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Post by Admin on Dec 31, 2016 17:25:38 GMT
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Post by Admin on Jan 1, 2017 17:46:43 GMT
It`s pouring with rain at Cheltenham racecourse on a Sunday afternoon and there`s three men stood under dripping umbrellas. The man in the middle is Tony (AP) McCoy and he`s not looking very happy. Nor would I faced with the prospect of having to stand there, in the cold and the rain for the best part of two and a half hours.
Meanwhile, and throughout the programme there`s this man called, I think Matt or Mathew who spends his entire afternoon running around the racecourse talking - correction, shouting at all and sundry but still finding time in his own self-importance to invite us all to guess if an on course bookie called Greg has any hair underneath his woolly hat. Still not content, later on in the programme Matt or Mathew goes on to criticise another bookmaker for not being able to spell the word `forecast`! This in front of millions of viewers. Nice work Matt or Mathew - I`m [not] rolling around here laughing at your having fun at the expense of others.
Towards the end of the programme the three men are still stood there in exactly the same spot, under their nice green umbrellas looking decidedly jaded. But hey, the show must go on rain or no rain. Bravo! I say. That is until Matt or Mathew joins our trio and the conversation. Poor old A P puts on a brave face and tries to make a decent fist of it (no pun intended), but fails. A shake of the head conveys just how he feels. I feel pretty much the same. It`s bad enough to have to stand two and a half hours in the rain. Least I didn`t have to put up with that!
Clan Des Obeaux came a close second and might have won had he not floundered at the second last fence, or `hurdle` as they say on ITV. Lizzie Kelly did just great on Agrapart to win the second last race at Cheltenham, the 3.10, but just by a `whisper`.
PS. I liked Oli Bell, looking forward to seeing him again, at Sandown.
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Post by selene33 on Jan 5, 2017 9:42:26 GMT
I don't think I'll be able to put up with much of Matt. I will have to switch the volume off. The camera work and quality of the images was much better than Channel 4, some of their broadcasts haven't been in the advertised HD and they haven't had enough cameras at the meetings. ITV's firsr broadcast could have been worse, look forward to it improving on ITV4. I have had to upgrade my package to include this on HD.
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Post by Admin on Jan 5, 2017 11:49:54 GMT
I don't think I'll be able to put up with much of Matt. I will have to switch the volume off. The camera work and quality of the images was much better than Channel 4, some of their broadcasts haven't been in the advertised HD and they haven't had enough cameras at the meetings. ITV's firsr broadcast could have been worse, look forward to it improving on ITV4. I have had to upgrade my package to include this on HD. If this Matt fella carries on as he did last Sunday I`ll be switching more than the sound off, I`ll switch the whole thing off and go watch the Simpsons on Channel 4 (which I nearly did on Sunday). Anything has to be better than his shananigans (did I spell that right). As for the picture quality, I strongly disagree. The actual racing coverage was very good, but the rest, eg the three under the brolley, did no one think to run a cloth over the camera lens! If they had then we might have had some decent pictures and not the misted up obscure images that we were given. This, two minutes into their very first broadcast when professionalism is key and they ought to have been out to impress, from the off. pardon the pun.
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Post by selene33 on Jan 7, 2017 23:29:55 GMT
It was a lot better coverage this week. They had clearly looked at feedback and Matt was more professional and restrained. Much better than the Channel 4 coverage and that includes the old team of Tommo, Alistair Down and Big Mac.
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Post by Admin on Jan 8, 2017 16:18:08 GMT
Thanks for posting selene33, I didn`t watch the racing yesterday, I was so disappointed with last week`s fiasco, went for a walk instead. One man and his clowning around, day one, has done ITV Racing a whole lot of damage, I believe. The worst of it is, they have the monopoly as no other channel or station broadcasts horse racing live. Unless maybe one of the subscription channels does!
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Post by selene33 on Jan 9, 2017 11:14:59 GMT
There are two subscription channels and one of the At the Races is available on Sky and Virgin packages. Racing UK is £25 a month and for none HD images and Matt Chapman clowning around I certainly wouldn't subscribe and I would think that it is only worthwhile for those in the industry.
Do give it a try next week because I think they are listening to criticism and the broadcasts will continue to improve.
