channel 4 racing coverage ehat would you change ?

Bland and desperate to cover anything but the race form in detail.More people in the studio usually means less content worth listening to. The idiotic web cam is making me dizzy when I watch the screen and after race interviews are a master class of saying nothing worth listening to.

Ditching Balding ,Cunningham,Fitzgerald, (overrated boring fence sitters ) would be a step in the right direction!

I'd make Deal or No Deal into a three hour programme and just watch the splendid bf video stream.

The adverts for bookies have become truly sickening...RUK is getting every bit as bad as ATR in peddling these LIES

Ps - all that 'Dubai' bollox really gets up my hooter as well

Either head in the direction that Top Gear did when it was relaunched with Clarkson and co. and make it more of an entertainment show aimed squarely at the demographic who actually watch it.
Or become much more informative for those at various levels of understanding and do things like :-
Pick a worth while race, i.e. not something the bookies would like, and do some decent form analysis and post everything said and the stats/figures quoted on a web page after the show.
During the program have a side panel showing who is giving the best and worst odds available for a horse(s) being discussed.
Talk about horses they feel are worth following and why.
Features on days out at different courses to encourage people to go.
Generally try new features out rather than sticking to the current bland repetitive format week after week.

And I couldn’t give a fk about Dubai or anything about it.

^ the trouble is : - it's sponsored by Dubai . So you're stuck with it !

Viewing figures will continue to decline unless younger punters can become interested in racing. In the past year I have known three older guys that were huge racing fans and big punters that have passed away, unlikely to be replaced by any new followers. The industry has made it pretty clear who they want betting with them now - mugs with their football multis, First goalscorer, etc, and addicts hooked up to the machines all day. Anyone else is made pretty unwelcome.

It's simply too boring.I don't think there's one of them on there could crack a joke.Get someone like Francome back on who knew his stuff but didn't have to resort to that infernal machine etc.All these repeated interviews bore the a rse off you,how often was that interview with Dermot Weld shown last week?
Show the horses for at least 5 mins just prior to going in the boxes ie.going down & at the start,let's see what state they are in.Stop the brown nosing,if a horse doesn't look right,say it doesn't look right.Get a betting expert who actually goes into the ring & gets to know the characters in the ring.Amongst the independent books there's some real characters who due to having been in the game so long & having to be quick create the atmosphere in the ring.Those reps for the firms are absolutely bland they've never had to fight there way through so consequently they haven't a clue how to sell themselves.Some of the quickest,sharpest minds in racing stand in the rings & not on the rails,interview these people & you're certain to get a laugh.Get amongst the punters & get a feel for the day.Horse Racing is about enjoying yourselves,how can anyone enjoy this bland boring rubbish which they are pushing out now?

The fact is people who are really interested in racing now watch on one of the specialist racing channels or online C4 will never get really high viewing figures no matter who they have resenting.Having said that i would ditch Fitzgerald. Cunningham and Balding

oops presenting that should read

All below have been suggested in one way or another on this very forum many times and they're still valid and they're still ignored by both C4 and BHA (who surely have some interest?).  The 'squeeze' on real racing fans is coming from both poor C4 presenting (notwithstanding the excellent decision to show all 6 races per day) and another oft-started thread on here, the movement of 'big' races to weekends and the proliferation of events around the races themselves. 

Newmarket is the so-called HQ of racing and they have loads of these music events, but can anyone honestly say the quality of racing, the leveling out of track bias or the horrible viewing (on both courses) have improved even one little bit as a result?  so where is the money from these events going?

Tracks will end up with music nights, ladies days/nights and 10 non-football Saturdays with all of the main races if they have their way

1 Ditching Balding ,Cunningham,Fitzgerald, (overrated boring fence sitters ) would be a step in the right direction!

2 it's all dumbed down stuff to appeal to the masses, imo just give us an hour of interviewing trainers/jocks with leading runners on the day plus price movers and forget those bookies reps telling porkies about the bets they've taken

3 Viewing figures will continue to decline unless younger punters can become interested in racing. In the past year I have known three older guys that were huge racing fans and big punters that have passed away, unlikely to be replaced by any new followers. The industry has made it pretty clear who they want betting with them now - mugs with their football multis, First goalscorer, etc, and addicts hooked up to the machines all day. Anyone else is made pretty unwelcome.

