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There’s a very good reason why RUK don’t do regular morning previews – they don’t have a studio from which to broadcast them.
That’s why all their coverage is hosted from the course and why you never see any pictures of the presenter doing the voiceover, betting shows, results etc.
AP
Interesting, AP, I never knew that. With regard to their Festival previews, French racing afternoons, etc., then – do they hire somewhere on a strictly ad hoc basis?
gc
Adoptive father of two. The patron saint of lower-grade fare. A gently critical friend of point-to-pointing. Kindness is a political act.
GC,
Good point about the French coverage – but as I’ve never watched it I don’t know the answer.
Unless my memory is failing, weren’t the Aintree and Cheltenham previews presented from the track with the usual sound only voiceover.
AP
Im genuinely surprised Racing UK is getting more votes I know not many have voted yet and it aint scientific but I didnt realise its style was so popular but still 14 votes out of 17 aint bad for an average
Unless my memory is failing, weren’t the Aintree and Cheltenham previews presented from the track with the usual sound only voiceover.
AP
Sorry, AP, I’ll qualify that – I was thinking of those shows they put on in the run-up, where, say, Lydia and Jonathan would be sitting in a studio for a couple of hours going through their fancies for each race in turn.
gc
Adoptive father of two. The patron saint of lower-grade fare. A gently critical friend of point-to-pointing. Kindness is a political act.
I hanker after the good old days of Peter O’Sullevan, Julian Wilson and John Hamner.
That said, I don’t mind Big Mac, Jim McGrath, Francome et al.
Above all else, it is the races which are the most important element to any racing coverage.
Gambling Only Pays When You're Winning
BBC coverage – uh, what coverage?
I can’t comment on RACING UK because I don’t subscribe to it. The same reason I try not to purchase football PPV – I’m not going to encourage the fat cats. Sadly, the days when we will all have to purchase a Cheltenham Festival, Derby etc are not far away.
ATR do a great job. Some great presenters, some annoying / boring.
C4 have the household names and they are my choice. Jim McGrath is the best at what he does. He and Francombe are the best combo on the box. Say what you will about Big Mac but racing wouldn’t be the same without him.
One of the true greats of racing on C4 has to be Brough Scott. Alastair Down is the closest they’ve come to replacing him.
I know the BBC have barely any coverage but I wanted the poll to reflect whether you like their style of presentation if they hyperthetically showed all races.
The question is which channel is the best for the sport. Irrespective of the quality of programming output, this cannot be channel that puts restrictions on viewers watching it subscription free.
If you’re in a pub on a Saturday afternoon and fancy watching the racing, (it’s best to pick a pub with Sky), you will have access to whatever tracks the Beeb / C4 are showing + the whole of ATR’s output from GB & Ireland. RUK will show one race if you are lucky then the screens go blank.
The pub is expecting to pay 2K+ to subscribe which makes access to their tracks a non starter. Bad for the punter = bad for the levy = bad for the sport.
For me it’s that simple. Whether customers are at home or out and about, don’t turn them off by turning off access to the sport they wish to see / bet on.
The question is which channel is the best for the sport. Irrespective of the quality of programming output, this cannot be channel that puts restrictions on viewers watching it subscription free.
If you’re in a pub on a Saturday afternoon and fancy watching the racing, (it’s best to pick a pub with Sky), you will have access to whatever tracks the Beeb / C4 are showing + the whole of ATR’s output from GB & Ireland. RUK will show one race if you are lucky then the screens go blank
ATR is part of the Sky package which is not free. I dont know the particulars but doesn’t a chunk of the RUK subscription, channel directly back into racing in some form? If that’s the case I see no problem with paying up. Even though I enjoy RUK much more due to the fact that I am a quality racing person and most of the ATR tracks are bottom of the barrel (just my opinion) they do tend to waffle around at times where thankfully the mute button comes in handy.
With ATR you have to suffer thru the moderator I term "the microwaved face" and bookie adverts every 5 minutes. If you are on Sky as was already noted, ATR active is quite nice and more to my taste.
Apracing: Isn’t RUK closely related to channel 433 the US racing channel? They have studio moderation, so it seems to me they could use the same studio for british racing during the day.
[ most of the ATR tracks are bottom of the barrel (just my opinion)
Well Ascot, Doncaster, Newcastle, Exeter, Windsor, Uttoxeter,Leopardstown, Curragh, Punchestown, Cork, Fairyhouse, Limerick not All The Rot as it was once dubbed. Its not ATR’s fault that 8 of the top 10 are owned by Racing UK’s association the Jockey Club Courses
Forgot to exclude the Irish racing from that, my fault. Of the UK tracks you mention obviously Ascot and Donny fall out of that category as well but for the others you mention all I can say is to each his own. I’m not that big on jumps racing but how many quality cards are staged at Uttoxeter during a 12 month timeframe.
Exeter is classed as a class jumps track I thought and isnt Chepstow(which I missed) or why else would the BBC bother with it. As I’ve said on other threads what happens when Exeter rights comes up for renewal now they are part of Racing UK/ Jockey Club and if Ascot jump ship like they did to Turf TV where does ATR go then?
I’m not that big on jumps racing but how many quality cards are staged at Uttoxeter during a 12 month timeframe.
“Quality” is admittedly in the eye of the beholder, but I’d certainly class the Midlands National and Summer National meetings as featuring races well above the humdrum.
Steveh – outside of the Welsh National meeting, the Beeb barely do bother with Cheppers nowadays, sadly. Northern’s asset-stripping of the course, typified by the moving of the Rehearsal Chase to Newcastle, coupled with the cessation / denuding of races such as the Welsh Champion Hurdle, hasn’t actually left very much there worth televising.
Exeter, meanwhile, would be classed as classier than it is if the deciding criterion were simply to provide a proper old-fashioned test of stamina; however, take the Haldon Gold Cup out of the reckoning and there’s only really the Devon National and Devon Marathon of any particular note.
Jeremy
(graysonscolumn)Adoptive father of two. The patron saint of lower-grade fare. A gently critical friend of point-to-pointing. Kindness is a political act.
Why do you think Northern Asset stripped Chepstow surely they need all their courses to do as well as possible and do you think that some courses futures maybe in doubt with possibly 61 courses soon arent some of them just no gonna be able to survive. now Exeter is in Jockey Club wont their profile be improved with planned investment
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As I’ve said on other threads what happens when Exeter rights comes up for renewal now they are part of Racing UK/ Jockey Club and if Ascot jump ship like they did to Turf TV where does ATR go then?
To the wall, hopefully?
Then we can have one channel, covering all the racing, properly presented, and with much less of the stultifying padding common to both current providers.
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