Bravo - by Dan Liebman

re: Bravo - by Dan Liebman

Jinia — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 07:31:11 GMT

I started the day watching TVG which sadly gave the aire time over to another college basketball game.Moving over to worthless ESPN,I waited hours for the Florida Derby,only to see another episode of The Strongest Man In The World.Switched back and forth from ESPN2 to ESPN til 4 PM Pacific time.I'm on the west coast,Dodgers pre-season programs even take priority over horse racing.Not having the OAKS this year might bury ESPN since viewers are furious already about the pre Derby races.I'll try BRAVO and HRTV.Horse racing is a TRADITION in American sports.What happened to variety.Poker is boring,who cares! BYE FOREVER ESPN!

re: Bravo - by Dan Liebman

wickedslick — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 19:14:37 GMT

As an example of how far things have fallen for nationally televised horse racing: This weekend's Wood Memorial -- with arguably one of the leading contenders for the Kentucky Derby -- is ONLY BEING SHOWN ON HRTV!! What crap.

re: Bravo - by Dan Liebman

Miss Margaret — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 20:29:34 GMT

I still miss CBS's Race of the Week and wish there were more horse racing shown on T.V. It's very hard to follow the races anymore. I do not want to pay more for my cable T.V. so I don't get HRTV or TVG. I don't watch football, basketball, baseball, soccer etc. just the horses, so I am very upset with ESPN for not showing the Kentucky Oaks. Maybe it's lack of advertizing money for horse racing programing. Let's face it, money rules everything these days. I feel that racing fans truly get little respect from T.V. land.

re: Bravo - by Dan Liebman

bowlofflowers — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 15:02:23 GMT

I agree with KonaGold about the delays of horseracing on ESPN. I dread when ESPN gets the exclusive on horseracing becasue they NEVER adhere ot their own program scheduling timetable! I have lost the racing programing that I have recorded on ESPN(which I must do since I have a job that makes me work on Saturdays as well as many other days of the week) because the other sport ran overtime and there is no safeguard to be able to record 'horseracing' because the on screen program will read the same timeslot that was listed earlier in the week. If ESPN doesn't run ALL major horse racing for colts and fillies then they should NOT BE ABLE to get the exclusive contract. Let HRTV or TVG air them. Those stations know how to do it and maintain their schedules.

re: Bravo - by Dan Liebman

geegees — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 10:32:03 GMT

i rememberwhen racing was an every weekend thing. it was televised on regular channels before we had espn, hrtv, tvg etc. it is too bad that there has been some negative viewings (breakdowns etc) of late but that is part of the sport. who doesnt remember joe theissman knee being broke did we all stop wtching football bewcause of that...no. we all need to get together and watch racing when we can to try to bring up the ratings. this sport need help and we the fans may haveto provide the backbone.

re: Bravo - by Dan Liebman

Flora — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 03:53:35 GMT

I have written to ESPN with my concerns -I am bewildered by the apparent popularity of poker and eating contests - could anything be LESS sporting than this type of show? And don't get me started on televised golf...

re: Bravo - by Dan Liebman

gator 99 — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 22:37:29 GMT

I dont really care if ESPN covers it as long as its on. the future is the younger crowd but I ll say this its difficult to take a child to the races just to watch the race without people cussing constantly & casinos limiting the space to do so.

re: Bravo - by Dan Liebman

rowner — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 21:19:22 GMT

J McM, I agree with you when was poker ever a sport. It takes no athletic ability what so ever its just a bunch of men and some women dressed in funky clothes and dark glasses sitting around a table. ESPN doesn't want to support gambling then what is poker, if its not gambling? I do miss wide world of sports it was real and the commentators had passion for what they did and brought human interest stories. ESPN's coverage is so totally boring that I sleep through a lot of it where I never would before. It is all about handicapping and nothing else really. I like some of that but they hit us over the head with it repeatedly. As someone mentioned above but I disagree with that its all the recent breakdowns. I remember watching Ruffian break down and I was a kid then and I was not turned away. Also to those of you who seem to think that the only time you see the best horses is on Derby day than YOU CAN NOT CONSIDER YOURSELVES TRUE RACING FANS.

