Racing Broadcaster John McCririck Dies

gerrybbadd · 05-07-2019 11:27am #1

Had a good innings at 79.

Mod note: Link...https://www.rte.ie/sport/racing/2019/0705/1060338-death-announced-of-racing-broadcaster-john-mccririck/

riffmongous · 05-07-2019 11:37am

He was pretty iconic for horse racing. Rip

Gimme A Pound · 05-07-2019 11:42am

Poor Booby.

Franz Von Peppercorn II · 05-07-2019 11:43am

79 is not that great these days as an innings. About average?

Quite a character. RIP.

Scorpion Sting · 05-07-2019 11:44am

One of the great characters who'll be missed in the Horse Racing world. Rest in peace.

JohnnyFlash · 05-07-2019 11:52am

A complete bollöcks by all accounts.

branie2 · 05-07-2019 12:08pm

May he rest in peace

kneemos · 05-07-2019 12:08pm

Does this mean he was a great guy?

corner of hells · 05-07-2019 12:10pm

Any news on Beiber?
He still kickin' ?

Gael23 · 05-07-2019 12:12pm

He won’t be missed by many. Booby can now have some peace after so many years of suffering
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-6252403/John-McCririck-reveals-hes-NOT-DYING-explains-gaunt-frail-appearance-flu.html

Bobblehats · 05-07-2019 12:23pm

The madcap dies! Racing definitely lost a few casual viewers when that loon retired

RhubarbCrumble · 05-07-2019 12:27pm

JohnnyFlash wrote: »

A complete bollöcks by all accounts.

A nasty piece of work.

Gimme A Pound · 05-07-2019 12:28pm

Gael23 wrote: »

He won’t be missed by many. Booby can now have some peace after so many years of suffering
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-6252403/John-McCririck-reveals-hes-NOT-DYING-explains-gaunt-frail-appearance-flu.html

I don't think that article mentioned his weight and severe bout of flu enough times.

bobbysands81 · 05-07-2019 12:29pm

Had the pleasure of meeting John McCririck at a charity do once. He was surprisingly down to earth, and VERY funny.

Gael23 · 05-07-2019 12:30pm

Gimme A Pound wrote: »

I don't think that article mentioned his weight and severe bout of flu enough times.

Sounds too like troath cancer to me govern he was a lifelong cigar smoker.

ohnonotgmail · 05-07-2019 12:40pm

Bobblehats wrote: »

The madcap dies! Racing definitely lost a few casual viewers when that loon retired

he didn't retire from Channel 4 racing. they didnt want him any more.

Bobblehats · 05-07-2019 12:42pm

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

he didn't retire from Channel 4 racing. they didnt want him any more.

Oh yeah I remember now. Fair to say he was never retiring..

Edgware · 05-07-2019 1:00pm

Funny at times and a gob****e at times. A relic of the old style bookies, ITV 7 etc.
Replaced by boring politically correct commentators afraid to make a mistake in case someone gets offended

Your Face · 05-07-2019 1:25pm

I don't watch the horses but know who this fella was.
I didn't follow his career so can someone answer the following:
Why all the hate - what did he do?

Outlaw Pete · 05-07-2019 1:39pm

Always great on Big Brother's panel show.

And he got this response from Ruby which I always thought showed his true colours re: punters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVzJ0kq0Vd0

RIP.

gerrybbadd · 05-07-2019 4:15pm

Mods, there's a thread in the Horse Racing forum too. Could the threads be stitched together perhaps?

Franz Von Peppercorn II · 05-07-2019 4:20pm

Naw. I know him from big brother mostly.

Ruby was right about punters.

castletownman · 05-07-2019 4:31pm

I heard he died this morning at 10/1

Hamsterchops · 05-07-2019 4:52pm

Gael23 wrote: »

Sounds too like troath cancer to me govern he was a lifelong cigar smoker.

You mean throat cancer.
Truly awful disease, scary.

He was the voice of horse racing for so many years, accentric dress sense and a character to match...
Hope the Booby will be alright without him.

DEFTLEFTHAND · 05-07-2019 5:15pm

Your Face wrote: »

I don't watch the horses but know who this fella was.
I didn't follow his career so can someone answer the following:
Why all the hate - what did he do?

He didn't do anything, he was just very outspoken and brutally honest at times.

People like that make enemies.

I liked him. We don't see characters like him in the media anymore. Everyone's afraid of causing offence.

Edgware · 05-07-2019 6:47pm

Franz Von Peppercorn II wrote: »

Naw. I know him from big brother mostly.

Ruby was right about punters.

Of course he's right. Its owners/trainers pay his wages9

Outlaw Pete · 05-07-2019 8:01pm

Edgware wrote: »

Of course he's right. Its owners/trainers pay his wages9

No punters, no bookies, no horse racing.

