Choices

 

As the Breeders Cup 2013 version fast approaches, Here are some thoughts from this neck of the woods:

Things go up, things go down. Maybe you caught Keith Olberman's show on ESPN2 this week about baseball television ratings. In 1971 37 Million people watched a Sunday afternoon Pirates World Series Game 3 win over the Baltimore Orioles. There were 61 million people in the United States at the time.

The 2013 World Series average game so far has about 12 million watching out of 300 million people.

But we live in a different world now, flooded with endless choices of entertainment including cable systems that gives you hundreds of channel choices as opposed to the 5 channel choices you had in 1971. We could do anything at anytime, between our TV's, computer and Smartphone it is all there at our fingertips. Today a weekday, I can choose from 24 different live sports events from college football, Pro Hockey, Pro Soccer, Golf, College Hockey, College Soccer, NBA Exhibition and more to watch on my cable system. Tomorrow, Saturday, that number will go over 100.  Throw in non sports entertainment choices and the choices are in the thousands.

Baseball, like Horse Racing is still very popular and those who love it will do so devotedly. When considering the other choices out there, it's actually amazing how both games have endured and how, in Racing, how many people weed through all the choices and choose to watch and bet on it.

NBC enters the gate for the Preakness

Orb is not the only winner in the Triple Crown Chase this year as NBC Sports had nice ratings for the Kentucky Derby.

Since than I have seen plenty of commercials on both the NBC and NBC Sports Network plugging the Preakness Stakes. NBC is also live streaming  the Preakness day on all media platforms (mobile, tablets, etc) on  their website.

It will be interesting to see if the Michele Beadle Bashing continues across Twitter. We all have complaints with different Sports commentators, play by play guys, commentators and the like but this particular woman appears to annoy some more than would seem appropriate. I first saw the term Beadle Bashing over at Pull the Pocket's blog and I like his take on the matter.

On Derby Day I was at a house party where you couldn't hear the TV Volume anyway so I can't comment on Beadles work. From the media critics columns I read, she did fine in the job she was employed too do. Where I come from, getting hired to do a job and than doing that job as assigned is a good thing.

Do you really want Beadle to start giving you exotic betting tips. It was not like Beadle was the solo host. If you wanted analysis listen to Randy Moss, Jerry Bailey, and others. If you want straight analysis, can't you just tune over to TVG, HRTV, your local OTB cablecast channel, or even just watch the live stream of your betting account or your Horse people full Twitter feed where analysis is 24/7 (and than some)? I don't see where hiring Beadle led to the letting go of any hard core racing analyst on the telecast (it didn't).

 Rather than lie down and take it, Beadle on her Twitter account gave it right back, probably much to the delight of her both her 750,000 plus followers and NBC executives.

Dead Heat Travers Reflections

Another Travers, another memorable race. I'll let others argue about the quality of the horses in the race, all  I can say I was among the 46,000 plus fans who witnessed the dead heat photo finish between Alpha and Golden Ticket.

Here's my reflections on this years Travers Stakes Day:

Alpha ended up being a pretty good bet. I know many prior to the race were bashing Alpha, but I felt the combo of Mclaughlin and Dominguez would be enough and publicly (on Thorofan's website) picked him as the winner. Yeah he was the favorite, but getting $4.10 back and doubling your money is not bad.

The betting day for me on the whole was a wash. I had a small win bet on Alpha, but missed all day on my exotics and the 3 pick 4's.

Made a bad audible call on leaving my Clubhouse seats to join friends at the Porch for table seating. We were at the far end of the porch, where the view of the track from our table was not all that good. Plus we got hit with the $18 "seating" fee which applies per person, not per table. My salad dish with 2 bottles of Bottled water cost me $50 not counting the tip (which the waiter expects to be calculated on the lunch and seating fee).

Next time I stick with my usual method of watching the races from my seats and grabbing lunch at the Shack Shack where I grab a Shake Burger and Beer for the more manageable $9 cost and mingle with friends at the Paddock Bar.

The post Travers fun included a fantastic dinner at The Wishing Well where I had Swordfish and for desert the classic creamy New York Style Cheeseake from the Nuns of New Skete followed by drinks downtown at the Adelphi and Sperry's.