re: Bravo - by Dan Liebman

carlaen — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 13:41:45 GMT

it's true about horses breaking down too much in big, televised races. who wants to see that? i was watching the breeder's cup one year with my young daughter, who was very excited to watch, but when pine island broke down, she left the room and never watched a race on tv again. who can blame her?

re: Bravo - by Dan Liebman

American Classic Thoroughbreds L.L.C. — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 02:04:51 GMT

It is sad to say but the one thing everybody is missing is this world competes for the almighty dollar for everything . Horse racing is more then just a sport it is a passion . All of us as fans, owners, trainers, jockey's and everyone else involved in horse racing must make it better for ourselves . If you wait for someone else or some entity it will never happen . One of the biggest things people never think about is asking your friend , nephew , grandson , girlfriend or anybody else that has never seen horse racing live would you like to go to the races . I remember in the 80's when I took myself and a friend to the Belmont Stakes in 1988 to see Winning Colors , Risen Star , and Forty Niner race . From that year on the race crew grew to four people the next year to see Sunday Silence and Easy Goer dual in all three Triple Crown races . After that year I was renting large vans and driving 10 , 15 , or 20 guys to a day at the races . All because I opened my mouth and told them how exciting it was and the rush you got when they hit the top of the stretch . If you think about it we here are the protectors of horse racing . !!!! WE MUST MAKE IT BETTER NOT WAIT FOR SOMEONE ELSE !!!! . There are things that the tracks can do to get more people to come . All they have to do is make it interesting again which wouldn't be that hard to do . So remeber on a Saturday afternoon this summer to call your buddy or take your grandson or grand daughter to the races for a summer day and they to someday will be fans .

re: Bravo - by Dan Liebman

Kate — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 23:47:41 GMT

Jim, that's ridiculous, Kenny Mayne's up for beatification and that's a fact. I can always tell who has a sense of humor by if they like Kenny.

Bill, "The thing that racing needs to do is to promote handicapping." Hardly. I don't recall falling in love with horses due to the romance of the pick 6. I don't watch horse racing because of wagering. Lest everyone forget, a significant portion of the potential viewing audience lives in a state that doesn't allow pari mutuel wagering. I got into the sport from Walter Farley books as a kid. You want more fans? Get the kids in school to read The Black Stallion series, Seabiscuit, and the Marguerite Henry books. They won't just ask their mom and dad for a horse, they'll want to watch a horse race.

If ESPN is under the impression that they should air poker and the spelling bee as "sports" maybe it isn't racing that has a problem, maybe it's ESPN. I wish there were a Horse Network. I mean showing everything from every major Thoroughbred, harness, and QH race to the Grand Prix to the steeplechase races. They could show things in Dubai and England that most of us have to wait to read about. Weekly installments about breeding, pedigree, horse care, therapeutic riding programs, highlighting a specific famous horse, jockey, trainer, destinations, how to wager, where to combine vacations and horsie experiences. They make an entire network revolve around golf, people. Can everyone obsessed with their piece of the pie not tear this sport apart so that there is no pie?

re: Bravo - by Dan Liebman

Spectacular Secret — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 23:46:16 GMT

"A major major problem is ESPN does not promote gambling..."

Apparently, ESPN televising poker tournaments, ad nauseum, is done in the same public spiritedness as their showing spelling bees and Scrabble tournaments--a public service, not actually that devil's bag, gambling.

The prime reason for horse racings' poor TV ratings (and the resultant dismal lack of air time) is that the majority of the public doesn't give a damn about horses--except when one is injured on track--then they come out of their holes, like roaches at a freshly found feast.

Few people consider anything not human to be an athlete (Arnold Palmer, yes; Secretariat, no). Sadly, that's the way it is.

Screw ESPN! I kissed them bye bye years ago. With friends like them, who....

re: Bravo - by Dan Liebman

CRob87 — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 21:06:56 GMT

I think the context of the quote about ESPN determining what is a Sport and what isn't these days is a little OFF.

