets slagged off in an interview about letting his horses run on lasix. How do you think that would pan out?
Certainly agree that the main reason so many people on this forum and elsewhere dislike Nick Luck, Clare Balding and Oli Bell so much is good old-fashioned inverted snobbery and class prejudice. It’s always acceptable, it would seem, to sneer at such people and brand them patronising and smug.
Nobody seems to have even considered Clare despite the fact that she is supremely professional, knowledgable and high profile. I doubt ITV would use her, though, and it wouldn’t surprise me if there are some really off-the-wall appointments that astound viewers.
I think ITV will want to have a complete change and it wouldn’t surprise me if Paul Ostermeyer proves to be correct in his view that, like me, John Hunt could be a very likely front runner for senior race commentator. I don’t think the languid Simon Holt is nailed-on by any means (or Richard Hoiles).
Just as long as Tanya is belatedly shown the door.
I still think ITV will turn out to be a big disappointment (no evidence for saying that, just a gut feeling) and that many of the critics of Channel 4, including myself on occasions, will rue the day that the channel lost out. Hope I’m wrong but I fear the worst.
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