So there you have it, another year older for all of us, another Travers Stakes in the books. They are unique, all so different, and this one will be etched in my memory bank forever.

Searching for the Oaks

I tried looking on the NBC Sports Network website to see if they would be covering the Kentucky Oaks. The website had plenty of Hockey news on the front page, and with they NBC covering the NHL, that makes sense. But I figured there would be a banner ad or something on the homepage which would link to the Kentucky Derby week coverage. After all it is only a week away. No such luck. There is a TV listings link which takes you to a page with the weeks TV listings for the NBC Channels. You can than hit another link to finally get to the page listing by specific day. I learned the coverage on Oaks day goes from 5-6 pm. I guess that means we just get the Oaks race and maybe one race before that. I don't know for sure as the website gives no further information. I am sure I could find out by checking out other sites or contacting the Churchill Downs Media office, but how many people, especially the casual fans, want to go through all those steps?

HBO's Luck-Series Finale Thoughts

HBO's Luck is now over for good with the season and now series finale airing Sunday night. As a racing fan, the last few weeks have been like a continual nightmare, the really bad one that keeps going forever, the one you think you will never wake up from.

First we hear of the sad news that HBO, under pressure from PETA after a 3rd Horse fatality, quickly decides to cancel Luck. On the real life tracks, we read of the deaths this season on the inner track at Aqueduct. And than, the NY Times this past Friday ran a front page story titled "Death and Disarray at America's racetracks".

With all this dreary news running circles in my head I watched the finale of Luck.
Although it was filmed with the assumption a second season would be coming, the season one finale does serve nicely as a fitting ending to the series.

Many early viewers of the show thought the show was dreary and dark, but there was a lot of hope and optimism in the final episode, from the competitive but mutual admiration of the two trainers, Turo and Walter as their horses finished one, two in the Big Stakes race, Ace reuniting with his grandson, and the Foray Stables Foursome and friends happily celebrating a big win with Mon Gateau.

I admired the many wonderful actors in this show, especially John Ortiz, who could have simply kept quiet after the cancellation news, but instead increased his many tweets (@johnortiz718) about the show, continued to show up for #LuckChat Twitter chats (final session on Monday 3/26 from 9-10pm) and personally tweeted thanks to many viewers who contacted him via Twitter.

As I said in my last post, I can't question HBO's decision to cancel the show. The deaths to the horses happened and despite the care that was taken by the production crew, the reality of what happened had to be dealt with. For some background on the treatment on the horses on set, Ray Paulick in his Paulick Report, details the great care the production crew took with the horses.

How fitting then that the show ended with just one actor on the screen, the equine actor playing 3 year old colt Pint o' Plain, standing peacefully in his stall. We see this beautiful horse poking his head out of the stall, and than the screen fades to black.

Out of Luck

After a reported 3rd death of a horse during the production of HBO's Luck, the series is no more, abruptly cancelled. The final episode of the 9 episode season 1 will be shown this Sunday March 25th. Work had begun on Season 2, but Season 2 is a no go.

No one wants to see animals hurt and not being on the set or knowing the safety protocols in place, I can't possibly argue in good faith that the series should continue. I trust the right decision was made.

I feel saddened for all involved including the fine actors involved. Particularly Richard Kind, John Ortiz and Kevin Dunn who all shined among the large cast.

I've read on the various websites and Twitter that the show was boring or uninteresting. Well TV is art and opinion of art is just that, we all have opinions and its all subjective. It is interesting to note that many of the critics watched only the 1st episode. As any fan of creator David Milch knows, his shows evolve over time with almost every spoken line in one episode a key to be remembered in future episodes. (Syntax is how I know, Syntax!)

Some found the show depressing and saw the characters as "down and out". I'd argue the shows characters were not down and out at all, but rather real people just like the many folks I've met over the years at the track. Look at the evolution of the 4 gamblers who were labeled simply degenerates by critics of the show. Had the critics stuck around to watch these 4 characters develop they would have seen they were more than that, 4 men with dreams and depths of emotions who loved not just gambling but the animals they bet on as well as each other.

