Cheltenham coverage - over the top?

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

So, we're on Day 2 of the Cheltenham Festival. Now, I wouldn't be very well up on Horse Racing, nor would I be much of a gambler. The odd accumulator on Soccer or GAA would be about the height of it. I'll have a bet on the Gold Cup for the craic, and that'll be about it.

I have a friend that recently admitted to himself that he has a gambling problem (racing in particular) and is seeking help to cope with it. It's more with him in mind that over the last couple of days, I've noticed how much coverage it gets in the media. Go to the RTE website and it is all over the main headline section. Pick up any paper this week and it's splashed all over the place. I was listening to the radio this morning and even Ryan Tubridy was banging on about it.

I know that it's a brilliant week for people who like a flutter but know when to stop, but I feel for my friend is having a really hard time escaping all the coverage. I know that, to some degree, he needs to suck it up and get on with things, but does anyone else think that it's all a bit much?

chopperbyrne

It's the biggest racing festival in the world, for a sport that we excel at.

The media coverage is about right.

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

I could be overreacting because I have no interest in the sport, there is that.....

El Weirdo

Is there anything else that your friend needs to avoid, just so we know to put a blanket ban on coverage of it?

DEFTLEFTHAND

Would the Horse Racing industry fall apart in the west if a ban on gambling was brought in?

Does anybody actually watch it as a sport? As in do they enjoy watching these big animals race each other or is all the pleasure derived from their bet?

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

El Weirdo wrote: »

Is there anything else that your friend needs to avoid, just so we know to put a blanket ban on coverage of it?

He could do with avoiding smartasses on internet forums, but I'm not aware that he's registered on any, so that mightn't be an issue.

El Weirdo

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater wrote: »

He could do with avoiding smartasses on internet forums, but I'm not aware that he's registered on any, so that mightn't be an issue.

It's impossible anyway.

Gwynplaine

If there was no gambling on horse racing, no-one would look at it.
It's a cruel "sport" anyway.

Steve F

I find that there is an attitude that EVERYONE MUST BE interested in these things and if you voice disinterest you get the look from the people that are interested like you have two heads
Same with the Rugby.Apparently there is some world shattering game on this weekend that I personally have zero interest in.
And for the record,I'm a Brit ;0)

Richard Hillman

As it is with all of life's pleasures such a drink, a smoke, some fast food or a little flutter on the horses, we shouldn't let the minority that can't contain themselves ruin it for everyone else.

I'm doing a 5.50 Yankee bet each day and I'll put my traditional €10 on the gold cup.

Harry Palmr

It's on TV3 I see, another top level sporting event RTE have lost to a channel that refuses to broadcast in HD on saorview.

alchemist33

Of all sports this is the one I have least interest in (this includes ski-jumping and Kabaddi). I try my best to avoid coverage of Cheltenham each year because there seems to be a certain amount of caps-in-the-air "c'mon ya-boy-ya" paddywhackery about it that I can't stand. Some people seem to love so fair enough that there's some coverage, but there's just so much.

Doctors room ghost

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

Would the Horse Racing industry fall apart in the west if a ban on gambling was brought in?

Does anybody actually watch it as a sport? As in do they enjoy watching these big animals race each other or is all the pleasure derived from their bet?

I enjoy watching racing as a sport and wouldn’t be bothered with having a bet.i think it’s in some people to enjoy horses and watch what they are capable of when raced from olden times when the country was all about horses and every lad had a horse be it working hunting trekking etc.
As a sport nowadays it wouldn’t happen without gambling.no point to it otherwise and a lot of industry and employment based around it.some lads are ruined by it the same as alcohol though which is a shame.gambling is fine in moderation and once you can afford to lose the stake you are betting.

Mint Sauce

Escaping the coverage!

Its on one UK station, one Irish station. I have had TodayFm on in the car today, and BBC on the radio in the house, not many mentions on either. I'd say its quite easy to escape it if you want to.

howyanow

Id agree coverage is a bit over the top.
Its far too easy now for people to get addicted to gambling so in that regard its too much.
Do the newspapers still give free bets in the papers?I dont agree with doing that as its already difficult enough forbaddicts to avoid gambling without these kind of enticements.

JohnnyFlash

Fùcking love Cheltenham. In Birmingham now and heading down this evening to spend the next few days drinking the neck off myself and gambling like a demented madman. Hopefully some riding of a different type will take place off track!!!

DEFTLEFTHAND

Doctors room ghost wrote: »

I enjoy watching racing as a sport and wouldn’t be bothered with having a bet.i think it’s in some people to enjoy horses and watch what they are capable of when raced from olden times when the country was all about horses and every lad had a horse be it working hunting trekking etc.
As a sport nowadays it wouldn’t happen without gambling.no point to it otherwise and a lot of industry and employment based around it.some lads are ruined by it the same as alcohol though which is a shame.gambling is fine in moderation and once you can afford to lose the stake you are betting.

