All Together Now - By Lenny Shulman

re: All Together Now - By Lenny Shulman

Ellie — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 05:47:49 GMT

OUCH!!!! That's gonna hurt to not have Jerry Bailey commentating. I

was so grateful when he started commentating on the races-he made things so much more interesting. Loved to see things from his point of view, and better interviews from the jocks as they all obviously respect and like Jerry. Back to the boring fluff.

re: All Together Now - By Lenny Shulman

predict — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 01:12:54 GMT

Good to hear that NBC will be handling the triple crown races, I haven't been much of an NBC fan in the past, but this could be a beginning to gaining my respect for this network. Didn't Comcast just become a majority owner in this network? Maybe the influence they now have was a big part of this programming. Hurray, for monopolies.

re: All Together Now - By Lenny Shulman

theoph1000 — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 20:05:15 GMT

1. good idea on consolidating the three to one network

2. Randy Moss is by far the best

3. Kenny Mayne is funny

4. Hank Goldberg and Tom Hammond are both simply painful to watch

re: All Together Now - By Lenny Shulman

paul — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 04:24:05 GMT

Lenny hows about an update as to the whereabouts of jockeys in the past ,what they are doing now,examples robby davis,jean cruget,jacinto vasquez,helidoro gustines,george martens,baeza and ycaza,pincay,jorge velasquez,and others.

re: All Together Now - By Lenny Shulman

Arts and Letters — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 01:55:30 GMT

Re: getting new fans and focusing on the beauty and thrill of the sport -- I always thought it would be a good idea on special occasions for tracks to give away copies of kid's horse racing books (Walter Farley, Joanna Campbell, etc) to all the children that show up that day. Literacy and horse racing! What could be better?

re: All Together Now - By Lenny Shulman

Rowner — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 16:51:35 GMT

Lenny,Steve and Stable boy would get my vote. Love, And They're Off never miss it. What we need is a good mix of celeb vs horses and handicapping. I too still pine for the days of Wide World of Sports and Jim Mckay.

re: All Together Now - By Lenny Shulman

AngelaFromAbilene — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 13:48:31 GMT

Racing on NBC sucks! I'll wait for the replays on TVG and not suffer through any of NBC's commentary.

re: All Together Now - By Lenny Shulman

sceptre — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 04:36:05 GMT

NBC would like to attract a large audience. The Industry, first and foremost, would like to attract new fans. The goals are similar, but not identical. As to the latter (attract new fans)-I'm fairly certain the best approach would be through appealing to emotion. In the week, or weeks, leading up to the Derby offer short snippets/background (on TV), perhaps one at a time (i.e., only one per brief segment), of the contenders. Then, on the Derby show itself, fashion it from an emotional perspective. Tom has the right voice, and could set the right tone. Be extra careful regarding choice of background music, and display as much beauty as possible-try also to display the horses in their best "light". Please, please, have the cameras exclusively on the horses (jocks up) as they play My Old KY Home and throughout the entire post parade (as was done years before). Do the same with Maryland My Maryland (for Preakness), and same, and return to Sidewalks Of NY for the Belmont. Appeal to the heart-the beauty of it all-and foster rooting interests. That's how you'll attract new fans. It's what captured me, more than 50 years ago.

re: All Together Now - By Lenny Shulman

Dr Drunkinbum — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 04:16:01 GMT

Lenny

Brilliant monologue in the latest segment of "And They're Off," concerning our overuse of drugs in racing horses. I agree 100% that it is detrimental to the health of the horse and to the breed. We need to crawl out of our cave and get in step with the rest of the world and join civilization in this matter. Racing horses do not need drugs. If they need therapeutic drugs at minimal doses during time off to help them recover and to ease their pain then that's OK but they still need to be monitored for abuse. And the penalties for abusing horses with drugs need to be much stiffer. I also agree with you on the SA Fall racing dates and the GP Dec dates. I'm especially excited about the possiblity of Dec at GP enhancing the Derby Trail and helping to get them on the ball earlier and more often. Would you be interested in running for President of a newly formed national body to implement and enforce necessary changes in the sport for the health and safety of these magnificent animals in our care? It can only help the sport and it's stature in the public eye, and help bring new fans into the sport.