Oh and the pompous attitude of BHA (who said we were becoming more classless ha ha!) regarding selecting representation from the public who are interested in betting, shows they are really not serious

Love to see it wiped off the face of the earth. A waste of time load of s- run by f-----s who know nothing about racing.

polab........plenty of younsters going in to betting shops but only to do the football

Something odd about all these young football punters, if you think about it, and if you believe punters hate small fields with odds-on favourites.

ladcrookes are closing 60 shops at the end of the month

ive got to be honest i enjoyed the coverage last week but i do think they should move heaven and earth to get john francome back......think tanya has had enough time now to improve but seems to be getting worse.......i can see why fitzy annoys people......think i wouldnt get rid of him but only have him on during the jumps season the same as alice plunkett.....to me cunningham and mcgrath are too much alike.too reliant on ratings.........no thinking outside the box........i know he didnt have the best of weeks but i enjoyed tom segal on the morning line........i am also a huge fan of steve mellish

i do like big mac but think his time as gone .........i do think they should replace tanya but not sure tom lee is the answer

It is just a place for the Grovellers to strut their stuff. If any real honesty was evident during the broadcasts it would probably have the plug pulled. Why are trainers treated like royalty? Nobody dare ask a straight question anymore. The Royal Ascot coverage was far too fashion based, with less time spent on what mattered. I just get the feeling every time I watch the coverage that I am being fobbed off. Get someone in with the bllsa to ask questions.

Just to add. I am sick of Jimbo bloody Timeform eyes shut , Cunningham with his mindless evaluations, Emma Spencer from the Dynasty that was nsaty, Gina the clueless, Rishi Scared to death Persad, Quivering Tom Lee, Richard Running Too Free Hoiles, Tom master tipster my asre Segal, and any other bstd that appears on my screen talking ratings, running off this mark, and any others that annoy me!!!

foswald.......forgot about lydia....she is good......did she have a spell on the bbc for a short time

get rid of the ehats they are rubbish

Foz - Carson's gig really was a practical joke...he was truly appalling.

Roy - 'kinell mate...you sound like me

A few other things that really get on my tits about CH4 Racing...the graphics are more than a useful tool but why are the race reviews fcuked up by having to see their poncily preened paws pushing buttons? I can't watch...it drives me insane!

They're in such unnatural & effeminate positions...I struggle to do that digital origami - it's clear, for whatever reasons that they're ordered to do it like that (as they all seem to oblige) by the producer who probably has a fetish for manicured claws.
I've noticed that only McGrath presses them in a normal manner and with his 'form' you'd figure he'd be the chief suspect

These super slow motion pictures of the HORSES are magical but why do we have to endure the ugly expressions on the boats of people? They're nice to see on the best turned-out filly but not on some yellow & buck-toothed, baldy, wrinkly, shrivelled old man!

The constant and inconsiderate goading (even demands) for emotional scenes & tears...they seem to thrive on that - leave people alone to enjoy their moments!

AND this super-friendly, nickname, matey-bollox...Jimbo, Emms, Tarns, Lucky, Fitz - it makes me sick!

Finally, Spunkett's palpable disinterest in the sport...at least you can see that Tanya
(despite her obvious shortcomings) has a genuine enthusiasm for the game.

Rant over for now...until I start on ATR & RUK

Its all political correctness.

Allowing the lesbian butch Claire (Desperate Dan) Balding to be the lead presenter was the first huge mistake, she could take a punch with that chin of hers, but she has to be among the most unappealing women ever to present a high profile television production.

Rishi (token black, equal opportunities commission) Persad. Looks totally out of place, uncomfortable, and as boring, dull, as Claire and Tanya.

Tanya (I know I drone, but we must have an equal amount of women on the show)Stevenson needs to be down the road a.s.a.p. she offers absolutely nothing, and is as plain, pointless, and even more boring than Claire, and that's a difficult thing to achieve.

Mick (thick as a plank paddy) Fitzgerald, amazing to believe he was once a pretty good jock when you hear him defending poor rides and poor performances day in day out. His tipping is atrocious at best, and his voice and accent are even more irritating than Tanya,s droll witterings.

Lydia (I cant push my boobs out any further) Hislop, about as useful and endearing as a chocolate teapot, Im not even sure what she is supposed to be doing anymore.

