Any thoughts on the new HBO series filmed at Santa Anita?? Pilot aired last night.
I watched. It wasn\'t bad. Pretty graphic with the horse snapping off a leg, wonder how they pulled that one off....Pick 6 syndicate was comical, had a good laugh there....story line with Franza being a front for Hoffman, well, it\'s about time..............trainer referring to bug boy as a pinhead was believable. Richard Kind\'s character was the most memorable with that nervous stutter....Stevens is always camera friendly, seems like a logical career move for him. He was good. Nick Nolte was great. B+
I thought it was pretty good as well. Found a link if you missed it -
http://www.free-tv-video-online.me/player/divxden.php?id=8dmkypvvna49
MO Wrote:
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> Pick 6 syndicate was comical, had a good laugh there....
The whole Pick 6 subplot was a mess. The ticket structure was 3 x 1 x 4 x 5 x 3 x all, which we know from a quick glance can\'t possibly come out to an $864 ticket, no matter how many horses are in the last leg.
Then, before the last leg of the P6, they show the potential payoffs for horses 1 through 9...but during the running of the race, a number 11 and number 12 horse were in the mix.
(No wonder that damn P6 is so hard to hit -- even when you press the \"all\" button, they slip a few more horses in on you! :) )
lol exactly right Rick, that pick 6 ticket would have cost 3600 dollars if the last race was a 10 horse field.
Lots of continuity errors in there. I know its not supposed to be \'perfect\' but some of the stuff they showed just didnt make sense. The race where the guys singled the 5 horse in leg 2, there seemed to be \'plenty\' of horses in the race, but, when they showed a shot of the toteboard, there was only 4 or 5 horses listed.
I didnt\' love the first episode, the beginning of the show i couldnt understand what anyone was talking about. For example, the scene when the latin trainer was talking to the jock when he legged him up on the horse in the barn area, my GF asked me \'what\'s going on\' and i said \"i have no idea\". It seemed to me that the trainer was trying to convince the jock to do something \'shady\' but i just wasnt sure what was going on there. If anyone knows what they were trying to \'hide\' i\'d appreciate hearing it.
The funniest part of the show was when the \"derby horse\' ridden by the girl had that spirited \'urged\' workout and everyones\' running around whispering that they saw the next \'good thing\' and i\'m laughing because i know that if a horse worked \'like a derby horse\' at Santa Anita, it would be front page news on all the dozens of \'clocker\' services that sell information in California. This isnt 1970 and yet, the movie seemed to indicate that it was (and that nobody really saw that work except a few lucky people who happened to be at the right place at the right time).
You would think that David Milch would know this stuff. I could have helped him out for a small fee.
You\'d think folks would be grateful for a show about their obsession , written by a master of the art.
But nooooooo.
Boscar Obarra Wrote:
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> You\'d think folks would be grateful for a show
> about their obsession , written by a master of the
> art.
>
> But nooooooo.
Sorry, but I don\'t subscribe to the \"I Am A Pissant Horseplayer, Therefore I Will Take Any Crumb I Can Get\" school of thought.
There is a reason why there are Continuity Editors in the film industry. Silly errors like the ones I pointed out destroy the suspension of disbelief needed to thoroughly enjoy a fictional story.
Boscar Obarra Wrote:
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> You\'d think folks would be grateful for a show
> about their obsession , written by a master of the
> art.
>
> But nooooooo.
I think people are so passionate about the game, they just want it to be as authentic as possible. I didn\'t see it, but Rick\'s assessment of the Pick 6 subplot would be aggravating. Its simply not realistic as described.
Of course we want to see movies and shows about racing. Not the issue. People want an accurate and realistic portrayal.
These nitpicks are esoterica. So instead of enjoying the story, you\'re sitting there with a calculator.
Sure, I\'d like every reference to be 100% accurate, but that\'s not required in a drama.
I imagine that some \'prospector\' might have found any number of factual errors in Milch\'s previous effort Deadwood, but what does that have to do with enjoying the show?
Boscar Obarra Wrote:
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> These nitpicks are esoterica. So instead of
> enjoying the story, you\'re sitting there with a
> calculator.
I was enjoying the story just fine until I heard them mention the cost of ticket. I knew it was wrong. So did my oldest son -- we just kind of looked at each other and said, \"HUH?!\" No calculator needed. Play serial bets long enough and sometimes you can do the math in one flash.
You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but as I mentioned earlier, some Continuity Editor blew it...and if what you call \"esoterica\" isn\'t important, why check for continuity at all? It just wasn\'t that doggone hard to get the details right. I think we can agree that Milch is better than that.
\"I was enjoying the story just fine until I heard them mention the cost of ticket. I knew it was wrong\"
And that is what\'s called a \"distraction\" and \"distractions\" are not a good thing when you are watching a movie intently.