re: All Together Now - By Lenny Shulman

Convene — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 03:36:03 GMT

For those oft-overlooked fans north of the border, this is good news. Unless we're among the affluent instead of just workin' folks, we can't get ESPN (which is why, if I didn't subscribe to HPiTV, I would have missed most of the Breeders Cup) so having NBC running the show means everyone gets to watch. I have friends who love the sport but don't get HPiTV. Now they can be sure of seeing all.

re: All Together Now - By Lenny Shulman

Jim C. — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 02:51:35 GMT

Jon Rand said: "Like him or not, Costas adds credibility to any event he covers."

Oh, please. He knows nothing about horse racing, and takes himself WAY too seriously. He is insufferable.

Why not have Lenny and Steve anchor the Triple Crown coverage?

re: All Together Now - By Lenny Shulman

Arts and Letters — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 02:48:57 GMT

Picture the situation in Western Canada - we get the non-cable channels (NBC etc), and the Canadian sports channel covered the Belmont and the Breeders Cup, plus we get coverage from Woodbine every Sunday, but no ESPN, no TVG, no HRTV. Nothing, nada, zip. Basically, if it doesn't air on a non-cable channel, we don't get it. A few years back, I remember wondering what the big deal was about Smarty Jones since I hadn't seen him in a single race before the Derby. The Dubai World Cup has never aired on any Canadian channel, as far as I know. The first year ESPN carried the Breeders Cup, I had to wait two weeks until a friend in Texas could mail me the tape.

So, no matter how bad the coverage may seem in the US, just remember - it could always be worse.

That said, thank heavens for Blood Horse's race replays and some of the streaming options that are starting to appear.

re: All Together Now - By Lenny Shulman

HTJ West — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 01:42:30 GMT

No need to take cheap shots at Lenny, Trebloc. I suppose you never heard of Stable Boy, either.

re: All Together Now - By Lenny Shulman

Trebloc — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 01:08:51 GMT

I know this is off topic, but I just finished watching, "And They're Off" and I have one question: Was the uniform of the day a maroon short sleeve shirt over a black shirt or a black short sleeve shirt over a maroon shirt? Check out what Lenny and Stable Boy are wearing?

re: All Together Now - By Lenny Shulman

HappyHoof — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 23:48:13 GMT

Mike Repole, can your Pirate's Booty snacks entice NBC with some advertising dollars?

re: All Together Now - By Lenny Shulman

Jon Rand — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 23:26:22 GMT

Like him or not, Costas adds credibility to any event he covers. Like them or not (and I do), Mayne and the Hammer actually pick horses and discuss gambling. And how come I'm familiar with all three but have never heard of Lenny Shulman before today? And probably never will again.

re: All Together Now - By Lenny Shulman

Trebloc — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 22:46:02 GMT

What if, NBC could get Charlie Sheen on a horse to interview the winning jockey?

re: All Together Now - By Lenny Shulman

MagicfaninDC — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 20:38:46 GMT

I am very sorry that NBC will carry this. Not only will I miss Randy Moss and Jerry Bailey, but I could not stand the NBC coverage in the past. There was a lot of fashion, Desperate (or was it Real?) Housewives, and cooking but very little about horse racing. Does it have to be so silly to attract viewers?

re: All Together Now - By Lenny Shulman

slee — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 18:55:28 GMT

I'm not sure having all races on NBC is win-win-win, but it could be if NBC wants it to be.

1. I like the idea of hiring Randy Moss and Jerry Bailey over from ESPN. Spring - work at NBC. Fall - work at ESPN. But whoever gets the job (I like the idea of Steve H. and/or Lenny S.), please hire somebody who knows the sport!

