Tirico To Replace Hammond As Host Of NBC's Triple Crown Coverage

[Al Gobbi]

STAMFORD, Conn. – April 25, 2017 – Mike Tirico will be taking the Triple Crown hosting reins from Tom Hammond, an award-winning member of NBC Sports’ horse racing team for more than three decades.

“NBC Sports is the home to the world’s premier horse racing, due in no small part to Tom’s passion, knowledge and relationships in the sport,” said Mark Lazarus, Chairman NBC Broadcasting and Sports. “We are pleased that Tom is going to remain part of the NBC family and that we have someone of Mike’s caliber to succeed him on horse racing.”

Next week on NBCSN, Hammond will host the special 30-minute My Kentucky Home, in which he takes a look at how Kentucky came to be the home of thoroughbred racing.

Tirico, making his first-ever trip to a Triple Crown event, joins NBC Sports Group’s Triple Crown coverage beginning with the 2017 Kentucky Derby on May 6 on NBC, and will host the Preakness Stakes on May 20, and the Belmont Stakes on June 10.


http://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/2017/04/25/mike-tirico-succeeds-tom-hammond-as-a-host-of-nbc-sports-groups-triple-crown-horse-racing-coverage-beginning-with-2017-kentucky-derby/

[Hoops McCann]

probably a good move. i've always liked Tom and will miss him in this spot. Tirico is smart and very professional and i think he will do a good job.

[v j stauffer]

probably a good move. i've always liked Tom and will miss him in this spot. Tirico is smart and very professional and i think he will do a good job.

Tirico IMO is one of the premier broadcasters in the world. However there's no chance he can be as good as Tom for this particular show.

Most people who watch the Derby telecast know very little about horse racing. Hammond posses the special gift of teaching the newbies while not having to dumb down for those of us that are more seasoned fans.

With all due respect to Tirico he can't possibly match the niche and acumen that Tom's (50 years at the track) presentation comes with.

Truth be told NBC doesn't have anywhere to use Tirico until the Olympics come around. And this is the result.

Mike will be fine. He's a consummate pro.

Tom would have been furlongs better.

[olddaddy]

Could be worse. Costas could have taken over for Hammond, that would have been extremely painful.

[Copyroomjim]

If they would get rid of Johnnie & Tara, and most of the other crap, it might be worth watching for once.

[dilanesp]

Tirico IMO is one of the premier broadcasters in the world. However there's no chance he can be as good as Tom for this particular show.

Most people who watch the Derby telecast know very little about horse racing. Hammond posses the special gift of teaching the newbies while not having to dumb down for those of us that are more seasoned fans.

With all due respect to Tirico he can't possibly match the niche and acumen that Tom's (50 years at the track) presentation comes with.

Truth be told NBC doesn't have anywhere to use Tirico until the Olympics come around. And this is the result.

Mike will be fine. He's a consummate pro.

Tom would have been furlongs better.

Vic's right, of course.

I don't know if Vic ever heard the late Jim Healy, who did a 30 minute sports-comedy radio show through the 1970's and 1980's that was very popular here in LA. Healy had been a television broadcaster (he broadcast a lot of big fights in the 1960's and 1970's and is even in one of the Rocky movies as a fight announcer), and he knew a lot about television and used to talk about announcers a lot on his show. He also loved horse racing. (Fun fact, he attended the 1950 Thanksgiving Day Handicap at Hollywood Park, won by Your Host over On Trust and Ponder in a three horse photo finish, with my parents.)

Healy used to say something about horse racing on television. He watched as good sportscasters like Brent Musburger, Dick Enberg, and Howard Cosell were put on horse racing telecasts and did a terrible job. They got exposed because it's a complicated sport and they didn't know anything. So Healy implored networks not to do this. There are plenty of sportscasters who know something about horse racing, he would say. Hire one of them.

He would have hated the Tirico assignment. NBC's just doing this because they spent a lot of money on Tirico, only to find out the NFL doesn't want him on Thursday night NFL games. So they are putting him on other stuff.

He's not going to be very good on horse racing.

[Cratos]

Vic's right, of course.