As a former "Neilsen Ratings Family" in the mid 90's, I believe that it "IS" the Neilsen Ratings that are "TELLING" ESPN what the "VIEWERS" are determining to be a Sport and what isn't. Thereby determining ESPN's programming.

According to the information the Neilsen Co. told us, each Neilsen Family represents 4,ooo Homes (At that time). So you can see that even the Neilsen system itself isn't giving a more exact or more true rating. But, it is what it is.

And with that in mind, I really don't think it's right to put down ESPN when they're only programming what the viewers are telling them to.

Now...In trying to think outside of the box here's what I suggest.

If the future of our Sport is the OTB's or Online gambling, then instead of griping about that we should actually try to embrace it. Maybe TVG or HRTV can host Gambling Seminars at the local tracks to help people learn how to gamble online.

At least that way we get them to the tracks at least once to experience the live event. And hope that they become new Fans as well.

Then we'll just have to think of other ways to bring them back.

Another idea outside of the box is that Maybe the Breeders Cup shouldn't be shipped around the country each year ??? Maybe it should have a permanent home ???

Or for an even more outside of the box idea each Breeders Cup race should have it's own permanent home ??? Like the Classic @ Churchill every year. The Turf @ Santa Anita. The Sprint @ Belmont...etc. Sort of like the Sunshine Millions.

I know that one is a more Radical idea, but these days I think that you have to experiment more and think outside of the box more than what our fearless leaders have been.

re: Bravo - by Dan Liebman

Onefan — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 21:03:54 GMT

ESPN generates almost all of it's revenue with advertising, have you ever seen the advertisements during a horse racing broadcast? It is usually reserved to a bunch of Kentucky horse farms and Equibase commercials.....to me that says ESPN can't sell the advertisement space to anybody outside the horse industry during a horse racing telecast. Hmmmm I wonder if that has anything to do with the fact they aren't showing the Kentucky Oaks this year. Don't blame ESPN for OUR problems, they are just looking out for their bottom line just like everybody else. The good news is horse racing revenue is generated by gambling and as long as gambling is legal people will always participate.

Be grateful for guys like Kenny Mayne and Randy Moss, these guys actually understand the sport and are excited about it. They are great ambassadors for the sport. Mayne hits hard with the key demographics that horse racing needs, he should be embraced and showcased whenever possible.

re: Bravo - by Dan Liebman

Dawn — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 13:10:43 GMT

ESPN isn't responsible for the fact that racing isn't televised. The lack of revenue is. ESPN just follows the money. If the money was there they'd televise it. So how does racing become lucrative for ESPN? Answer that question and you will see racing televised. I have to agree with Dutch, the live breakdowns do not help. I follow racing up until Ruffian's breakdown. Came back to it in 2006, and we all know how that triple crown season went. Below is a quote from Wikipedia...resolve this, and you will see racing on ESPN. Wickipedia quote "Barbaro's accident and difficulties have led some to call for a review of the practices of tradition-bound thoroughbred horse racing and breeding. Many acknowledge that modern thoroughbreds are more delicate than their forebears. Barbaro's injury intensified the debate over the use of artificial track surfaces at racecourses"

re: Bravo - by Dan Liebman

J McM — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 03:02:19 GMT

I watch horse racing on Tv because I love horses, race horses in particular. I used to raise them and now spend quite a bit of time on the Bloodhorse web site to read about them and see who's doing what and how the produce of ones I once knew are doing. I like seeing them race and I'm bothered that there's not more shown when we're inundated with every kind of 'ball' game known. Baseball,football,basketball,golf! I can't imagine that people actually watch that SLOW game. Then there's the 'sports' Poker!!? Wow! it boggles my mind that those get air time over racing! As far as betting, there's plenty of that relevent to Football in particular.

re: Bravo - by Dan Liebman

Dawn — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 01:15:37 GMT

Quote from Kona Gold

Rememeber how many times live racing on ESPN saturdays in the spring were delayed because of a over running basketball game?