One problem is of course that on ITV4 the images are not HD for Freeview and I had to upgrade my Virgin package to get ITV4 in HD. Still a small increase a month is better value than paying for non HD Racing UK as I also get 52 HD channels; many of course will never be watched, but that's the way, sadly.
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Post by Admin on Jan 10, 2017 12:40:30 GMT
Thanks selene, Think I`ll pass on the susbcription channels as an alternative to ITV. I will give them (ITV) another go on Saturday - unless the weather`s really, really nice, in which case I`ll probably go walking again.
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Post by Admin on Jan 27, 2017 21:41:52 GMT
It`s the Betbright Trial Cotswold Chase, at Cheltenham tomorrow (Sat 2.15) and again my money is on Thistlecrack. I`m also having an each way bet on 66/1 runner (at time of writing), Perfect Candidate. Missed the last couple of weeks racing, so looking forward to tomorrow. Hope to see Brough Scott again, been ages!
Come on Thistlecrack!!
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Post by Admin on Jan 28, 2017 17:45:38 GMT
It`s been an exciting and an emotional afternoons racing at Cheltenham. where to start! I like Ed Chamberlain, liked his presentation style from day 1. Matt Chapman, I`m not so sure about, he comes across as a bit of a bully. His "remind you of anyone?" comment when handing over to Ed was very childish, I thought (this was a cross reference to a horse that someone had called a `nutter`.) Ed`s come back response was swift and cutting, "Yes Matt Chapman!" I don`t know what it is with these two, but I sense a tension between them, something akin to banter and a genuine hostility. Of the two, Ed Chamberlain comes across as the professional. I think, (just my thoughts) that one of them has to go! No prizes for who would get my vote!
So far as the actual coverage goes, I think ITV did a decent enough job today, given all the circumstances. Some of the camera shots into direct sunlight were unavoidable, especially during a race, and there were a lot of very exciting races, but the other `into the sun` shots were quite unnecessary. Ok, we haven`t had a lot of sunshine lately, but when it does shine, I`m not going to look at it, thank you very much! Certainly not for any length of time (it makes my eyes ache), so why should I have to "look at the sun" on my TV screen? Please ITV Racing, this is as bad as showing a flashing image! This is why some of the more `responsible` broadcasters put up warning notices.
However, things can only get better, and I do see a lot of things have improved with ITV Racing since their first broadcast on New Years Day. Seems like a lifetime ago!
The worst of it is that today we lost another great racehorse - the magnificent and courageous Many Clouds. Many Clouds who ran his heart out (literally) to win the Betbright Trial Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham, beating Thistlecrack into 2nd place in a thrilling photo finish. He collapsed immediately after crossing the line, exhausted by his efforts. A brave and a gallant racehorse. In an interview, later, Many Clouds owner showed great composure and dignity, saying he (Many Clouds) would have ridden through a brick wall for him. My condolences to all of Many Clouds connections, the stable boys and girls - everyone!
As I said, an exciting and an emotional day`s racing and well done ITV Racing; when all`s said and done, other than a few minor frustrations on my part (I`m not easy to please, has to be said), the coverage today was very good, especially that which covered the loss of Many Clouds, which was done with much sensitivity and feeling, especially so by Ed Chamberlain in his interview with Many Clouds owner.
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Post by Admin on Feb 11, 2017 16:34:56 GMT
A great day`s racing today from Newbury and Warwick and good to see a race at that course called, fittingly, `The Kingmaker` (see points-of-view.freeforums.net/thread/435/greatest-knight-william-marshal ). the coverage, I thought was very good, as good as Channel 4 on a typical Saturday. I`m a little bit concerned that the presenters are still stood out there, exposed to the elements, but if they`re happy, then fine. Though even Matt was shivering towards the end, and he`s not stuck on the one spot like the others. Good to see Brough Scott too, haven`t seen him in years. Very knowledgeable. Altior ran a cracking race to win the 3.00 at Newbury, a fine looking horse (amazing forehead star) and a real threat to Thistlecrack, hard to tell which is the best between the two. As jumpers I think Altior has the edge on Thistlecrack. So (I never thought I`d be saying this) keep up the good work ITV.
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