I don't know if Vic ever heard the late Jim Healy, who did a 30 minute sports-comedy radio show through the 1970's and 1980's that was very popular here in LA. Healy had been a television broadcaster (he broadcast a lot of big fights in the 1960's and 1970's and is even in one of the Rocky movies as a fight announcer), and he knew a lot about television and used to talk about announcers a lot on his show. He also loved horse racing. (Fun fact, he attended the 1950 Thanksgiving Day Handicap at Hollywood Park, won by Your Host over On Trust and Ponder in a three horse photo finish, with my parents.)

Healy used to say something about horse racing on television. He watched as good sportscasters like Brent Musburger, Dick Enberg, and Howard Cosell were put on horse racing telecasts and did a terrible job. They got exposed because it's a complicated sport and they didn't know anything. So Healy implored networks not to do this. There are plenty of sportscasters who know something about horse racing, he would say. Hire one of them.

He would have hated the Tirico assignment. NBC's just doing this because they spent a lot of money on Tirico, only to find out the NFL doesn't want him on Thursday night NFL games. So they are putting him on other stuff.

He's not going to be very good on horse racing.

I wholeheartedly agree you and I believe that anyone should get any job they are offered if they are qualified, but Tirico will flame out like candles at a birthday party as an announcer/commentator in horseracing.

Horseracing unlike any other major sport has many nuisances and the ability to comment intelligently about it in an understandable manner to a large viewing/listening audience is difficult.

[v j stauffer]

Vic's right, of course.

I don't know if Vic ever heard the late Jim Healy, who did a 30 minute sports-comedy radio show through the 1970's and 1980's that was very popular here in LA. Healy had been a television broadcaster (he broadcast a lot of big fights in the 1960's and 1970's and is even in one of the Rocky movies as a fight announcer), and he knew a lot about television and used to talk about announcers a lot on his show. He also loved horse racing. (Fun fact, he attended the 1950 Thanksgiving Day Handicap at Hollywood Park, won by Your Host over On Trust and Ponder in a three horse photo finish, with my parents.)

Healy used to say something about horse racing on television. He watched as good sportscasters like Brent Musburger, Dick Enberg, and Howard Cosell were put on horse racing telecasts and did a terrible job. They got exposed because it's a complicated sport and they didn't know anything. So Healy implored networks not to do this. There are plenty of sportscasters who know something about horse racing, he would say. Hire one of them.

He would have hated the Tirico assignment. NBC's just doing this because they spent a lot of money on Tirico, only to find out the NFL doesn't want him on Thursday night NFL games. So they are putting him on other stuff.

He's not going to be very good on horse racing.

Isss It True..............

Yes.

I was a huge Healy fan. He spent a lot of time in the SA press box when I was just a pup taking the call for DRF.

Great guy. Sure loved horse racing. Hee-Hee-Hee

[upthecreek]

Tom Hammond has a piece tomorrow on NBC Sports channel on how Kentucky became home of the KD (5-530) Eastern

[PowerUpPaynter]

Wonder which will be the features on Saturday. Im guessing Pletcher and his trio, Gunnevera and Sano's crazy kidnapping story, Irish War Cry and Rajiv Miragh's comeback from a broken back and the owner is the daughter of the guy who founded Monmouth Park named Haskell...

[PowerUpPaynter]

Also Ashley Judd did such good jobs doing the intros but after you do this gotta wonder if they invite you back... YIKES!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep2cfVf27HI




she was much better when she kept it to this... one of the best intros iv seen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J98C2unQppY&index=1&list=WL&t=4s

[Hoops McCann]

i thought Tirico did a very good job. also enjoyed the special by Tom Hammond.

[Rex Phinney]

Mike Tirico is just one of those guys who is good no matter what. He strikes me as just enough of a sports guy that he can survive being on air doing anything, football, figure skating, horse racing, curling you name it. I think having the future of all sports things NBC on air for racing broadcasts is a good thing. Tom Hammond was/ is great, but boy he had a lot of errors in the last couple of years. I think they are well served to keep him involved in lesser roles.

[upthecreek]

i thought Tirico did a very good job. also enjoyed the special by Tom Hammond.
I thought he was out of his element At one point he said the track was UPGRADED to muddy:bang:

[dilanesp]

I thought he was out of his element At one point he said the track was UPGRADED to muddy:bang:

And this is exactly the sort of mistake that Jim Healy used to talk about.

You just can't fake it on a horse racing telecast.

[Grits]

i thought Tirico did a very good job. also enjoyed the special by Tom Hammond.