It would be like footballers at a club saying they couldn't give a fcuk about the fans, as sure the owners pay their wages.

If a player did say that, they'd be hated and I see no reason to excuse a jockey for saying similar.

Hate that attitude with a passion. Walsh never could wrap his head around the fact that it was in fact the punter who actually paid his wages.

Listening to a bit of a tribute to him on William Hill Radio earlier and one chap was saying how on The Morning Line he had a go at a pundit (they didn't name him) who had tipped a horse on air but had actually backed another in the race. When they came back on air he confronted him about it.

Lots to dislike about McCririck, but that's one thing to like about him, he at least tried to see that the punter was in someway represented.

SeaFields · 05-07-2019 8:14pm

castletownman wrote: »

I heard he died this morning at 10/1

Technically that'd be the afternoon...

ILoveYourVibes · 05-07-2019 8:23pm

I am only really interested in the riding side of racing. No idea really who he was. No idea why people hate him though.

ILoveYourVibes · 05-07-2019 8:29pm

Outlaw Pete wrote: »

No punters, no bookies, no horse racing.

It's like footballers who couldn't give a fcuk about the fans of a club, saying well the owners pay their wages.

Hate that attitude with a passion.

That is 100% NOT true.

No other horse sport has punters.

And they have FAR more prestige and riders get paid far more on average.

Showjumping. Dressage . Cross country. Eventing. Polo.

Barrel Racing.

A professional polo player will make from between 5 million and 10 million a year.

High end showjumpers will earn around one million. (They have to win it though) The low end showjumper will earn 10 k. That's minus expenses. Most will be in the middle though at about 500,000

Horse racing would of course survive without punters. Every other horse sport has.

And if you are a punter etc are you a fan of horses really? I have heard punters speak very disrespectfully about the skill of jockeys and their horsemanship etc. And disregarding the dignity of horses etc. Not all but some.

They are gambling fans. That isn't to say you can't be both. But not all punters are fans of horse racing.

Woke Hogan · 05-07-2019 9:02pm

Outlaw Pete wrote: »

No punters, no bookies, no horse racing.

It's like footballers who couldn't give a fcuk about the fans of a club, saying well the owners pay their wages.

Hate that attitude with a passion.

It's not a legitimate sport if it's relying on gambling to survive.

ILoveYourVibes · 05-07-2019 9:04pm

Woke Hogan wrote: »

It's not a legitimate sport if it's relying on gambling to survive.

It doesn't.

So many equine sports are in the Olympics etc.

If horse racing got a world championships etc and tried to get into the Olympics it would help.

ILoveYourVibes · 05-07-2019 9:05pm

He was a brilliant showman. That was his talent and intelligence. He didn't need to be anything else. People could learn from that. It wasn't his controversy that made him famous that eventually sidelined his career but it was his showmanship. It's a talent the British have in spades.

Woke Hogan · 05-07-2019 9:05pm

ILoveYourVibes wrote: »

It doesn't.

McCririck should have pissed off and left Ruby Walsh alone then.

ILoveYourVibes · 05-07-2019 9:07pm

Woke Hogan wrote: »

McCririck should have pissed off and left Ruby Walsh alone then.

True. Not sure why he started the fight in the first place tbh. He seemed intent on causing a fight.

Some people have said he was anti Irish though and said rude things.

JohnnyFlash · 05-07-2019 9:15pm

Love the racing. Nothing like heading over to Cheltenham for 4 days of drinking and gambling.

Fanny Wank · 05-07-2019 9:18pm

SeaFields wrote: »

Technically that'd be the afternoon...

Not if it was 0050 on the old 24 hour clock

Woke Hogan · 05-07-2019 9:24pm

ILoveYourVibes wrote: »

True. Not sure why he started the fight in the first place tbh. He seemed intent on causing a fight.

Some people have said he was anti Irish though and said rude things.

Stupid people love getting offended if athletes insinuate anything other than blind fawning towards the fans. Look at how people responded to Roy Keane in 2012 or how people are responding to Walsh's comments in this thread. McCririck knew this and he played the thickos in the crowd perfectly. True sportsmen only care about two things: winning and preserving their livelihoods. All this "what about the fans" stuff is mawkish nonsense.

zuxa gif iwo · 05-07-2019 9:39pm

ILoveYourVibes wrote: »

Horse racing would of course survive without punters. Every other horse sport has..

it never would, how many would pay in to cheltenham or fairyhouse just to watch a few horses run a lap or two of the circuit without the betting aspect?

SeaFields · 05-07-2019 10:02pm

Fanny **** wrote: »

Not if it was 0050 on the old 24 hour clock

Hat tip to you sir.

