Wow. Never saw anything but people ripping on Matt at the ESPN site.

I agree with you, though. I worked with him for a few years before he went to TVG, and the few times I talked horses with him he impressed me with his knowledge as a handicapper.

I think his actual handicapping skills are somewhat muted by the TVG format, where high profile horses and races are keyed - and the presentation is somewhat akin to an anchorman covering horse racing.

The focus there is on picking a winner, not on putting together a pick3 ticket or a or hitting a superfecta using a moderate investment.