So did I. I thought his work was excellent, he knew his athletes, his trainers, this Oaks and Derby he'd been cast to host. He knew past ones, too. And I say this having watched all of both days. I loved Tom's look at his home of Lexington. It was great!

(Upthecreek, do you even like your children? You're positives are rare.) :lol:

[upthecreek]

So did I. I thought his work was excellent, he knew his athletes, his trainers, this Oaks and Derby he'd been cast to host. He knew past ones, too. And I say this having watched all of both days. I loved Tom's look at his home of Lexington. It was great!

(Upthecreek, do you even like your children? You're positives are rare.) :lol:

Nothing to do with liking him or not I thought he looked uncomfortable and there are a lot of better choices to host I said earlier in another thread I thought Krista Voda ? did an excellent job
PS NO !

[señorclipclop]

Nothing to do with liking him or not I thought he looked uncomfortable and there are a lot of better choices to host I said earlier in another thread I thought Krista Voda ? did an excellent job
PS NO !

Seems like Tirico had never even watched a horse race outside of, maybe, past Kentucky Derbies.

[PaceAdvantage]

I thought he was out of his element At one point he said the track was UPGRADED to muddy:bang:Isn't muddy an upgrade over sloppy? Call me a dumbass noob but I don't see anything wrong with what he said.

[thaskalos]

Isn't muddy an upgrade over sloppy? Call me a dumbass noob but I don't see anything wrong with what he said.

No. It goes from fast, to good, to sloppy, to muddy...and then from muddy, to good, to fast. Muddy is about as bad as it gets.

[PaceAdvantage]

No. It goes from fast, to good, to sloppy, to muddy...and then back again. :)No it doesn't. It goes from fast to good to muddy to sloppy...

What planet have I been living on?

[Tom]

Moss and Bailey were all that was needed.
The other gal and the guy brought nothing to the table except appetites.

Preakness Day I'm going to Finger Lakes.
The program whippers are better hosts. :D

[PaceAdvantage]

No. It goes from fast, to good, to sloppy, to muddy...and then from muddy, to good, to fast. Muddy is about as bad as it gets.I just looked at the Ainslie book...and indeed he has it as thaskalos states. That just blows my mind.

For 30 years now I thought it went from muddy to sloppy and not the other way around. I thought sloppy was the wettest a track designation gets...where there is water on the surface...the wettest and worst that it gets.

As it dries, there is no water on the surface, but it's now muddy...

How the **** did I get this wrong all these years?

And why doesn't this make any sense to me the way thaskalos says?

[PaceAdvantage]

But then, I find this (on Wiki):

USA[edit]
In the United States, different systems are used for turf racetracks and dirt tracks. Artificial surfaces (called all-weather tracks in official charts) use the dirt track rating system.

For dirt tracks the track conditions are:[6][7]

fast: dry, even, resilient surface

wet fast - track has surface water on it, but base is still solid. times are similar to, or sometimes faster than, a fast track. occurs immediately after a heavy rain

good: a track that is almost fast

muddy: a track that is wet but has no standing water

sloppy: a track saturated with water; with standing water visible

slow: a track wet on both the surface and base

sealed: A track surface that has been packed down. A sealed dry tracks allows water to run off the track, reducing the amount of precipitation absorbed. Wet tracks are sealed to provide a safe and even racing surface[8]

[thaskalos]

I just looked at the Ainslie book...and indeed he has it as thaskalos states. That just blows my mind.

For 30 years now I thought it went from muddy to sloppy and not the other way around. I thought sloppy was the wettest a track designation gets...where there is water on the surface...the wettest and worst that it gets.

As it dries, there is no water on the surface, but it's now muddy...

How the **** did I get this wrong all these years?

And why doesn't this make any sense to me the way thaskalos says?

No surprise there. MOST of the things that I say here make no sense to you.

[PaceAdvantage]

Here's the Keeneland website:

http://m.keeneland.com/track-conditions

That seems to indicate the order that I grew up on...

Fast, Good, Muddy, Sloppy

Best to worst.

I'm sticking to that, and still say Tirico wasn't wrong.

[thaskalos]

Here's the Keeneland website:

http://m.keeneland.com/track-conditions

That seems to indicate the order that I grew up on...

Fast, Good, Muddy, Sloppy

Best to worst.

I'm sticking to that, and still say Tirico wasn't wrong.