Yeah I'd imagine it's nearly entirely reliant on gambling.

As a spectacle though there's definitely more to it. I only attended my first race meeting recently (know nothing about horses or racing) and I have to say it was exhilarating when they ran past the barrier I was standing at.

The pounding of the hooves and the graceful motion of the animal.

Even looking at the racehorses when they're stationary, their build and definition is so impressive, such athletes.

Sofiztikated

Out of a class of 13 today, there was 3 of us that went in for all classes today. The "lads" ditched after the first hour, to go to the bookies.

Mysterypunter

Only a bit of fun, sure the Wexford postman only did in 10 million, he was on the way to winning it back, but was nabbed up north, he is training to be a councillor now, paddy power kept the twine

suicide_circus

Its the least entertaining spectator sport I've ever seen.

JohnnyFlash

suicide_circus wrote: »

Its the least entertaining spectator sport I've ever seen.

Didn’t watch United last night then?

Sofiztikated

suicide_circus wrote: »

Its the least entertaining spectator sport I've ever seen.

Nah, that has to be golf. Watch it on TV and it's just man with a club, sky, sky, sky,sky, green bit.

kumate_champ07

i think its the culture around horseracing rather than the racing itself that interests 'fans' the most. its accessible to working class and elite, altho both benefit differently from the sport. we are a small nation and it gives us a chance to perform on the world stage

but its basically a bunch of horse athletes with human navigators, and we dont get to hear the athlete being interviewed afterwards, that would be interesting!

i think i prefer it to rich men walking around a well manicured park while having their sports equipment carried by another man

Deise Vu

JohnnyFlash wrote: »

Didn’t watch United last night then?

Touché! But did you notice when the result of the Utd match was given the announcers didn't say Sevilla 5/1 against (or whatever their odds were)? Soccer can stand on it's own, whereas, without betting, Horse Racing would be no bigger than an occasional point to point meetings for afficionados.

A chap working with me was sacked about three years ago for spending his day researching horses on-line. One of the lads met him on Monday, he had the week off and €3K in his pocket. €3K! A fella in his early 30's living with his parents? The sickening thing is he obviously expects to lose having that much on him.

Doctors room ghost

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

Yeah I'd imagine it's nearly entirely reliant on gambling.

As a spectacle though there's definitely more to it. I only attended my first race meeting recently (know nothing about horses or racing) and I have to say it was exhilarating when they ran past the barrier I was standing at.

The pounding of the hooves and the graceful motion of the animal.

Even looking at the racehorses when they're stationary, their build and definition is so impressive, such athletes.

Yeah I agree.horses are bouncing fit and primed for the race it’s great to see them.and you have to hand it to the jockeys too.starved to death and tough as nails.

diomed

Gwynplaine wrote: »

If there was no gambling on horse racing, no-one would look at it.
It's a cruel "sport" anyway.

How is it cruel?
I own a mare and foal. They have a great life.
If one of them races am I cruel?

diomed

Deise Vu wrote: »

T
A chap working with me was sacked about three years ago for spending his day researching horses on-line. One of the lads met him on Monday, he had the week off and €3K in his pocket. €3K! A fella in his early 30's living with his parents? The sickening thing is he obviously expects to lose having that much on him.

Who had the €3k? Was it the lad who met him, or the lad who was sacked three years ago?
Who is the fella in his 30s living with his parents?
Who expects to lose €3k, and why is that obvious. Where did he get the €3k. Did he win it or save it?

Gwynplaine

diomed wrote: »

How is it cruel?
I own a mare and foal. They have a great life.
If one of them races am I cruel?

The horses that have to be put down after going over some of those big jumps. And the jockey being broke up in bits too.

Road-Hog

chopperbyrne wrote: »

It's the biggest racing festival in the world, for a sport that we excel at.

The media coverage is about right.

I would question horse racing being a sport at all. Remove the betting aspect of it and nobody would go to it.....!

Capt'n Midnight

Between Saorview and Freesat there's about 200 channels that aren't showing Cheltenham


And it's not like Cheltenham is all on ALL DAY, EVERY SINGLE DAY unlike a certain sport.



As the FIFA world cup approaches, imagine how the rest of us feel.

Firstly, imagine every time within a day that football is mentioned by someone else. Secondly, replace it with something that you don't want to hear about every day. Say... Archaeology. Then, think about how an average day would pan out.

So, you awaken to the clock radio. It's 7AM. Just as you awaken, it's time for the news and archaeology already. Not news and other historical investigations, like library restorations or museum openings (unless there's another event happening), but just the news and archaelogy. Malaysian plane is still missing. Pistorius is still on trial. New dig announced in Giza. Ancient Mayan temple discovered. Exciting stuff.

