58 Flat

[pandy]

Matt is a good handicapper and you have to realize that if you are not animated on TV people fall asleep. The reason why he hosts BLINKERS OFF and 58 flat is because of his personality, so he knows exactly what he's doing.

[Tom]

To each his own.
I do not give a crap who anyone like - picks are for losers.
I need to see the post parade, the race, and the replay. And odds of course.
Anything else is not racing. The ONLY edge TVG or HRTV has over YouBet is the size of the video. Aside from that, You Bet beats them both no contest. I will certainly not miss TVG is it goes away. They could keep their current dumbing down presentation and still show more horses than they do. it is like the Mike Warren show as they do it now.

If you guys like clowns while you are trying to bet races, go for it.

[dylbert]

Matt is TVG's version of Jim Cramer on CNBC. Horse Race picking versus Stock Picking... what matters is that he generates interest -- this is 30th-something post on this thread!

Personally, I take him with proverbial grain of salt. His approach and picks often concur with mine -- both right and wrong, good and bad. However, I could live without some of his schtick and over-the-top presentation.

[Grits]

Jill Byrne has forgotten more than Jeannine Edwards and Christina Olivares will learn in both of their respective lifetimes. It doesn't matter how far into the future each have their respective positions.

Jill is, hands down, the best, not only at interviewing, but judging horseflesh with her eye, as well.

I've watched her for a long time now, and I always pay close attention to her observations. Charlsie Canty set the bar for women in racing coverage, Jill has raised it.

[TEJAS KIDD]

Their is a channel network for the horseplayer.

It's called RTN. 40 channels of live feeds from all across the country and no talking heads (except the ones working for the track, i.e. paddock commentators/announcers).
Eventually all the CDSN tracks will be on tap. Magna tracks already there.
$99 a month. Better than cable. Who needs HBO,SHOWTIME etc.. when you can get hundreds of races a day piped into your living room.

[Hajck Hillstrom]

Originally Posted by Grits

Jill Byrne is, hands down, the best, not only at interviewing, but judging horseflesh with her eye, as well.

No argument here. Jill Byrne is as good as it gets....male or female. That being said, Christina Olivares is no slouch. Her pre-race interviews this week at Hollywood Park were unbelievably timely. She has a solid foundation in the sport, and a professional disposition that will take her far. I wish I would have tabulated a ROI on those pre-race paddock interviews with winning trainers/owners. This young lady's future in the game is bright, and I'm sure all of the veteran analysts at the network are aware of this.

[jballscalls]

Originally Posted by TEJAS KIDD

Their is a channel network for the horseplayer.

It's called RTN. 40 channels of live feeds from all across the country and no talking heads (except the ones working for the track, i.e. paddock commentators/announcers).
Eventually all the CDSN tracks will be on tap. Magna tracks already there.
$99 a month. Better than cable. Who needs HBO,SHOWTIME etc.. when you can get hundreds of races a day piped into your living room.

sharp post!!! you know the guys that complain about tvg watch it the most. another novel idea is to actually go to the track, there's a thought.

[BombsAway Bob]

Originally Posted by Hajck Hillstrom

No argument here. Jill Byrne is as good as it gets....male or female. That being said, Christina Olivares is no slouch. Her pre-race interviews this week at Hollywood Park were unbelievably timely. She has a solid foundation in the sport, and a professional disposition that will take her far. I wish I would have tabulated a ROI on those pre-race paddock interviews with winning trainers/owners. This young lady's future in the game is bright, and I'm sure all of the veteran analysts at the network are aware of this.

I enjoy the TRIO of TRACK ANNOUNCERS (Frank Mirahmadi, Gary Seibel, & Vic Stauffer) that bring credible insight in BOTH Race Flow & Wagering! While Gary has HOST duties exclusively, his knowledge in Harness Action is very helpful, & he's a consummate PRO. FRANK & VIC both come across as dedicated horseplayers that.. oh yeah, CALL THE RACES TOO! They have a thousand tales from the track that help fill downtime. You can disagree with their picks, but the logic behind them is usually sound!

[v j stauffer]

Frank is dedicated. I lean more towards degenerate. Thanks for the props.