When it starts raining, PA...it goes from fast, to good, to sloppy to muddy. And...if the rain is hard enough...then it bypasses the "good" and it goes straight to "sloppy"...and THEN to "muddy". Take my word for it...I've "been around" longer than you have. :cool:

[Tom]

I always thought muddy was a drying out condition - the water is now down inside the track and drying out, the worst condition.

[thaskalos]

I always thought muddy was a drying out condition - the water is now down inside the track and drying out, the worst condition.

That's right. When the track is "sloppy"...the puddles are only on the surface of the track...and the track is still firm underneath. That's why the horses are still able to run quick times, even when the track is listed as "sloppy". But on a "muddy" track, the water has penetrated deep into the track, soaking it throughout...and causing it to become slow and tiring. MUDDY is the worst track condition.

[dilanesp]

No it doesn't. It goes from fast to good to muddy to sloppy...

What planet have I been living on?

Nowadays with sealed tracks it seems to go from fast to sloppy and back to fast.

But Thas is right. It was always fast-good-sloppy-muddy back when the tracks went through all the phases.

[upthecreek]

Nowadays with sealed tracks it seems to go from fast to sloppy and back to fast.

But Thas is right. It was always fast-good-sloppy-muddy back when the tracks went through all the phases.
That's the way it's been for the 36 years I've been going to the track Muddy is the slowest,deepest ,worst track condition you can have

[upthecreek]

When it starts raining, PA...it goes from fast, to good, to sloppy to muddy. And...if the rain is hard enough...then it bypasses the "good" and it goes straight to "sloppy"...and THEN to "muddy". Take my word for it...I've "been around" longer than you have. :cool:
I don't agree with you much,but your 100% right Handicapping 101

[upthecreek]

I just looked at the Ainslie book...and indeed he has it as thaskalos states. That just blows my mind.

For 30 years now I thought it went from muddy to sloppy and not the other way around. I thought sloppy was the wettest a track designation gets...where there is water on the surface...the wettest and worst that it gets.

As it dries, there is no water on the surface, but it's now muddy...

How the **** did I get this wrong all these years?

And why doesn't this make any sense to me the way thaskalos says?
They use to have a designation "heavy" you never see anymore
Why don't we ask someone at DRF?

[upthecreek]

Dirt Conditions:

FT - Fast - Completely dry and at optimal efficiency.

WF - Wet Fast - Occurs immediately after a heavy rain; track has surface water on it, but the base is still solid, accounting for times similar to (or even faster than) a fast track.

SY - Sloppy - As the track continues to accumulate moisture, the base is still solid but water is beginning to seep into the base; SURFACE WATER IS EVIDENT.

MY - Muddy - Moisture has permeated the base of the track; times are somewhat slower and running tires the horses more.

SL - Slow - The racing surface has begun to dry out; the base is still soft, but surface drying is evident; times are generally slower than normal.

HY - Heavy - Similar to Muddy, track surface is deep and consistency is thick, an obvious slowing of times will be apparent as will the tiring of front runners.

GD - Good - The drying process continues, times improve and the track is approaching a FAST condition. Some flying dust may be evident.

FZ - Frozen - As a result of sustained low temperatures, ice particles have formed on the racing surface.

[PaceAdvantage]

Well, you learn something new everyday I guess...

[Grits]

Well, you learn something new everyday I guess...

Thirty years a NOOB!! I guess so!! :pound:

Thask is correct. ;)

It's one of the first things I learned from Ainslie's book many moons ago.

Muddy is horrible, the worst due to its tiring, sucking action on the horse's hooves.

[Dahoss9698]

I actually thought sloppy was the worst also :p

[Rex Phinney]

Well if he got through his first Derby day telecast and this is all we have to fault him with, I'd say he gets a passing grade.

[dilanesp]

Slow and heavy have been retired in North America.

I remember Vigors' Santa Anita Handicap was run on a track rated slow.

Slow probably needed to be retired because it suggests a high variant more than it does moisture.

They still use heavy to describe turf courses in Europe.

[PaceAdvantage]

I actually thought sloppy was the worst also :pGlad to hear it...I knew I couldn't be the only noob around here...

[Hoops McCann]

Well if he got through his first Derby day telecast and this is all we have to fault him with, I'd say he gets a passing grade.

for sure. sounded like he knew his horseracing stuff pretty well to me.