What is so ironic with the cancellation is that with each episode you saw how much the human characters really cared for these horses. Last weeks episode faded to black with Dustin Hoffman's character sitting in his bed late at night watching on his laptop via webcam his prized 3 year old horse in his stall.

Luck Starting to Payoff

In our last post yours truly defended HBO's Luck. We argued that these type of series take investment of time and patience. Often it is difficult to see the depth of each character and where they are going but if you stay with it you will be rewarded.

After 5 episodes the payoffs are starting to come in. We now see that these characters are not purely one dimensional, they all have a story to tell. As for the track itself the last two episodes featured beautifully shot races. We all could quibble about the "reality" of the series but I'm enjoying it thus far.

Reviews since Episode 2 seem to be trending positive and twitter interest seems high as evidenced by the Luck Chat series on Monday Nights at 9 on Twitter (enter hastag #LuckChat). The Chats include series regular John Ortiz (Turo Escalante) and Chantel Sutherland among others. If your around Twitter at that time, check it out.

Defending HBO's Luck

Two episodes in for the HBO series Luck and many critics abound, calling it slow, boring, hard to understand, etc.

Maybe because I'm a David Milch (creator of Luck) fan I knew to expect slow character development. I loved his Deadwood series on HBO but watching the show took dedication to the many plot lines and story telling. I'm also a big fan of HBO's series in general, and a lot them also took time. Remember how many times you watched a Soprano's episode, and complained about the lack of action and confusing endings? And how many people missed the brilliance of the HBO series The Wire because they bailed early, confused by the many characters and plots.

These type of shows take investment of time in exchange for a build up and subsequent payoff. Yes reading tweets on twitter will give you an instant payoff but sometimes wading through a long book is worth the later payout.

Luck on HBO gets 2nd Season Go Ahead

After Just one episode Luck on HBO has been renewed for a second season. Based on some articles and blogs I read reviews were mixed. Some were displeased with the the characters in the show, feeling they were stereotypes and exaggerated caricatures. But remember stereotypes are there for a reason, they are usually true.

I have a few friends who are hard core racetrack gamblers who resemble the 4 slovenly gamblers who won the Pick 6 in the first episode. Anytime I have ever been to a track and retreat from the stands to watch the race from an inside simulcast TV, I see folks just like the gamblers portrayed on Luck. I love those guys-they are part of the fabric of the track and to omit them would be a white washing of who really inhabits the track. I also liked that the lingo was not dumbed down for a mass audience.

On the down side, I found the Dustin Hoffman character to be a bit over the top and his front man Dennis Farina, seemed almost too naive to be picked by the Hoffman character as a front man. But HBO dramas typically have a slow character build so lets see what happens.

Breeders' Cup Goes to NBS Sports

Really no surprise ESPN is out as the TV outlet for the Breeders' Cup coverage but I did figure it would happen not now but after their contract ran out in 2013. Over the 6 years ESPN had the Breeders' Cup their overall Horse racing coverage wilted, and this past year it really seemed they were just mailing it in.

So what to expect as the Breeders' Cup moves to NBC and NBC Sports Network (formerly Versus):

Not much bad news, although I will miss Jeannine Edwards and Kenny Mayne. Edwards never mailed it in and the humorous Mayne loves the game. Also, not everyone has the NBC Sports Coverage as part of their cable or satellite subscriptions. With less overall viewers the TV ratings might actually be down this year with the change.

However there is plenty of Good:

We get to keep seeing Randy Moss, who worked this summer for NBC on their "Summer at Saratoga" broadcasts.

We also get better branding as NBC now has the complete Triple Crown Races, a bunch of derby prep races, Saratoga racing coverage and now the BC. Now we know when it comes to racing we can turn on NBC or NBC Sports Network throughout the year, instead of wondering what or where we can find the TV coverage. As NBC continues to grow the NBC Sports Network Channel, it seems they will build it around several sports including Hockey and Horse racing. No longer will it be the ugly stepchild that ESPN treated it like.

Pilot Episode of Luck on HBO-DVR Alert

Certainly seems like HBO is putting a big push on promoting the new fictionalized series "Luck" -a behind the scenes look at the world of racing. If it fails it won't be for lack of talent. Headed by Dustin Hoffman, the show is loaded with veteran actors.

