Thought this was much better then in the past. They treated it like a major sport and replaced the clueless silly celebrities with athletes, even for the fluff pieces. The features were informative and the backstories timely and warm. Sorry Johnny and Tara…
Perfect? Nah. Clock and NHL playoff game prevented any deep discussion of the DQ on the mothership network and there were some dead air fillers through the show were just that. But IMO much improved over the last few years.
Agree. Much less floof and more serious portrayal of the sport. I felt like the other races on the card were given better coverage, and not just “Oh hey look, horses are running by” as in past years. Well done NBC.
I would agree that the coverage between the Old Forester Turf Classic (I think it was, the race before the Derby on the card), was full of decent content starting with the swim over from the backstretch to the saddling shed :lol: .
Before the Turf Classic, every time I checked NBC while watching TVG, NBC had fluff/annoying segments on hats, who “popular people” wanted to win, shots of clothing and hats that made my teeth hurt. At least with TVG I could catch other track action 
I agree too. This year there seemed to be less fluff and more content. Definitely a move in the right direction.
For me, still a lot of fluff, chitter chatter and silliness, but agree that getting rid of the clueless was a huge step in the right direction. @Where’sMyWhite - swim over…snort snort laugh. It looked like runny chocolate pudding- what a mess. And ENOUGH already with the hats, right? Bo-ring…
When I compare the Kentucky Derby TV coverage with the coverage of Royal Ascot I feel embarrassed for American racegoers. I know it’s not all lords and ladies and class acts over there, that’s just what we’re shown, but I wish NBC would show more of the class that exists at American racetracks and not just the hoopla of the hoi polloi.
And why do Churchill Downs and Pimlico have such infield craziness when Belmont doesn’t?
The thing that most annoys me about the TV coverage is the cut to commercials after the post parade, and then the subsequent gate-load. I would like to see the warm-ups. I think it is interesting to see how some jockeys work to keep their horses relaxed, while others work to wake them up. Gives one an inkling of the race strategy to follow.
I’m the opposite. I follow racing year-round, so none of the stuff is new to me. However, I don’t follow celebrities, and find Johnny and Tara amusing since it’s new to me.
Johnny and Tara… gag. I was so over them the first time I saw them a few years ago.
If that’s what it takes to boost ratings ok but doesn’t mean I won’t stalk TVG until the post parade and yes, already, show the warmups and not commercials between the post parade and gate load 
On telecasts for other sporting events are people brought on from other sports besides the one being broadcast and are they interviewed about their own sports rather than the one being shown? I had to listen to stock car racing, football and I don’t know what else, just went to TVG to avoid as much as possible. Why can we not hear about horse racing during KY Derby coverage?
Agree that it is highly desirable to be able to see post parades, warm ups and everything right before the race. And I really miss the presentations which gave a lovely finale to the entire year’s wait for the Derby.
Yes, athletes from other sports and celebrities are paraded in front of the cameras and give interviews about things they know nothing about on other sports telecasts too. It called filling dead air with something to keep ratings up.
I prefer the TVG coverage too, show pedigree info and the post parade and don’t endlessly tell you exactly what you are looking at, assuming you have enough knowledge to figure it out without endless chatter. But they don’t broadcast the marquee events the big networks pay big bucks to broadcast and they do anything to keep the unitiated viewer from flipping channels…
And hats are a big deal locally. You don’t even go to a Derby party around here without a hat. It’s a tradition.
Huh… I’ll stick to the Daytona 500. It’s pretty much stock cars all the time Maybe one short segment on ‘notables’ and who they think will win but most the broadcast is stock car racing based
Like Palm Beach, I don’t follow celebrities, so I find them confusing, not amusing. I agree with you about Johnny and Tara. Ick.
I was watching the ABC broadcast of one of the past races discussed in the Triple Crown thread, and was interested to see that the horses’ sire and dam were posted during the post parade. That was only 20-some years ago, and I have been watching these races for more than 50 years, and I remember the horses’ breeding being talked about more than just their odds – with Eddie referring to them as numbers instead of by their names. I hate that – it is denigrating to them, making them sound like dice instead of living creatures.
Most horseplayers use numbers instead of names when handicapping. It doesn’t denigrate them at all.
In the US, yes. Internationally, horses are mostly referred to by name, not number. I watch a lot of UK/IRE racing, and horses are always referred to by name, I actually found it a little tough to identify horses before the start, because they are so rarely mentioned by number outside of the parade ring. In the actual race, it’s very easy to follow, because the track announcer is extremely descriptive: “Maximum Security in the pink and black diamonds bring followed by Country House in blinkers, and then comes Tacitus in the Juddmonte colors, bringing up the rear is Master Fencer in the red hood…”. The commentary is much more informative than the average US talking heads, where it’s all about " the five, the seven, the two horse… " and if you don’t have a racing program you may have no idea what horses they are talking about.
In the US, no one goes to the races so the only people watching are the players. Although Keeneland is probably an exception.
That’s a little harsh. Keeneland, Del Mar and Saratoga play to big crowds every day of their meets. And other tracks draw patrons on their big days and often the weekends. In the last few years, we’ve seen crowds at Monmouth, Arlington and Churchill Downs. Not to mention Kentucky Downs which is mobbed for its short meet.
@LaurieB in the UK, there are crowds every day, and they watch it on TV. You can play football inside the grandstand of most tracks here on any day.
Agree. Coverage was MUCH better this year. :yes:
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