*************************

Four words: Little League World Series. I'm very thankful that I have HRTV now!

As for the conversation at hand, I just wish racing would get a clue about their problems/issues and then actually solve them. We can blog all day but the rest is up to the NTRA et al.

re: Bravo - by Dan Liebman

Richard Coreno — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 01:03:43 GMT

With any sporting event, the perticipants must give the average fan to casual viewer something to care about. This has not really happened in the industry on a consistent basis in many years. Face it, the vast majority of people who take the time to tune into racing will do so for about five minutes a year (Kentucky Derby and - if a TC is on the line - the Belmont Stakes)....oh, and I am not including all the pre-race rubbish, which is about as interesting as the ridiculous lag time between races at most tracks.

re: Bravo - by Dan Liebman

Dutch — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 00:33:19 GMT

The horse racing industry can't force ESPN or any other network to cover the sport. The most pressing problem is the rash of breakdowns on the few days of the year when people actually keep an eye on horse racing. The last few years alone have seen the breakdowns of Barbaro, George Washington and Eight Belles during the biggest racing days of the year. How can we blame ESPN - or casual sports fans - for keeping their distance?

Believe me, I would love to see more coverage of horse racing on television. The sport's image problems, however, make it a tough sell.

re: Bravo - by Dan Liebman

joe — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 23:19:48 GMT

I agree with The Edge and retirement of the big stars; it led to no coverage of Curlin's championship year, with not a mention on ESPN news. Sadly, horse racing was a sport-yes WAS A SPORT-best left to the golden pens of Red Smith, Joe Palmer, and George Ryall's great New Yorker columns. And boy was Charlsie Cantey a great loss for the telecasts! We know that the Armani clad suits at ESPN and NBC don't give a tinkers----about horse racing. The non coverage must be viewed in the context also of the thing crashing around us-Magna and SA/Maryland , Hollywood Park. For those of us in this wretched part of the country, the telecasts were an oasis in the barren land of college sports and -UGH-NASCAR.

re: Bravo - by Dan Liebman

Kenny G — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 21:14:36 GMT

A major major problem is ESPN does not promote gambling. They refuse to acknowledge that people gamble and that the major draw of horse racing is the gambling side. Hank Goldberg's piggy bank is filled with "mythical" dollars, and people talk about who they pick to win, not who they bet on to win.

The major audience is not going to watch horse racing just for the race...they're going to watch to see if they win a bet. Why is the first round of march madness so popular? Because everyone who filled out a bracket in an office pool wants to see how the teams they picked do. Same goes for the Super Bowl; of all the major sport championships, it gets so many more viewers because everyone bets on the game, unlike the NBA and MLB.

re: Bravo - by Dan Liebman

NYFalcon — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 21:10:28 GMT

I have been a fan for over 35 years, love it have raised 2 boys to enjoy it as well, my husband is a huge fan and really was not until he met me, my point is keep trying don't give up, word of mouth!

go to your otb got to the track have derby parties I do!

we love this sport and if it takes bravo to show it well so be it its better than not being on at all.

re: Bravo - by Dan Liebman

hasty road — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 19:54:41 GMT

Jim;

The answer is (a)..Kenny "the buffoon" Mayne.

re: Bravo - by Dan Liebman

MikeM — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 18:20:25 GMT

Who cares about the WNBA or the Womens NCAA? Yet,the media covers them ad nauseam. In fact I believe horse racing was once pre-empted for women's softball. Also, it would help if TVG covered racing without dissecting the Pick 6 every 5 seconds. TVG has become unwatchable for me.

re: Bravo - by Dan Liebman

The Edge — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 14:48:38 GMT

Marketing is one problem. But the bigger problem is the Breeding industry. (Is this Bloodhorse?) The stars of the game are more valuable off the track than on. Imagine Tom Brady retiring after his first Super bowl. This paradox is going to be hard to overcome. If it's just gambling they market, it might not be enough to compete with other gambling entities.