2. When Bob Costas was first assigned to horse racing, I believe his response was "why me?" He knew little about the sport and agreed to be "the face" to do intros because NBC needed somebody the public already knew. Fine, he's a smart guy, and has a voluminous sports database, so keep him on intros and play to his strengths.

3. ADVERTISE! ADVERTISE! And then advertise MORE! I saw a commercial for the Super Bowl one fall in OCTOBER! We should be seeing commercials for the Derby right now. Have one that shows the dates of all 3 races names, places, dates and time. After the Derby have the Derby winner listed, and the names, places, dates of the Preakness and Belmont. And advertise in prime time. Every night.

4. Figure out a workable camera structure. While I agree the Breeder's Cup experiment last fall was too wild, why not look at the European view? Put a camera on a truck or on the inside rail. Put one on the ambulance, be creative, but Rule #1 - LET US SEE THE RACE! Having a pan shot at the top of the stretch that covers a full furlong is not very engaging. I like the blimp view, but more for post-race analysis than for in-race watching.

5. A little celebrity talk and smile is fine. "See? The rich and famous actors and singers you love are here so you should watch too." It's good press, but how much of that do you see at baseball games? Football? Ok, in the NBA they often pan the sidelines and show you who's there. But then be done with it.

6. Stop doing promo interviews for upcoming shows. Last year on Preakness day, Costas did an interminable interview with an Olympian who "just happened" to have a guest role on an upcoming show on, you guessed it, NBC. It's horse day, not self-promo day. And what was going on while this interview was running? Nicanor, one of Barbaro's brothers, was running in one of the pre-Preakness races. Would that draw a crowd? SURE! But they didn't broadcast it, and, worse, they blocked TVG and HRTV from broadcasting it live. Brilliant move.

7. Limit the amount of time you spend on Preakness Day talking about the Derby winning horse, trainer, jockey and owner. They may have fascinating stories, but there are a dozen or so other horses in the race! I kept switching back to TVG to get background information on the Preakness field, because if you went by what NBC was saying, just about the only horses in the field were Super Saver and Looking at Lucky.

Oh, and talk Churchill Downs into a 2-gate field. No more of these 20-horse traffic jams. We want a fair race.

re: All Together Now - By Lenny Shulman

The Rock — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 18:07:06 GMT

Whatever happened to Chris Lincoln who hosted Racehorse Digest on ESPN? That guy was awesome. Jerry Bailey is horrible with his post race interviews. Randy Moss I can do without. And that host whatever his name is. Hank Goldberg should just stick with football. Kenny Mayne....eh, I can tolerate him, but I don't think horse racing is his thing.

Can't stand Bob Costas. Tom Hammond at least knows something about the sport. I think Chris Lincoln or Laffit Pincay anchoring, Kurt Hoover & Matt Carothers would be an awesome mix. Kurt & Matt have good chemistry during the Breeders Cup races. Seeing as how they're usually bound by their contracts to their respective networks, who knows how that's going to work, but the races should be taken over by people who watch these races everyday and can provide insight in to the races to where it won't make you fall asleep.

The point is when these races are being televised, it should be geared towards gambling. Everyone loves to make a buck, especially when you're dealing with people who know what they're talking about. Plus we'll get a glimpse as to what these horses have done instead of focusing on the favorite. These major networks turn a blind eye towards but that's what's going to get these ratings up. I mean with 60 minutes to fill leading up to the derby, we can't be talking about 15 feel good stories about all the connections. You just tune out. We need to show viewers why we are all so passionate about horse racing. Competition, competition amongst handicappers, competition between the jockey's and why there's an ambulance tracking them every step of the way. Let's get in depth.

