The "greatest two minutes in sports" aside...
 

... I'm wondering your thoughts on the following...

Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski joining the NBC coverage

The boycott

The reaction of the general public, horseplayers, press, PETA protesters et al should Asmussen have a good day

1 - Don't care. Mute button will be in effect.

2 - I honestly don't know what the boycott is.

3 - I'll take them in order. The general public doesn't know who Steve Asmussen is. Horseplayers will not care if he has a big day, as long as they cash. The press will throw gas on the fire. PETA will use it to draw more attention to themselves. PETA wants Asmussen to have a good day more than Asmussen does himself.

Agree!!! Mute button will be utilized.

1. Not sure who NBC is attempting to attract using JW and Tara. I'm on with the mute button.

2. The boycott......might be newsworthy afterwards, I just don't think the impact will be significant on Derby weekend, maybe during the fall, wait and see on my part plus I'm cutting back on Derby Day and just playing a few multis and exactas

3. The media will have fun with it, a week later, and no one but us players will be talking about it......maybe not even then

1. Don't care, I'll be there. I guess it will put a few more people in front of the TV, but if I was a racing fan and had to watch a fashion segment while the Woodford is running, I'd be upset.

2. I admire the effort, but it won't impact handle. Being in attendance, I can't join in, and I don't think I would anyway. Maybe my group will drop our "mint julep show pool" to acknowledge. If you want to look at it like this, the sharpest of money may be on the sidelines, so good bets may be better.

3. PETA is not a reputable organization and nothing that happens will likely change anyone's view of them or of Assmussen.

1. Well, first of all, I had to 'google' Johnny Weir because I had forgotten who he was. But NBC will get exactly a shade over 2 minutes of my viewing time. I will not be watching anymore than I have to. Like most major events the host network will water down its coverage with 'fluff'. It's really difficult with horse-racing since the build up actually becomes the show.

2. I only get involved with Churchill a few days a year anyway and has been said before, they really aren't concerned with the horseplayer other than a couple of days either.

3. General public may 'boo' Asmussen a bit but by the evening news most will have forgotten him and be nursing a hangover by then. Horseplayers know what they get from Asmussen, no impact at all from them. The press will throw in a paragraph citing all his prior offenses in any article written post race. PETA has destroyed their own image with all their 'over the top' antics. They are nothing but a fund raising organization to pay the folks at the top of the organization. No credibility whatsoever. :zz:

who the hell is johnny weir?

what boycott?

i hope peta gets no coverage.

last few years i've dvr'd the race, and then speed thru all the fluff (which i assume this year is tara lipinski?-and here i was cheering michelle beadle not being on, i was hoping for jeanine edwards!) to the post parade and the race.
the rest of it is mostly garbage.
i'd rather they gave detailed info on the horses then the bs human interest stories. who watches the derby for the people? it's a horse race!

The boycott.

The one that saw Churchill all sources handle UP almost 7% on 10 races despite going against last year when they ran 11.

I love the honesty of these answers... that not everyone knew about the boycott ("what boycott?" was my answer when someone asked me) or ran to google things or that, when they did, they flat out posted it.

I'm usually at the track for Derby day but won't be this time around so will probably join a lot of you with the mute button BUT I will use it for the guy with the (I want to say kabuki but I suppose it's actually) geisha make up and the eye of Sauron (God did he find a proper colorist yet cause that dye job at the Olympics was tragic).

I hate the stupid fluff too but I like the idea of having these two (Johnny and Tara). I mean the fashion, etc., is going to get coverage... it's not like we get any information at all from NBC so sure... why not.

It's a change and no one can be worse than that awful Michelle (whatever her name was) so I will check them out for a few and hope that they add some freshness to the broadcast.

Lastly I'm afraid some of you might be underestimating the reach PETA has so fingers crossed he-who-shall-not-be-named doesn't win a God damned thing cause, if he does, it will be VERY bad for the next five weeks. They will be relentless and sorry but it might continue to be the kick in the pants out sport needs to address certain issues so I will halfway be rooing for them.

