'Watching jockeys on go-karts instead of previewing the day's card is madness'
Tommy Barnes, 36, gives his thoughts on racing's broadcast coverage
A school report card for The Morning Line would say "C – could do better". For a show that has an hour slot it should concentrate on race previews rather than trivial features such as go-karting. The Cheltenham Festival is the highlight of the jumps calendar and the viewer is watching jockeys on go-karts instead of previewing the day’s card. Madness!
More often than not it takes until the second part of the show before the previews begin. Stop reviewing what happened last week; The Morning Line is a different presentation to ATR, or RUK, and in such a fingertip-media-accessible world racing fans know what happened last week. Forget it, move on.
The positives are the hosts Nick Luck, Rishi Persad and Emma Spencer, while guest panelists such as Geoff Banks, Tom Segal and Ted Walsh are always worth listening to.
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