Say what you want about the englishmen "mutton chops", but he knows what he's talking about if you watch him on "At the Races" in the UK. He just has a strong opinion and can be contaversial. How does that not sell ratings? Simon Cowell anyone?

re: All Together Now - By Lenny Shulman

It Doesn't Matter — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 17:07:08 GMT

Lenny, explain why, other than your guess, a one-network plan means a series-wide sponsor suddenly becomes interested? If the only consistently marketable product in the series (the Derby) can only get $1 million from hometown Yum Brands, what about putting the Belmont on NBC suddenly means a sponsor will come along for all three? Since the demise of the Visa deal, there was one chance for a Triple Crown, and NYRA did a pretty good job of securing their own sponsorship deals (NetJets, Darley, UPS)

NBC got the series for a song because Churchill signed up before seriously taking bids from anyone else. No one has announced the new revenue splits or the payoffs for the new deal. Why? Because even though they touted how much ratings went up on NBC, Churchill did nothing to leverage that into a higher rights fee. They discounted the fee and let FOX and Disney know they didn't care about more money because they were happy with NBC. That in turn meant NYRA was going to be forced to discount any deal they could make, because the prospect of a Triple Crown chance is a riskier proposition, as ESPN found out the hard way over the last five years.

Fact is, NBC, FOX or ESPN coverage does nothing for the future growth of the sport. There have been more Triple Crown opportunities spread over different networks than there were on one network. And NBC is not going out and announcing an extensive new schedule of racing shows as Walt (#2) hopes. In fact there probably won't be any prep races, and as far as NBC is concerned, the racing season starts on Oaks Day and runs through the Belmont; six weeks. At least ESPN had a legacy of showing far more racing on a week-in, week-out basis.

But at least we get an announcer like Durkin, because he was so good at telling us who Mine That Bird was and remembering Drosselmeyer's name.

re: All Together Now - By Lenny Shulman

Dick Fiscus — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 16:51:54 GMT

I am glad that they are all together now but hope that NBC does

not do what they and the other networks have done in the past, and that is: Do talk while there is

live racing going on!!! The past few years, we have missed the race prior to the big races because of talk. They have the camers there,

let them work!!

re: All Together Now - By Lenny Shulman

average jeff — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 16:11:41 GMT

I think that it is a good thing having all Triple Crown races on one channel but I am not convinced that NBC is the right channel. I am a horseman and appreciate the build up to the races as much as I do the races themselves. I'm afraid that the "pre-race" show is going to be broadcast on Versus rather than NBC. To be honest, I haven't heard of Versus until this article and I am not even sure that I get this channel. I am holding judgment until the Derby to decide whether this is good or bad. As for the argument that this will help the viewer because they won't have to search for the channel. Maybe it's because I'm old but I'm going to have to search for it anyways lol.

re: All Together Now - By Lenny Shulman

Deltalady — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 16:09:51 GMT

If we had a national racing commission, it would certainly make it much easier to coordinate publicity for the marquee events to be a springboard for covering the run-up events to all the big races: Dubai, Triple Crown, Breeders Cup. A coordinated effort for the entire sport would benefit the sport and by raising viewership throughout the year, would certaily mean more revenues for the networks covering all the events. A little more variety in the type of racing -- steeplechasing, harness, etc. -- might also add some spice to the mix. Unfortunately, in the U.S. the emphasis is so much on the shorter, flat races, it frankly can be boring to the average viewer/fan after awhile. It is a known fact that women show up in record numbers for the marquee events, so some attention paid to this demo might be worth exploring as well, as a way to move some of these "new" fans to regulars. We've got to get some creative thinking or the sport will continue to decline...it is heart breaking that such a beautiful sport has to almost go begging for national coverage!

re: All Together Now - By Lenny Shulman

Shib Neddeff — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 15:43:54 GMT

Racing should be ashamed that NONE of the Derby prep races are being televised... Hopefully NBC will bring Jerry Bailey and Randy Moss.... Being on different networks doesn't bother..NFL...NBA...College Basketball..College Football.. MLB ...very very weak argument..the BIGGER problem as I stated Horse Racing should be ashamed that Prep races and Summer triple Crown are NOT on TV...