We can be angry, roll out eyes, pretend they have no power, point out what hypocrites they are, etc., OR we can take this opportunity to make things right... to begin to anyway. In saying I will halfway root for them it's because I love the sport.

I wish you would elaborate! I'd like to know cause really... the only thing I do know is that there is one.

So by the dismissive tone of this response, I take it that you support CDI and the takeout increase.

I don't support or decry it. I deal in the realities as they happen and defer to people running their business the way they see fit under circumstances that precipitate sometimes unpopular policy decisions. As in the case of the CA increases that helped stabilize the situation out there, these takeouts, (that actually just move CD's rakes from industry bargain to industry typical levels), were done in a defensive manner against the gaming backdrop that puts Churchill in a bad spot versus Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. If it turns out to be a bad business move, that will become evident. If it keeps the CD purses competitive with competition and helps them keep horses in town, that will become evident.

What I'm dismissive of are those that have no clue what optimal pricing may actually be, yet promote actions that are more detrimental to the health of the game than the price increase itself. Are high takeouts odious and a negative, inhibiting factor to the growth and health of the game? Of course. No one is questioning that. But if you keep working to convince inexperienced players that they don't win just because of any takeouts regardless of the number or circumstance, you're guaranteeing they have an excuse to not play and give up. Pricing in racing is like pricing anywhere. Shop and find the price that's acceptable to you. Horseplayers boycott tracks every day simply by choosing what card they find most attractive to play and spending their money against it.

I do more to attract new fans by throwing an annual derby party then the powers that be do year to year

(1) Lipinski/Weir did excellent job during Sochi Olympics. Also, very engaging & interesting duo on talk show circuit. Just as NBC recognized female demographic using its Bravo channel for previous Oaks broadcast, this further taps broadening audience which includes more than aging males.

(2) Boycott will likely have little or no traction this weekend. This is an event that attracts more 'dumb' money than any other sporting event held in US.

(3) NBC knows how to sell 'soap'. Oaks focus will remain breast cancer awareness & research. PETA may get 90-120 second segment presented as 'hard news'.

When do windows open?

I don't understand the Weir/Lapinski angle, I guess if they had Gary Stevens Cover Ice Skating? Having said that, I have NEVER been home for the Derby, so coverage doesn't matter to me. I used to tape then DVR the day though, and it irritated me not showing the Woodford Reserve.

I don't understand Boycotts. I'm not a fan of the CDI folks at present, but this too shall pass. So if you like a race, you want to bet, you're going to bet. I don't think wagering will be affected Derby Weekend.

Did Peta have an affect in 2008 after Eight Belles? Most people won't care, depends on what NBC does if they show any of that.

It's not in their best interest to show it. How many millions did they pay for exclusive rights?

They might throw in a line about a few protesters and that will be it.

It's the other news organizations that will jump on it, and rightfully so, if he wins.

It's bordering on preposterous..

1) Will Johnny we wearing a Fancy Hat?
2) Maybe we can get the 2 gentleman from Fashion Queens to comment on Fashion?
3) Is there an opportunity to bring Tonya Harding into the mix?
4) I have never seen a horse on ice skate maybe that is worth a shot?
5) Why is it that NBC need pander to the trivial once a year viewer?

i don't even know how this panders to the once a year viewer...i think they have successfully eliminated about every audience there can potentially be for the race

... because those numbers are in the millions so, from a business standpoint, of course that's going to be the target audience.

None of us need them... they won't give us any useful information. You know this, Freddy.

Add into the mix the Nevada Parimutuel Assn. does not have a contract with CDI, my understanding is no contract no parimutuel wagering on Churchill Downs. According to posters from another website Oregon residents, Ca. tracks or Turf paradise could not wager on CD opening night.