HBO has been running numerous promotional trailer ads on its' network and this Sunday, 12/11/11, the show's pilot episode will be shown at 10 pm following the season finale of the hit HBO series Boardwalk Empire.

The details of the pilot episode arrived in my hands and here is the cliff notes version:

As the series opens, Chester "Ace" Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) is released from three years in federal prison and is eager to get back into the racing game. We soon meet his buddy/driver/bodyguard Gus Demitriou (Dennis Farina), who will front as the owner of the $2 million Irish horse that Ace just bought.

The episode than introduces a talented but disreputable trainer (have you heard that one before?), the Peruvian Turo Escalante (John Ortiz). His girlfriend is track veterinarian Jo (Jill Hennessy).

Meanwhile we meet the veteran trainer-turned-owner Walter Smith (Nick Nolte). He also has a promising horse but he's wary as we get hints there is some sort of scandal behind the horse. Filling out the pilot we meet Four hard luck gamblers, Marcus (Kevin Dunn), Renzo (Ritchie Coster), Jerry (Jason Gedrick), and Lonnie (Ian Hart), as they pool their monetary resources to bet Jerry's Pick Six ticket.

In addition to the above actors the show also features Richard Kind, and current Jockey Chantal Sutherland and retired Jockey Gary Stevens.

Charismatic Documentary Thoughts

Thanks to my trusty DVR, I was able to watch the ESPN Documentary on Charismatic. In reading other blog recaps on the race, it seemed the diehards wanted more storytelling on Charismatic, the horse who won the first two legs of the 1999 Triple Crown. However the Documentary focused on the rise and subsequent fall of Jockey Chris Antley.

From a Documentary making standpoint, ESPN was wise to focus on Antley and his battles with drug addiction. The average viewer remains interested in an athletes struggle with addiction. One day after the Charismatic doc, ESPN went the same route again, as they aired a "E-60"documentary with former NY Mets Pitcher Dwight Gooden revealing was in a drug-induced haze and missed the Mets'1986 World Series victory parade.

If you wanted to learn more about Charismatic, you really didn't learn much but the storytelling on Antley was effective, although a bit rushed.

In other documentary notes, if you are in the Saratoga area, The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame will host a pair of screenings of the documentary film "The Last Train from Bay Meadows" on Wednesday, Nov. 2 and Thursday Nov. 3 at 7 pm. "The Last Train from Bay Meadows" portrays the history and the eventual closure of the longest continually running Thoroughbred track in California. The track closed in 2008 after nearly 75 years of operation. A discussion of the documentary with producer and director Jon Rubin will follow the screening each night. And the price is right as Admission is Free.

24/7 for Racing

The New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers will be featured on HBO's Emmy award winning 24/7 reality series in this years "24/7 FLYERS/RANGERS: ROAD TO THE NHL WINTER CLASSIC". The HBO series on the NHL debuted last year and the show received across the board fan and media critics approval. I'm sure it also brought more attention to the sport and only helped to bring in some new fans.

We wrote last year that Horse Racing would be perfect for the 24/7 reality series. HBO at the time was reportedly looking to pick up a new sport for the 24/7 franchise but so far no decision has been made.

The Travers Streak is Broken

There comes a time when all streaks are broken, and this is my year.
I have been lucky enough to be at Saratoga Race Course for the Travers Stakes every year since 2004. This year I will be in Long Island, attending my cousin's wedding.

Luckily the wedding couple are racing fans, and they have already arranged for the wedding Bar TV to be on NBC at 5 pm so the guests can watch the King's Bishop and the Travers. And of course thanks to NYRA's neat mobile wagering platform I will be able to bet straight from my Blackberry. But alas it will never be the same as being there live.

Looking back I was able to see some pretty good Travers races and horses since 2003. Here is a look back at some of the memories:

My favorite memories from the past 7 Travers Stakes:

2004: I will never forget the dark sky as the horses turned for home. Seconds after Birdstone crossed the finish line the winner the rain came down like nobody's business

2006: Never a doubt as Bernardini swept the Jim Dandy/Travers Double. One of the best looking horses you will ever see.