Blinky Plebum · 05-07-2019 10:11pm

ILoveYourVibes wrote: »

That is 100% NOT true.

No other horse sport has punters.

And they have FAR more prestige and riders get paid far more on average.

Showjumping. Dressage . Cross country. Eventing. Polo.

Barrel Racing.

A professional polo player will make from between 5 million and 10 million a year.

High end showjumpers will earn around one million. (They have to win it though) The low end showjumper will earn 10 k. That's minus expenses. Most will be in the middle though at about 500,000

Horse racing would of course survive without punters. Every other horse sport has.

And if you are a punter etc are you a fan of horses really? I have heard punters speak very disrespectfully about the skill of jockeys and their horsemanship etc. And disregarding the dignity of horses etc. Not all but some.

They are gambling fans. That isn't to say you can't be both. But not all punters are fans of horse racing.

They banned gambling on horse racing in America in the early 20th century and it had to be reintroduced because the sport died once they took away the gambling.Some racing fans like to think that the sport would thrive without gambling but it wouldn't it would die fairly quickly if people couldn't bet on it.

ILoveYourVibes · 05-07-2019 10:13pm

zuxa gif iwo wrote: »

it never would, how many would pay in to cheltenham or fairyhouse just to watch a few horses run a lap or two of the circuit without the betting aspect?

It doesn't need people to pay in.

Equine companies sponsor the prize money for events etc.

You see longines longines longines EVERYWHERE at these places and that's a swiss watch company.

Polo players get between 5 million and 10 million a year if they turn pro and are decent.

You don't get many people watching polo or showjumping either.

Equine companies sponsor it because away from the sport horses need pretty much the same care. Its a way to introduce the equine world across all sports to their products.

And lastly why wouldn't people pay in??

Ever see the palio?

Its huge ..its also community based and the contrada help support it

They don't allow betting. https://www.italymagazine.com/italy/tuscany/siena-fends-palio-betting-bid

People go MAD for it.

The Irish races on the beach etc like laytown could be put against each other the best jockey/horse from each. No betting. But town pride etc.

People would love it!

JohnnyFlash · 05-07-2019 10:14pm

The Palio is free in.

ILoveYourVibes · 05-07-2019 10:22pm

JohnnyFlash wrote: »

The Palio is free in.

Still HUGE.

They have other similar races too throughout the year.

Its kind of like the GAA ....cept better cuz horses

ILoveYourVibes · 05-07-2019 10:26pm

Anyway in countries where gambling is banned they still have horseracing.

Anyway if you are a true fan of it you would go without betting. If not then you are a gambler and nothing wrong with that at all but just making a distinction.

Birneybau · 05-07-2019 10:28pm

He reeeeallly didn't like 'Sutcliffe:The Musical'

flos1964 · 05-07-2019 10:41pm

ILoveYourVibes wrote: »

He was a brilliant showman. That was his talent and intelligence. He didn't need to be anything else. People could learn from that. It wasn't his controversy that made him famous that eventually sidelined his career but it was his showmanship. It's a talent the British have in spades.

Even though you had no idea really who he was...your words.

ILoveYourVibes · 05-07-2019 10:51pm

flos1964 wrote: »

Even though you had no idea really who he was...your words.

I could tell that at a glance though.

Aidric · 05-07-2019 10:55pm

ILoveYourVibes wrote: »

He was a brilliant showman. That was his talent and intelligence. He didn't need to be anything else. People could learn from that. It wasn't his controversy that made him famous that eventually sidelined his career but it was his showmanship. It's a talent the British have in spades.

Make no mistake, McCririck knew the racing game but conversely that made his outbursts all the more empty. Racing is in the pocket of the bookmaking industry and there's no sign of that changing anytime soon. His rants on behalf of the punters was nothing more than empty rhetoric.

ILoveYourVibes · 05-07-2019 10:58pm

Aidric wrote: »

Make no mistake, McCririck knew the racing game but conversely that made his outbursts all the more empty. Racing is in the pocket of the bookmaking industry and there's no sign of that changing anytime soon. His rants on behalf of the punters was nothing more than empty rhetoric.

Yes I understand. TBH he probably didn't even represent punters well. I don't think they are as presented.

I think there should be a part of the racing industry you can't bet on though. I would like to see what would happen etc.

Its the bookies who make the punting money off of it.

Road-Hog · 06-07-2019 7:18am

JohnnyFlash wrote: »

Love the racing. Nothing like heading over to Cheltenham for 4 days of drinking and gambling.

What about the ‘phillys’.....are race meats a very fertile ground for sophisticated ladies with beautiful head gear etc almost matching John mcquirrick ?

Racing Broadcaster John McCririck Dies

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