[JustRalph]

Hey Vic, Tell the Sarge he doesn't have to speak every second he is on the air. I like the guy......but his words per minute are way up recently. Take a breath and slow down.

I like him, but too much talk.........is too much Talk!

Btw, liked your call on Gomez breaking the record............and the way you handled the spill yesterday...........I don't know how you keep doing your job after something like that..............

[Grits]

Originally Posted by Hajck Hillstrom

No argument here. Jill Byrne is as good as it gets....male or female. That being said, Christina Olivares is no slouch. Her pre-race interviews this week at Hollywood Park were unbelievably timely. She has a solid foundation in the sport, and a professional disposition that will take her far. I wish I would have tabulated a ROI on those pre-race paddock interviews with winning trainers/owners. This young lady's future in the game is bright, and I'm sure all of the veteran analysts at the network are aware of this.

I do watch Christina O.'s interviews HjH, and yes, I agree regarding her future. Jill Byrne has several years experience on this young woman, and here's hoping that both have many more in front of them.

The key difference in all three of these women to me, is that with Jill B. I feel I am listening to a horseman. Actually a horsewoman, but you understand my point I know.

[onefast99]

Christina is getting better with each interview. Matt is very good at what he does, Frank is one of the funniest guys when he is on a roll and Vic is one of the best voices at the track anyone could ask for. TVG is great for those of us that cant be at the track everyday. The only time TVG is tough to watch is on weeknights when no one is doing any commentary, the music reminds one of the dentist chair and the commercials run 7 or 8 minutes deep. Be thankful for this channel!

[Marshall Bennett]

Perhaps Christina should consider posing for Playboy !! Now that would recruit some new racing fans ... we need it !!

[speldedo]

Originally Posted by Marshall Bennett

Perhaps Christina should consider posing for Playboy !! Now that would recruit some new racing fans ... we need it !!

Great idea! Have you seen her in some of those sun dresses at Del Mar?

[Hajck Hillstrom]

Originally Posted by Grits

The key difference in all three of these women to me, is that with Jill B. I feel I am listening to a horseman. Actually a horsewoman, but you understand my point I know.

Yes, I do. I have gone on record before that Jill Byrne brings more to the table than any TVG analyst, though all of them have an interesting niche. When one learns how to impliment the proper filters on the network, the final product is very useful.

Since this thread is about 58 Flat, I will touch on the Carothers Filter. Matt is as well prepared as any handicapper I have ever seen. His perspective tends to approach the game from a place I am not familiar, and his attempts at humor fall short of what I find to be funny, therefore, he comes off, at times, as irratating. As a result, I need to turn off the schtick to get to the core of his analysis. He can breakdown a speed scenerio rather well, and often sheds light on projections I couldn't perceive. Now, most of the time, what I viewed as a skewed perspective, is easily dismissed, but he can bring a valid point into the mix better than most.

I believe the best analogy to successful handicapping is found in baseball stats. If you hit at a clip over .300, you should be considered successful, (providing you're not only playing favorites) but one needs to bring some pop to the plate. The ability to go yard is a good arrow to hold in your quiver, but the ability to take the hard breaking ball off the plate to the opposite field with men on base demonstrates added skill. Dick Mitchell used to advocate swinging for the fences. I could continue demonstrating the analogies ad naseum, but the parallels should be evidient.

It would be interesting to analyze the TVG hosts and analysts from a baseball perspective. Who would be the power hitters? Who would be the RBI leaders? Who would hit for average? I think Ken Rudulf would make a decent long reliever, but who would be the best starting pitcher? My choice would undoubtably be different than yours.

TVG is in the show, and the objective should be to field a solid team, in every position. Truth be told, if I were starting a horseracing network, I would want to have many of TVG's personel on my roster. I would shake up the lineup a bit, drop a couple of guys down in the order until their stats improved and give the team a new look. It is a good team, but it needs some adjusting.

The release of Gary Stevens and acquisition of Frank Miramahdi is definitely a step in the right direction.

As for Christina posing...... one would think that offer has been made, and my guess is that Ms. Olivares didn't find the proposal flattering.