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Title: ESPN Breeders Cup Selection Show blew
Tags: espn breeders cup breederscup 2008
Blog Entry: I missed ESPN's Breeders Cup Selection show when it first-aired on Wednesday. Too bad I tuned in for Thursday's repeat on ESPN Classic, because the show was nothing but a complete missed opportunity that ESPN should be ashamed of. The Breeders Cup is fourteen World Championship races, but the only races they focused on were the Breeders Cup Classic and the Ladies Classic, and there was not really any insight into the contenders, much less any type of race analysis at all. Why it was called a "Selection Show" I don't know, it was more like an Omission Showcase. Curlin's career was one of the two main segments. It was sufficient, with a few words from trainer Steve Asmussen and jockey Robby Albarado--but, nothing insightful at all about how he runs or what their strategy is going into the Classic on Pro-Ride's synthetic track against a substantial field. I'm surprised that there really was no similar segment on undefeated Zenyatta--no interview with John Shirreffs or Mike Smith. So, what was the other big segment? It was essentially about why Colonel John's breeders named him in honor of family friend Lt. Colonel John Geider. It explained a family tragedy, and although that's interesting, and I certainly respect the horse and his namesake, it was a decidedly laborious segment that exploited a family's personal tragedy in the most heavy-handed way to try and create a sentimental interest in the Breeders Cup. I mean, it was like ten minutes in the middle of a half-hour show. They should have talked about how this race could set up for Colonel John getting a big piece of the money, and moved on to the rest of the contenders--it's a very, very intriguing field. I like ESPN's horse racing on-air crew, and know they can do better. I can't believe how they had nothing to do here. Randy Moss only got to offer a couple of soundbytes, with no actual handicapping discussion taking place. I got nothing out of it. I'm really surprised by how irrelevant it was, and they couldn't put together a worthwhile preview. The Breeders Cup deserves better, especially as exciting as this year's championships promise to be. I'm anxiously awaiting ESPN's race day broadcasts of the Breeders Cup, where if they show races as they typically do, they'll show the splits and final time for a hundreth of a second, if they show them at all. Racebooks should offer bets on that. By the way, I noticed with the Belmont that ESPN/ABC start showing overlayed white yard lines down the stretch. I guess they expect the front-runner to be cradling a football under his front leg as he turns for home. Since this is horse racing, I think it would make more since if they showed furlongs, or at least "FINAL FURLONG". So, in case you're wondering, there's 220 yards in a furlong. Now let's bet on which horse gets ESPN's Breeders Cup Touchdown of the Night.