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I’m all for racing living long and prospering, but how would you feel if one day you learn that some of your colleagues have run up crippling gambling debts due to your own infectious enthusiasm for racing/gambling?
I speak from experience, having introduced a friend to punting years ago when I never knew any better.
Well, they’re unlikely to run up cripping debts if they get enthused in the same way that I do. The only reason I did a Lucky 15 in the first place was because I could bet with a 10p unit stake & not get laughed out of the bookies.
Seriously though, most of the people I know like a punt, some of them risk far more money than I’d be comfortable with but none of them do it on the racing. One guy keeps trying to get me betting on the football, another keeps telling me about his exploits in the casino. And more fool them to be honest.
I agree that Channel 4 mostly do a good job. The problem they have is timing. Most ‘normal’ people aren’t out of bed at eight on a Saturday & I’d imagine most have ‘better’ things to do of a Saturday afternoon.
I’m going to get slaughtered for this, but I think they should broadcast a few AW evening meetings. Or at least wait until the summer months for a few turf evening meetings. Show the racing at a time when people are free to watch.
If they really want to scrape the barrel, Channel Five could show US racing of an evening instead of that Quiz Call bobbins.
They’re the only meetings that I would attempt to have a conversation about with the people at work.
I keep trying to get people at my work interested. One of the managers asked me how a Lucky 15 works a couple of weeks ago, I was so proud!
I think there is a larger audience for racing out there, they just don’t know it yet!
Surely there are only two race meetings that attract the ‘wider audience’..Royal Ascot, because of the fashion and the Grand National because it’s a national institution.
I wouldn’t say Royal Ascot attracts an audience that would actually watch the racing, it’s just a few photos of pretty ladies on page 14 of The Sun & then it’s onto the next celeb scandal.
That’s an idea, get John Francombe to go on a three day drugs & booze bender with Amy Winehouse. Something to get in the papers!
The Hennessey isn’t where I saw that Mon Mome might win it again, it was that hurdle race he ran in.
I’ve seen Comply Or Die do hurdles seemingly ‘just for the run’ & he faded tamely whereas MM didn’t.
You make the C4 producers sound like geniuses and the show a great success. I’ve never particularly gone down the path that racing coverage needs to appeal to a wider audience, I don’t believe anyone will watch racing who isn’t already interested in it apart from occasionally, on the likes of National day.
I don’t know one person who didn’t previously watch the sport has been converted by the quality of coverage on the BBC or C4 over the last few years.
If broadcasters are so good at doing it why are the BBC not showing any further coverage of the sport till Aintree and C4 need to receive substantial payments to broadcast it.Racing coverage should be aimed at people who actually want to watch it not this mythical "wider audience".
I’m sorry but that’s total rubbish. Racing coverage should try it’s upmost to attract a wider audience.
I’ve only watched racing keenly since 2008 but I watched Channel 4 racing many times before then. If it had been presented by charisma free industry guys only aiming for the converted, I may never have tuned in again.Just a thought too, but if Channel 4 did manage to get racing appealing to a wider audience, perhaps they could attract better advertisers, then the subsidy wouldn’t need to be so great would it?
If Mon Mome goes off top weight, I think we might see the mighty return of Comply Or Die into the Aintree winners enclosure.
I keep hold of all my betting slips until I can get home & check the results online. I nearly lost £150 on the Arc in 2008 because my bookie called my horse 4th when it actually dead heated for 3rd.
The only other punter i despise are those that stick pound after pound in a one armed bandit to watch 3 cherries spin round! The word discipline springs to mind!
I have a sure fire system for bandits & video poker. I go into my local arcade with a sprinkling of spare change (let’s say 60p) with the mindset ‘what do I want without breaking into another note?’ Let’s say in this example I want a cheesburger happy meal (£1.99), I stick my 60p in & once I’ve won the £2 I walk out again. It’s surprising how often this works. It’s people who win a few quid & put it all back in in the vain hope of a couple more pounds that I despise.
I think with Mac, it’s friendly banter when Tanya Stephenson does it (and also Francombe or Thommo) but Jim McGrath gives him an pointlessly hard time.
It’s a nice little double act that Stephenson & Mac have. Yesterday had me chuckling when TS suggested having an e/w punt in a seven runner race.
Edit: Just read the post from just before mine, maybe I’ve got it totally wrong!
I’m not especially impressed by the coverage at all today.
They clearly can’t be bothered with an A/W card & I’m surprised they didn’t cobble together a ‘Review Of 2009’ given that it always looked likely Sandown would be off.Still, at least Alice Plunkett can muster a bit of enthusiasm if for no other reason than to keep warm!
Flintoff went from Venetia Williams to Tim Vaughan too didn’t he?
Just looking at his past form, I reckon we might see him in with a chance over two & a half miles on Good ground.
This is my real name, however my middle name shall remain a secret, I’m not totally reckless!
I think racing yesterday was the right decision. Having seen some of the mudbaths that horses are asked to run in, I don’t think the ground was much of an issue. That said, I’m not a racing man so that’s just my opinion.
As for the racing, I was pleased and upset by the Victor Chandler (backed the winner but sad loss of Hold Em)
The race that really caught my attention was the Freedom Hurdle. Odd really, because hurdling is the form of racing I like the least & I much prefer bigger fields but I thought it was an excellent race. Just waiting for Sentry Duty to make his move all the way round was very exciting.
Was anyone else suprised at the prices Sentry Duty & Katchit were available at? I can imagine there being a few people putting tidy sums on those two. Having said that, I think AP may have been a little distressed by the fate of Hold Em & I think it may have effected the result of the hurdle.
Very very sad. That he was brought down made it all the more tragic. Some losses have made me very sad this year: Hold Em, Spanish Conquest & Chief Editor hit me particularly hard.
Incidentally, does anyone else find the way fatalities are reported to be quite annoying? Neither the Sporting Life nor Racing Post report of the race mentioned the fatality. I’m no animal rights activist but I think at the very least, the press should acknowledge when horses die whilst racing.
I don’t think the bookies offering short prices for races next year could be described as ‘robbing’ but they’re definitely shooting themselves in the foot. Why would you put your cash on the line now when the price is hardly likely to have contracted much by raceday?
I like to think of it this way: I admire the way Alex Ferguson is able to lead his team to the league title almost every year but I get more excited about the prospect of them being beaten by Southend in the Cup.
In racing terms, I admire Kauto Star hugely but my ‘moment’ of the year was a 100/1 National winner (and not just because I had money on him)