Hollywood Park opens tomorrow

[joeyreb]

One of my favorite meets of the year opens tomorrow.

Friday Night racing & TVG is a weekly stop down with me. After being forced to watch HRTV, it will great to see Hollywood Park, Del Mar and Oak Tree again

I am wondering how the Cushion Track will play this spring, I thought it actually improved the racing last fall first time on the Cushion Track.


Joe
http://www.inside-the-paddock.com/

[Southieboy]

It appears that this that this is ther final Hollywood meet as a TVG exclusive, as Xpressbet will offer online and phone wagering to all residents in the fall meet.

http://www.xpressbet.com/Mrestrictions.aspx?langversion=English#track

[gIracing]

HRTV and TVG both have their perks.

If I had my choice, I take HRTV. It's more about the races with HRTV, plus the talking heads look better

The downside is, if you are like me and you don't mind listening to someone talk (commentary), after 6ish you are pretty much SOL on HRTV unless it's a saturday night, then maybe 8ish. TVG gives live commentary all night

It's very little things about TVG that irk me.. like not being able to see the Dam and Sire when they are showing a horse. having to think too hard when watching the bottom of their screen to look at odds.

HRTV has aussie racing, which behing American Racing is my fav


If I have learned one thing watching TVG it's how much I dispise european racing.. what's the point of watching a 3 mile race if you are literarly jogging around the track? Love the accents however ;)

I like watching the two year olds in training auctions. HRTV covers it, TVG (at least from what i have seen) doesn't

[gIracing]

It appears that this that this is ther final Hollywood meet as a TVG exclusive, as Xpressbet will offer online and phone wagering to all residents in the fall meet.

http://www.xpressbet.com/Mrestrictions.aspx?langversion=English#track


if xpressbet is going to offer that, you can bank on it that Oak Tree meet will be on HRTV

[Southieboy]

Why?

[joeyreb]

TVG does a better job covering the track they are broadcasting from, good paddock reports before and after a race.

With HRTV you might get a post race interview.

I made the switch from Direct TV to Dish Network to get both, so I could watch Santa Anita and Lone Star, most of the other tracks they show (pre Churchill merger) I could care less about.

Opening weekend of Lone Star, Friday Night, we have major weather with hail, I decide to stay home and spare my new car from Hail damage watch Lone Star on HRTV. First post is delayed because of weather, but the first race goes off and finishes then Santa Anita's 8th race goes and finishes then We see a many time repeated "Inside Information". Lone Star's 2nd & 3rd goes off and finishes before it ends.

HRTV can't handle the feeds they are ready have, it's going to be real cluster with the addition of the Churchill feeds.


HRTV and TVG both have their perks.

If I had my choice, I take HRTV. It's more about the races with HRTV, plus the talking heads look better

The downside is, if you are like me and you don't mind listening to someone talk (commentary), after 6ish you are pretty much SOL on HRTV unless it's a saturday night, then maybe 8ish. TVG gives live commentary all night

It's very little things about TVG that irk me.. like not being able to see the Dam and Sire when they are showing a horse. having to think too hard when watching the bottom of their screen to look at odds.

HRTV has aussie racing, which behing American Racing is my fav


If I have learned one thing watching TVG it's how much I dispise european racing.. what's the point of watching a 3 mile race if you are literarly jogging around the track? Love the accents however ;)

I like watching the two year olds in training auctions. HRTV covers it, TVG (at least from what i have seen) doesn't

[gIracing]

if you watch it as much as I do (and I work from home, so I can say I log more hours on HRTV than probably anyone, because my tv station doesn't change durning the day) you understand the problem


first of all, on a daily basis, HRTV has more tracks the TVG. On a Wednesday HRTV is juggling 5-6 tracks. they were doing Laurel, Oaklawn, Gulfstream, San Isedrio, Tama Bay Downs, Bay Meadows and Santa Anita at the same time. this is on a wednesday. Can you really blame the HOSTS? for that? They do a good job of making sure you don't miss a Gulfstream/Santa Anita race, you will hardly EVER see one of thoose on tape delay.

If anythnig, they need to have another channel, a la ESPN2 to handle some of the broadacasting

Can they handle the Churchill Feed? I don't see why not. first of all, keep in mind Gulfstream just dropped off, they don't get calder or arlington until next year, Santa Anita just dropped off. churchill will be the "main track" a la gulfstream and santa anita. the feeds will revolve around churchill

when I first started watching Becky Whitzman was always in the backstreach doing repoprts... she'd be on every morning before the SA meet started, it's like by Mid Febuary she just said "screw it, I need to sleep in".

Now, unless it's a big race, and even then they might not, no one is going to get an interview from a paddock or anything along thoose lines. you will be lucky enough to not have the feed interupted by another race

But HRTV does a good job with post race interviews. I remember when.... dang what's the name of that horse that went over to Dubai and won for Doug O'neil in the Mile race... it was the first race of the morning. Anyway, they interviewed him at 6:45AM on the other side of the country !

I will admit I do watch TVG as well, i don't have anything against them, I just like HRTV better. the 58 flat guy gets on my last nerves, but other than that.

I'm a big SoCal racing circut guy so I will be watching more of TVG

but I don't see how anyone can not be at least somewhat satisfied with HRTV.. could they use better graphics sure, could they offer more coverage? yeah, but I think they grew faster than they thought they would. I mean 4 years ago if I would have told you HRTV wuld be anywhere near the size of TVG as far as tracks they covered, I would get laughed off the face of the earth.



Why would HRTV Get Oak Tree?

Now, as much as I know about horse racing, I am usually outside the country the later part, so correct me if I am wrong by me saying that the Oak Tree meet is just the fall meet of SA. I've never been around for it (at least the last 4 years)

Xpressbet is owned by Magna
HRTV is owned by Magna
Unless they plan to do an a la bay meadows where both tracks cover them, TVG doesn't offer wagering on tracks not covered on their feeds, and neither does Xpressbet.

So what i am geting at is, do you honestly think that you will be able to bet on a race on xpressbet and have to switch channels to watch it? one out of every 3 HRTV commercials is an xpressbet commercial. Xpressbet is HRTV's TVG wagering service

Also, I am pretty sure that LP3 was the one who broke the story on Santa Antia Oak Tree getting the Breeders Cup in 08.. he did an interview with a manager at SA and when he was done I still couldn't find the story on the internet.

Then think of this.. if HRTV already has SA, Gulfstream, Churchill, Pimlico, sites like Oaklawn, Deleware Park, Calder and Arlington in 08 (or later this year, I forgot which) (announced earlier in the meet, but churchill is the only one this yea year) that leaves TVG with what? Keenland (which is what, a month and a half meet year round?) Del mar, Hollywood, the New York Tracks and SA Oaks, which are all great tracks but then the dropoff. Sunland park, Bulah? It's not hard to see some of the bigger tracks going where the other bigger tracks are going, the more people watching the more money is bet on a race.