Emma (don't call me Orville) Spencer, I only look to see if she is ever going to wear a really short skirt for once as Im sure she has nice legs. Once I have confirmed her skirt is barely above the knee there is absolutely no further point watching, as Im sure she has never uttered a single word of interest in her entire life. Not too difficult to envisage why Jamie got bored with her, once the legs are out of the way, there is nothing left of note.

The show is top heavy with women, and idiots like Rishi and Micky Fitz don't help matters. Francesca Cumani is a good recommendation, and getting Francome on board would be right at the very top of my least. I would keep Emma Spencer, but ask her to sex it up a bit, or there is no point her taking part. Segal permanently as he talks sense most of the time, and does come up with some great bets now and again. These shows need to appeal across the board, but I would get rid of virtually all the current crop as they are pretty focknig dire to say the least.




























































0 Balding

I'd bring in: Lydia Hislop (for Balding), Francesca Cumani (for Ramsden), Steve Mellish (for McGrath or ****ham). We also need an ex (or current) flat jockey for the flat season & a NH jockey for the NH season. Maybe Oli Bell for Persad & a chimp for Stevenson.



The comments on here are spot on. No one has any charisma. They treat Trainers and Jockeys like God's.

Cunningham is a copy of that smart arse you see in a bookies - before the off he tells you to back the favourite. When the favourite is unplaced he comes out with some ''oh well it's easy to see how that horse has won'', nonsense.


The presenters are just unlikable. The race previews from the likes of Fitzgerald are just cliche ridden farces.

Oh, nearly forget...........that COOOONT Gwok has definitely got to go, ruined Ascot last week with his homophobic leaning fashion nonsense all frickin week.

At Ascot last week I watched RUK and recorded CH4 so I just fast-forwarded the bits when 'Go Wánk' infected my screen.

Quite how any television company could devote that amount of time during Royal Ascot to fashion for women beggars belief, its highly likely the producer is a women which might explain it, might explain why there are so many untalented women on the show too come to that.

From the RP;

Across the five afternoons, Channel 4 secured 2.86 million viewers, less than one per cent down on 2014's 2.91m total. However, the latest numbers continue to represent a loss of around 4m viewers, equivalent to a 58 per cent drop, on the BBC's 2012 total of 6.9m

Can anybody explain how they arrive at a figure of

...figure of

less than 1%

" I would keep Emma Spencer, but ask her to sex it up a bit, or there is no point her taking part "

no sitting on the fence there from the poster!

The women have to go. They are awful. If Tania can't do it after all these years she needs the boot. Emma is just a fashion statement and knows nothing and Gina has the personality of a chip. I would also get rid of Cunningham who does not connect with the audience and is cliche man. Jimbo has to up his game and looks lost without Francome. Hoillsy should be given more airtime as I think he speaks a lot of sense. Thought Rishi was better at Ascot but about time and they need Chappers to ask the difficult questions that the others are afraid to ask.

no way should carson (things must have got bad if people are remembering his contributions as valuable!) or thommo (a clown) ever be back on terrestrial racing coverage...

hislop, mellish and bell are for me the RUK standouts and ATR is the chapman show (like him or not) but why would they give up a yearly gig for saturdays and the odd big meeting? 

just for once I'd like a presenter to ask a challenging question or a tipster to impart a piece of information not regurgitated from the RP (this was one of Francomes strengths - spoke his mind and off the cuff) or a commentator/announcer to say that was a poor/misjudged/questionable ride which happens so frequently but gets commented on less frequent than halleys comet appears UNLESS it is a foreign jock (williams and rosario last week, soumillon and guyon in the past - not that occasionally they don't deserve it!)

Gordon - it's so transparently spineless when these 'sit-on-the-fence' merchants become tough guys with foreign jockeys or anonymous claimers, safe in the knowledge that their comments won't ever impact on their future coverage BUT one day, one of these no-mark apprentices might just turn out to be another Ryan Moore or AP McCoy which will really rock the boat.

try my best.........its baffling why richard hoiles is not used more

I think he comes over well and is pretty likeable Cardiff

TMB - not just that, but he seems genuinely knowledgeable too which is something you'd expect from the rest of the team - alas, it's only a few of them (Cunningham, Holt & McGrath) who seem genuine enthusiasts.

