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Now Ascot has defected ATR is very much left with the lower quality UK racing. At least there is less for them to squeeze into their pathetic Racing Review programme. We are in the middle of the NH season, but ATR decide to show all the AW flat action from Wolverhampton followed by only the closing stages from Doncaster and Lingfield.
I don’t think having all UK racing on one channel would be a good idea. There would be far too many clashes with split screens all over the place.
Racing UK do a pretty good job and the subscription hasn’t increased for years so I think it’s good value for money. You know what you’re getting for your money and it is optional unlike the TV licence fee.
The full race replays after live racing are exactly what some of us who have been at work all day want. Remember a few years ago when they used to broadcast US racing in the evening on their Racing World channel. Very few subscribers tuned in, so it was eventually closed down.
....and you've got to look a long way back for anything else.
I’m a Sky customer and I’ve been getting this split second picture freeze for some time too. At first I thought it was a big tree opposite our house, but that’s been chopped down and I don’t get this on any other channel.
With both Sky and Virgin customers affected, the conclusion must be that this a technical problem with the channel. Either a problem with the frequency it’s broadcast on, or a glitch Sky need to sort out.
Nice to know it’s not a problem with our equipment, but annoying all the same.
....and you've got to look a long way back for anything else.
Has anyone else noticed that the feed on ATR keeps freezing for a split second ever so often has only started happening since the revamp usually during a race?
Yes, this has been going on for a while, but I can’t get a straight answer as to what the problem is. Virgin have checked my equipment and replaced the set-top box, but claim everything is fine. However, a couple of engineers have told me this freezing can be caused by warm weather affecting the feed.
A year or so ago, the pictures froze for 3 or 4 seconds every few minutes on RUK and some sky sports channels.
If you happen to be a Sky customer and are having the same problem, this would suggest it’s a broadcast issue.
....and you've got to look a long way back for anything else.
Hang on a minute, ATR are replaying Killarney from the 30th!!! I’m going to have to have a lie down.
First time they have ever shown a meeting from a previous day since the move. Maybe they have realised their screw up from yesterday.
Now, what about Hereford and Fontwell? Think I may be expecting miracles there.
....and you've got to look a long way back for anything else.
ATR has definitely gone downhill with their programming and numerous errors and omissions.
Today’s racing review fiasco was typical.
Some of the more observant of you may have noticed on one of the reviews of a Newcastle meeting last week, they managed to broadcast a graphic for the correct 1m 6f race with a totally different sprint race from an earlier meeting, followed by the correct head on and sp graphic.
This also happened earlier in the year when a NH flat race from Uttoxeter was mysteriously replaced on the review with a chase, again from an earlier meeting.
The change in commentator should have given it away.
How do they manage it?
I did think of starting a thread highlighting all the errors on the racing reviews, but don’t think I would have the time to document them all.
I used to enjoy both ATR and RUK equally, but ATR have shown a definite disregard for their viewers recently. RUK are not perfect by any means, but when they received complaints concerning omissions of meetings on their replay a couple of months ago, a reply was quickly read out on air the next day and the error corrected on the that day’s replay. Any complaints to ATR are just ignored.
....and you've got to look a long way back for anything else.
Three races off at 5.45 Newcastle, Bangor & Dundalk nothing due off then until 6.05.
Who decides these things? Surely not difficult to send something off at 5.50 or 5.55 is it?
In the end four went off at 5.45 as Warwick 5.40 was delayed.
Cartmel had a 5.50 and Downpatrick had a 5.55 (Both meetings abandoned).
You would have thought Newcastle could have delayed by 5 minutes, but no, no initiative, no common sense.
....and you've got to look a long way back for anything else.
Tend to agree, RUK can show every race in full several times in their Racing Replay, unlike ATR who can’t be bothered to show a replay of some meetings at all now.
The real culprit is the race planning department of the BHA. UK races should have a minimum of 10 minutes between them. Five minutes is not really enough, although you can get away with it if races go off bang on time during the flat season.
Unbelievably there are still examples of only five minute breaks being scheduled following 3 mile races which is just not physically possible.
Another demonstration that there is too much racing and that racing is run to suit bookmakers demands.
....and you've got to look a long way back for anything else.
Was amazed to see that all the races on today’s card at Lingfield were run on turf, highly unusual nowadays.
I think 5th and 21st September meetings will also be turf only. Don’t get too excited though, unfortunately the new AW surface should be ready by the 17th October meeting.
....and you've got to look a long way back for anything else.