Time for a bite to eat over the morning TV. More news. More archaeology. Yes, you are aware of what is up with the missing plane. Fine. Now the archaeology in video format. Video of people dusting off some skulls and bits of pottery. All well and good, but archaeology isn't your thing. It would be nice to hear about something else. Even when it isn't archaeology season, the media follow noted archaeologists. They drive fast cars, have sex with beautiful women, advertise fragrances, and sometimes they go to nightclubs and act in the worst possible way. Scandals erupt as the tabloids follow these new celebrities when they're not searching the past for answers. It is entirely possible you can recite the names of certain researchers, even if you don't pay attention to archaeology. You don't know what transfer season is, but you know that someone was transferred to a dig in Peru for a sum of money that could fund the London Underground for two whole days.

Out of the car at 8:55 and into work. What are the colleagues talking about, I wonder? Oh, Jones dropped a 3,890 year old pot and smashed it? What a useless wanker! Someone should do something unpleasant to him. And don't even ask about the unfortunate incident in Athens two years ago - you'll be there all day! Breaking a pillar like that! We don't talk about that here, mate. What? You don't want to discuss the finer points of the prevalence of phallic imagery in Pompeii? Is there something wrong with you?

The drive home from work. Every thirty minutes, no matter the station, someone mentions the archaeology. Best sit in silence. Drive past a huge billboard with a black and white picture of a rakishly handsome archaeologist draped over an impossibly beautiful woman. He's winking at you. Trowel in his left hand, supermodel in the right. Jurassic, by Calvin Klein.

And now the pub. A nice pub with a beer garden. Posters in the windows. LIVE EXCAVATION AT THE VALLEY OF THE KINGS! All of it on a huge TV with the volume up too loud. Drunken people yelling at the screen. "SEND IT FOR CARBON DATING, YOU USELESS ****!" "WHAT ARE YOU ON, MATE? DUST THE ANCIENT MEDALLION GENTLY! SMELTING METHODS OF THE TIME PRODUCED VERY SOFT AND IMPURE METALS EASILY PRONE TO DISFIGURATION!" All this from two men out of a crowd of twenty. One lousy drunken idiot and his chum ruin the image of other archaeology fans. Carbon dating report from the lab updates on TV, read by a man employed because they've been following the beautiful science since they were a boy. The drunk chimes in again. "WHAT PHARAOH'S REIGN DID YOU SAY? DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS SAYS ABOUT THE UNDERPINNINGS OF OUR THEORY OF AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT OF 4TH BC EGYPT? GET IN, MATE!" A cheer cascades through the building and you can only wonder why.

Best go home and avoid anyone who might be drinking and singing. You once met a disagreeable chap who threatened to beat you up because you didn't watch the archaeology. "Not a late paleolithic era supporter are you? Think you're better than me? I'll ****ing have you, you scrawny ****!"

To bed. To repeat the cycle tomorrow. The inescapable, inevitability that wherever you go, someone, somewhere, is just dying to talk to you about the archaeology.
__________________

diomed

Gwynplaine wrote: »

The horses that have to be put down after going over some of those big jumps. And the jockey being broke up in bits too.

Yes. I prefer flat racing. Jumping is a learned skill for a horse. They will not jump by choice.
(Please do not tell me you see jockeyless horses jumping fences. That is herd instinct. They want to stay with the herd.)
You are like almost everyone else in your judgement.
A very few horses break legs and have to be put down to save them suffering.
They are a flight animal and it is not possible to mend a break and stop the horse trying to use it.

Do you want to stop thoroughbred racing?
Then answer this question: Who will keep racehorses?
They will all be killed to satisfy you complaining about a small number of horse deaths.
There will be no more racehorses.

But did you know there are 24,000+ mares at stud in Ireland And Britain.
About a third or more of all foals born do not make the racecourse and they do not retire. Thousands disappear.
You are a TV person, reacting only to what you see, knowing a very small part of the picture.

Jockeys ride horses for income and the thrill of racing. That is their choice.

Steve F

Originally Posted by suicide_circus View Post
Its the least entertaining spectator sport I've ever seen.
Didn’t watch United last night then?

Lads I can end this debate now with one word

CRICKET!!

Mysterypunter

Steve F wrote: »

Originally Posted by suicide_circus View Post
Its the least entertaining spectator sport I've ever seen.
Didn’t watch United last night then?

Lads I can end this debate now with one word

CRICKET!!

Right boy, Motor Racing is the answer to that one, or more probably NASCAR

SEPT 23 1989

a couple of cheetahs released as they are coming into home straight would liven things up

Deise Vu

diomed wrote: »

Who had the €3k? Was it the lad who met him, or the lad who was sacked three years ago?
Who is the fella in his 30s living with his parents?
Who expects to lose €3k, and why is that obvious. Where did he get the €3k. Did he win it or save it?

Mmm... I think someone had a run of bad luck yesterday.;)

diomed

Deise Vu wrote: »

Mmm... I think someone had a run of bad luck yesterday.;)

Your post was confusing, talking about lads, and impossible to follow.

I am only interested in flat racing.
Cheltenham does not interest me.
My bet yesterday was €120 on Peru at 370s for the soccer World Cup.

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