I know this is heading towards a different direction. But I always used to enjoy Julian Wilson coverage. Apparently he wasn't to keen on Claire Balding.

bring back the picture puzzle

loved julian wilson as a presenter........dont think he was a very good commentator though........think he wanted to take over from peter osullevan

I would like it to become a horse racing programme,aimed at horse racing fans (probably the only viewers anyway),

where the horse is up front and centre, instead of a fashion show with endless advertising and pointless pre-recorded

items. I want to see the horses walking around the parade ring with someone capable of making informed comment about

their appearance and demeanour and their form, not a brief recording of horses walking around a parade ring just as

the race is about to start. Also like to see detailed post-race analysis'.

I DO NOT want to see interviews with bookies' reps, Gok or any fashion stuff, ads for cars thinly disguised as a

'competition', Tanya or anyone else for that matter in the betting ring ,(we can see for ourselves what the odds are

ffs!),presenters talking to chefs about the frigging menu,and endlessly cow-towing to trainers jockeys and the Queen.

I want to see HORSES, HORSES and more HORSES! That's what this game is about and if it's too boring for the majority

of casual watchers too bad. They can switch over to the soaps.

This Saturday Mick Easterby could well be there.Get him interviewed & let's have a laugh.The same about older trainers like Mick Channon,Richard Hannon senior & some of these older folk instead of boring us to bits talking to this younger brigade who wouldn't know how to lie straight in bed if they had to.I've often thought if Tanyia was to ask some of these new breed in the betting rings as to what % they are working to they wouldn't have a clue without consulting the computer.A simple thing like a three horse race,one horse evens,one 2/1,what price can you go the other without betting overbroke.Get the characters on who can use tickets & ledger if required,can read the tic tac etc,can look at a board & tell you the %'s they are working to without once again looking at the computer.These are the folk who understand the game & are not just ponces kidding the balls off those daft enough to listen thinking that they know the game.

RP summed it up pretty well yesterday. Tried for a new audience wasn't there and nobody appears to want to take responsibility for haemmoraging viewers. Coverage is good on silent. Product is tainted and sadly it has lost it's watchability. Don't they miss the old brigade. Cannot imagine it ever recovering. Is ML still on these days?

Rog .. forgot about the car ads and the pointless bookmaker pop ups that must make it a good pay day. That just about sums C4 up doesn't it. Jezzaesque.

Royal Ascot is what it is -- there is no point in complaining about the fashion coverage there, although its recent spread to other festivals like Glorious Goodwood is to be regretted.

Football is by far our most successful sport, so racing should take its lessons from coverage of that sport, and the main one is to assume the viewer is already a racing fan, who at least reads the racing pages in the newspaper even if not a subscriber to the Racing Post and Timeform.

The Morning Line should be considered independently of the actual racing coverage. It should return to its original mission of previewing the day's racing. One presenter, two pundits analysing the race from different angles (rather than Jimbo and GC looking from the same angle) and one looking at the early betting moves. Football Focus is the obvious model here. By all means have a laugh but keep it on-topic.

The afternoon's racing coverage is not actually that bad, although too studio-bound and with a tendency to show off the technology even when there is nothing to say. Pre-race we should see the horses in the paddock, going down and at the start. Even the old C4 team panicked whenever there were horses in shot and would cut away to Mac or Lesley.

Some great, insightful comments on this thread. Why don't TPTB take heed? The presentation is all too dry. Viewers need to be entertained.

I would ditch virtually all of the current team. C.Balding should never have been given the gig. She is BBC through and through with her head girl, patronising, state-the-obvious style like it's the first time any of us have ever watched horse racing.

Tarya is a complete waste of space. Adds absolutely zero with her stuttering, bland reporting from the betting ring. C4 is crying out for Matt Chapman to bring some life to the occasion, enliven it, be witty, be outspoken etc.

The way racing is covered on C4 hasn't progressed since it first started. I also cannot stand the bookies' reps being allowed to unashamedly lie about how much they stand to lose and who they think will win - why would anyone trust the opinion of a bookie's rep?

Lydia is excellent, Steve Mellish is excellent, Matt Chapman is excellent. For it to be worthwhile you need some outside the box thinkers. Jim McGrath has been doing it too long & doesn't offer anything beyond explaining why a horse is favourite.

I liked Matt Cattermole and Emma Spencer fronting the Flat racing. Thought they were quite refreshing compared to the dinosaurs that came before them.

The volume.