If any what are peoples views on BBC's coverage of the Derby on Saturday ??

Question

It's just in my humble opinion, channel 4 have provided excellent coverage and analysis of racing for the large majority of the year, which shows their true commitment to racing, and i think it is rather cheeky of the beeb to muscle in for only one of a few saturdays in the year, purely because the Derby is the most important race of the flat seasons calendar.

In protest i just walked to the bookmakers to watch it, though i had no betting interest.

Answer 1

I preferred it when it was run on a Wednesday, don't really care who shows it, we've lost enough racing to the racing channels as it is.

Answer 2

I think the BBC had the rights to screen Epsom this year so Channel 4 didn't have a say in the matter but I must agree that apart from the adverts I prefer the Channel 4 team (apart from the hairy one),

However I love the banter between Clare Balding and Willie Carson especially when he has to stand on his orange box to do interviews and Clare has to jog his memory sometimes when he gets things wrong.

As for the rest well not impressed at all,  they do have some strange ideas when it comes to presenters.

I would like to see more time allocated to viewing the horses in the paddock as this is the best chance to see how relaxed the horse, sweating up etc.  When I go to the races its the best 10 minutes you can spend before each race watching the horses parade before they go down to the start.

Both BBC and Channel 4 tend to spend too much time interviewing owners and personalities and then suddenly realise oh there mght be some horseracing going on here lets go over to ..... down at the start .... and there off.

I hope that this years Ascot coverage by the BBC will give more paddock time for the viewer, yes the fashions are very nice but some of us want to see the real stars of the show and watch some good quality racing.

Answer 3

I think the BBC offer good coverage of horse racing and if channel 4 wanted the rights that badly they would stump up the cash. That said they do a good job.

The one criticism I would have of the BBC is they fill the gaps with too much hype and not enough substance.

Answer 4

The bbc wants to make sure that we are not hogging all the benefits that the horse industry generates.  :)

Answer 5

I liked it best when Aussie Jim McGrath advised punters to "watch their Taj'ers today" (so as not to be confused between Tajweed and Tajaaweed - but it gained something in translation).

Answer 6

Rishi knows more than that long-legged twerp they had recruited for this year's meeting - who the heck was he?!

I'm glad that Clare is the anchor these days, why they ever used Sue Barker is beyond me.  Clare knows what she is talking about.

The problem with the BBC coverage is that they pander to the lowest common denominator, therefore those of us that know what we are talking about often feel like they are being talked down to.

The BBC has a "Frankie" bias, but he is the most well known racing personality - I mean how many ordinary non-racing folk could pick Tony McCoy out of a line-up?!

The BBC have been cutting back on their coverage for years, I'm very disappointed that they gave up Goodwood.

The best thing they ever did was to get rid of Lydia Hislop - or "Hideous Lislop" as she is reffered to in my office!

Answer 7

I despise Richey Persoault ( no idea in spelling) Its obvious he know nothing about horse racing, its embarrassing