2007: Street Sense in a squeaker over Grasshopper

2008: Colonel John nips Mambo in Seattle by a nose (or was it 1/2 a nose) at the wire

2010: I hit my first ever Travers Trifecta taking home $970 on Afleet Express/Fly Down/1st Dude

What did we miss?

Back from a month break from the blogosphere. And except for a peak here and there at select blogs and twitter feeds, I stayed away from the game, only watching a few races and not betting on any of them. But alas, there are only 3 things that seem almost impossible to stay away from for most of us mere mortals, that being Gambling, Sex and Drinking. We can all put our hand on the bible and swear off the the above 3 alleged vices, but we all return soon enough all trying to get our share.

And so Saratoga is just 2 weeks away promising to deliver some of the rewards we seek. Complete with National TV weekend coverage on Versus and NBC, NYRA seems poised for a good meet, despite the parity in the 3 year old division.

In social news, Mary Lou Whitney will skip her usual Whitney Ball. The gaudy gala, held annually the night before the running of the Whitney Stakes, is famous for attracting socialites, and wanna bee's to the Canfield Casino in Saratoga Springs.

Some would criticise the display of opulence but I had no problem with it, especially when considering all the fundraising and charity events Mary Lou Whitney conducts for the backstretch workers.

The annual "Travers Celebration", held at the Saratoga Race Course the Thursday before the Travers Stakes, usually a formal dinner, is now labeled as a cocktail party with food stations. Tickets are $175 and the proceeds in part go to the BEST Backstretch group.

Belmont Stakes Week Television Coverage

A nice expansion of Belmont Stakes coverage by NBC Sports on NBC and Versus.

On Friday there will be live coverage from Belmont featuring the Grade 3 Poker Handicap on the Grade 2 Brooklyn Handicap on Versus from 5-6 pm.

On Saturday live coverage starts on Versus at 3 pm featuring the Grade 1 Just a Game, the Grade 2 True North Handicap, and the Grade 2 Woody Stephens.

At 5 pm NBC takes over with the Grade 1 Woodford Reserve Manhattan Handicap being shown before the Belmont Stakes. As was done for the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, Versus will have a 30 minute post race recap after NBC signs off.

How many times do you think we will hear from NBC that this is only the 2nd time in the last 15 years that the Derby and Preakness winner have faced off at Belmont? I give the over/under for the Versus/NBC Saturday coverage at 14 times. I don't mind the stat, but a half dozen times it was impossible as a horse was going for the triple crown.

With Animal Kingdom and Shackleford both showing up I expect a nice turnout at Belmont Park. On non triple crown years, the weather is always a big factor in attendance and the early forecast looks good with temps in the 70's under Partly sunny skies.

2011 Preakness Thoughts

I had the wrong washed out horse in Sway Away

Luckily the audio problems with the NBC race call of the Kentucky Derby were solved for the Preakness. I though the call of Larry Collmus was adequate but I miss Tom Durkin.

A lot of people complained about NBC not showing the Dixie Stakes won by Paddy O'Prado but I knew this was coming so no complaints here. NBC sticks with what works best-pre-taped emotional driven human interest stories, quick interviews and than the race.

107,000 strong for the Preakness, looks like the Kegasus promotion worked. Someone gets to keep his job at Pimlico.

Is is just me or does Bob Costas look as uncomfortable as he did the first time he ever did a racing gig? It seems his inner voice is just screaming, "get me out of here and onto a baseball broadcast!". Costas looks like he is out on a blind date he wants no part of.

Horse Racing Coverage-Versus Good...SiriusXM Bad.

I enjoyed the Versus Television Coverage of the Kentucky Derby weekend and look forward to it again for their Preakness coverage. In addition to the coverage of the Black Eyed Susan on Friday and Undercard coverage on Saturday-remember after the NBC Coverage there is a 30 minute wrap up show on Versus from 6:30-7:00 pm.

