Chamberlin gives 'those who are suffering a small tonic' in show of light relief

If you had been on Mars for the past few weeks and just landed in time to turn on ITV Racing from Thurles you would probably have thought the British weather had been up to its old tricks.

It is not totally out of the ordinary to see the presenting team holed up in an off-course studio taking in live races at a track somewhere, even in March.

But these are extraordinary times and the serious tone of presenter Ed Chamberlin's opening address left viewers in little doubt about that.

"Sport is trivial at a time when the world is a grim place, but we want today's live racing to offer those who are suffering a small tonic," he said.

A bit of light relief wasn't long in coming as Chamberlin revealed pundits Luke Harvey, Mick Fitzgerald and Richard Hoiles had done their own make-up, with a skeleton staff behind the camera as well as in front of it. The trio had matching pink ties on, so it looked as though they had dressed themselves too.

Kevin Blake: featured on ITV Racing's coverage from ThurlesCredit: Itv

Those were not the only changes for the worse as there were no updates from the betting ring – because there isn't one – and on-course interviews had been vetoed in light of the restrictions.

In their place, discussions on the coronavirus crisis and reflections from the Cheltenham Festival accompanied the live action.

Among the scaled-down personnel at Thurles was Irish racing pundit Kevin Blake, who drew on the spirit of the racing blogger – with fewer histrionics and no selfie stick – to relay the eerie atmosphere via regular video calls.

With the eyes of the sporting world fixed on the County Tipperary course, some pointers for punting at an unfamiliar track would have been welcomed. But for two and a half hours the show provided some much needed escapism.

Many will hope it's a case of same time next week as ITV has announced its intention to broadcast 11 races between the Curragh's Irish Lincolnshire meeting and Dubai World Cup night at Meydan.

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