It seems to have started out as the plain "Bic Razors Handicap Hurdle" in 1984 – there was no equivalent race at the meeting in previous years.
The Gold Cup element was added the following year.
1989 was the final running under Bic sponsorship.
1990 running took place on the AW track.
1991 Back on the turf as Lingfield Gold Cup H’cap Hurdle
Several poor years followed with small fields. 2000 provided an improvement with increased prize money and a 16 runner field.
2001 Final running
....and you've got to look a long way back for anything else.
Yes, I have the following:
1987 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Me2hr50q7n4
1988 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frltgTHtCC8
1989 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmM21KqGlWw
1996 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvnSngDzxIM
1997 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVCxkPEQei4
1998 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbIsFTvNPzU
1999 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bqPXuowJkM
2000 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TIjKlCYfAw
2001 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIKOYB1ltfs(1990-1995 meetings not televised)
The 1990 meeting was run on the AW. After that it reverted to turf under various different sponsors up until 2001.
....and you've got to look a long way back for anything else.
I’ve long been a fan of the Review but I don’t entirely agree with some of the comments.
When all races were shown in their entirety, you could wait three weeks or more for some meetings to be shown (usually Irish ones). Cutting out the first half of a few NH races means all meetings can be shown which must be an improvement.
An improvement???
Stratford and Tramore didn’t get shown at all on the review today.
You won’t be waiting 3 weeks for these, they wont be shown at all now.
As much as I like seeing Zoey Bird first thing in the morning, I would prefer to have seen a review of Stratford.
....and you've got to look a long way back for anything else.
I see Hereford are missing the fence in the home straight (again) tonight.
....and you've got to look a long way back for anything else.
The latest examples have been the last fence and the last hurdle in the back straight at Hexham,
In fairness to Hexham conditions were dire yesterday and the ground would have been genuinely unsafe to jump the final flight in the back straight. Ditto the two omitted fences.
I only walked part of the course, the relatively better part, and I called it squelchy.
Someone who walked the entire course called it heavy, very heavy in places and with the ongoing rain there were patches of standing water in places.
Hexham were not only lucky to stage the meeting in the first place they were exceptionally lucky to get through the entire card.
The question I would throw back to you is which is preferable – omitting a couple of obstacles or calling the entire meeting off?
Understandable in extreme ground conditions, but the point I’m getting at is omissions are becoming too frequent.
Uttoxeter and Sedgefield, to name only two, regularly find an excuse to omit obstacles. The reasons may be valid, but it appears the courses can’t cope with the amount of racing as this didn’t seem to happen as often in past seasons.
....and you've got to look a long way back for anything else.
What a shame Worcester have done away with their traditional chase course. There has always been plenty of space at Worcester as the hurdles course took over the flat course (when they ceased flat racing).
I guess that means the water jump down the back straight has gone too.
I am not a fan of these portable fences they encourage lazy jumping and I also like to see chases and hurdles split up throughout the meeting. I wonder which other course will now go down this route after, Southwell, Haydock and now Worcester?
The water jump in the back straight disappeared many years ago.
....and you've got to look a long way back for anything else.
I have also noted that Worcester seem to be going down the same route as Southwell as regards having Steeplechases first then the hurdles with a Bumper inbetween if they have one down.
For me i dont like it and prefer it how it used to be.
I cannot understand why they have done it as they have plenty of turf to use at Worcester.
A direct result of switching to portable fences. They wouldn’t want to be wheeling fences and hurdles on and off the course every half hour, so they just switch obstacles once during a meeting as Southwell do.
I would guess they are trying to create two courses out of one to produce fresh turf, that hasn’t been raced on, for the latter part of their season.
....and you've got to look a long way back for anything else.
Fantastic news!
We don’t need any more fixtures and certainly no more all weather meetings.....and you've got to look a long way back for anything else.
I’ve got that illness, Alzei…. sorry, I can’t remember what it is. But anyway, I must have listened to thousands of race commentaries over the last 25 years and I can honestly say, by an absolutely mile, Matt Chapman is the worst race caller I’ve ever listened to.
The other day he didn’t even call the names of the horses, he was so busy telling us the breeding of the horses and by the time the finish line approached he was saying something like, "And in first it’s the son of Gallileo" etc.
And there was another time he was calling the race by jockey names.
He is awful – get rid of him, the sooner the better.
Couldn’t have put it better myself.
....and you've got to look a long way back for anything else.
We don’t need any more fixtures and certainly no more all weather meetings.