On the radio side very disappointed to learn of the changes (cuts) on SiriusXM Satellite radio's horse racing coverage. Steve Byk's At the Races show was broadcast live from 9 am -12pm weekdays on Sirius Channel 93 (and Channel 210 On XM). When Steve signs off the channel picks up the audio feed of TVG. I make my living on the road driving from appointment to appointment with ample windshield time. When I am driving, I can't be looking at a computer, Smartphone or TV, so listening to Steve Byk on Satellite radio and his many regular guests (Steve Haskin, Gary West, Steve Davidowitz among others) and hearing the audio of TVG was a godsend.

However this week SiriusXM made a programming change, broadcasting only 1 hour of Byk's show (from 8-9am) and no TVG coverage at Noon. Instead at 9 am SiriusXM listeners tuning to the channel now hear sports talk from 3 ESPN owned radio programs- ESPN Chicago’s Waddle and Silvy, ESPN New York’s Mike Lupica Show and Michael Kay Show.

WTF....instead of hearing something I can't hear on regular radio, I now lose racing coverage for simulcasts of general sports talk shows that can be heard on regular AM radio. No word yet if SiriusXM will find another station for Steve Byk's show and TVG coverage. Of course, SiriusXM Executives felt that the middle of Triple Crown season would be the perfect time to cut racing coverage and replace Byk and TVG.

Wrap Up of the Kentucky Derby TV Coverage

The Good:

Production Values: The NBC Sports Production crew shined as the production value was first rate. And if you watched it in HD, it looked even better. If ever a sport was made for High Definition it is Horse Racing.

Broadcast Crew: On Derby Day Laffit Pincay III and Randy Moss handled the coverage on Versus while Tom Hammond and Gary Stevens took over on NBC. Always love the old pro Tom Hammond but much prefer Randy Moss over Gary Stevens. Randy Moss explains just enough for the casual viewer to understand without dumbing it down for the hardcore fan.

Hours of Coverage: No complaints here as Versus had the coverage from 11-4 pm, NBC from 4-7 pm and than Versus with post race coverage from 7-7:30 pm. 6 races including the Derby were shown on the 2 channels.

The Bad:

The segments featuring correspondent Maria Menounos: Like any red blooded male I enjoy seeing a short 30 seconds or so interview with Maria interviewing a hot chick, but it got quite campy when throughout the 2 broadcasts they paraded hot chick after hot chick telling us that they are betting on Pants on Fire because she has a female jockey.

The audio on the race call: The call by Larry Collmus was actually pretty good, that is if you could actually hear it. I only know what he said because I played it over a couple times on the NBC Sports Website. Collmus followed the golden rule of calling every horse in the field and their position by the first turn, he correctly noticed Animal Kingdom's move down the final stretch,called him the winner smoothly right before the line and than quickly called out the 2nd-4th finishers seconds after.

But let's be honest, who really heard the call? Watching live on NBC all I could hear was an annoying echo combination of Collmus and Churchill Tracks announcer Mark Johnson in the background. Try explaining to the casual fan why two announcers are calling the race at the same time with one slightly louder than the other.

Smooth Start for NBC Sports Derby Coverage

Day one of NBC Sports Coverage of the Kentucky Derby started today with a 2 hour slot on the NBC owned Versus channel. The first hour was a "Derby Classics" special featuring the NBC footage of the 2004 Derby won by Smarty Jones.

The second hour was the Derby Draw Coverage. The hosts for NBC/Versus were the venerable Tom Hammond, Gary Stevens and Randy Moss.

Production quality was high and the 3 hosts worked fine together. Based upon the opening introduction in the first hour it appears NBC will focus on the following 3 story lines:

1. Can Calvin Borel , winner of 3 of the last 4 Derby editions, win again on Twice the Appeal
2.Can Rosie Napravnik become the first female Jockey to win the Derby aboard Pants on Fire
3. the heart warming story of Trainer Kathy Ritvo and the Mucho Macho Man ownership group.

The Derby TV coverage draws in a huge amount of female viewers and NBC wisely chose 2 stories with female angles. The Borel story is also a no brainer as most casual fans only know one Jockey, and that is Borel.

Appears NBC is also wary of the Uncle Mo story line. With the chance probably 50/50 that Mo scratches, NBC is not taking the risk to plug a horse that might not even load in the gate.