I m not 100% sure of this, but I think the first time they show the probables in the pic 6, the 2 isnt the whole pool....I mean, to me, these are easy catches that should never have been aired.
I liked the show in spite of the little continuity errors throughout. Given Milch\'s track record and the big name actors in roles that suit them, IMO the show has a good shot of keeping my interest.Looking forward to seeing the next episode.
touchgold Wrote:
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> I m not 100% sure of this, but I think the first
> time they show the probables in the pic 6, the 2
> isnt the whole pool....I mean, to me, these are
> easy catches that should never have been aired.
Maybe, but they\'re trying to appeal to a mass audience not just the 40-50 people that post regularly on this board.
The idea of 4 \"railbirds\" scraping together $800+ and scoring $2.6M is a more effective and believable than the same 4 guys sitting around with $3600 to throw into a \"jackpot\" pool. I highly doubt that the masses can even fathom a $3600 \"investment\" coming from those 4 genius\' even though we know it happens every day.
Good news for some, we will have at least two seasons of this to go over with a fine tooth comb looking for gaffs, goofs, and misprints.
I\'d love to get Milch\'s take on some of the complaints here, but we\'d probably have to clear the room of women and children.
Personally, as a horseplayer, I like my friends and family to respect my passion. I know they don\'t get it. The portrayal of the pick 6 group was embarrassing. I don\'t think TGJB has has pick 6 success with cartoon clowns as depicted in \"Luck\".
I didn\'t read it that way at all.
Back in the day, when I actually attended racetracks daily, there were plenty of guys like that around.
And how dumb could they be, they singled a goodthing, and they cashed.
I\'m sure Jerry knows at least 100 players over the years that make that crowd look like Harvard grads.
I wasn\'t too excited of them portraying horseplayers as broken down degenerates who don\'t have two nickels to rub together. When you explain to non-racing people that youre \'seriously involved\' in horse racing, you dont want them lumping you into that stereotype. Why can\'t they have great looking young men and great looking young women as the horseplayers? I know that wouldnt be \'believable\' but who really believes that someone who looks like ED O\'Neill is dating Sofia Vergara (in a tv show, not in real life)? That\'s LESS believable than a pretty horseplayer and yet, THEY get away with it and the show is a hit.
As far as continuity errors, we\'re not asking for the world, but the errors they made are simple things....did they think we werent going to \'add\' up that ticket and see that it cost a few grand? That was the first thing i did when i saw the ticket on the napkin, i hit pause on my DVR and added it up.
To me, when you have \'fixable\' things like that, it says to me that they think horseplayers are idiots and nobody will notice or nobody will care.
This is why the show jockeys went \'out of business\' you had \'fake\' racecalls from Denman when you could have just had the real racecall instead.
plasticman Wrote:
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> I know that wouldnt be \'believable\' but who really believes
> that someone who looks like ED O\'Neill is dating
> Sofia Vergara (in a tv show, not in real life)?
> That\'s LESS believable than a pretty horseplayer
> and yet, THEY get away with it and the show is a
> hit.
Its a great point and reminds me of the story of Buddy Ryan when he was an
assistant coach with the NY Jets. You can look at Ryan\'s sons and tell that
Buddy was not cut out for Hollywood, yet he always was seen around beautiful
women, which lead another NYJ assistant to comment:
\"He\'s either got an 9 inch ---- or a wart on his tongue\"
> To me, when you have \'fixable\' things like that,
> it says to me that they think horseplayers are
> idiots and nobody will notice or nobody will
> care.
Not idiots, but always willing to settle for an inferior product, such as
(in my opinion) the Racing this past weekend. I was hoping that my wife had some
plans for me Saturday and was thanking God for the NFL on Sunday.
> This is why the show jockeys went \'out of
> business\' you had \'fake\' racecalls from Denman
> when you could have just had the real racecall
> instead.
Jockeys went \"out of business\" because jockeys and horseplayers while
essential to the game, do not represent the true beauty of the sport,
which of course comes from the competitive spirit of the animals,the
beauty of some of the venues (tracks and farms), and the craft of some of
master trainers.
I have always said that a fun reality concept would be to take 20 runners from
Rick Dutrow and give them to Pat Kelly or Gary Sciacca, perennial 10% (at best)
trainers and take some of their runners and give them to Tricky.
Lets see how smart the people who market Racing are (they are not). On Christmas
Day, Steven Spielberg will bring us \"War Horse\", which does not involve a
racehorse but a horse taken from his young owner and put into cavalry service
in WWI. War Horse, based on a children\'s book, was taken to Broadway, where it
has won multiple Tony Awards including Best Play (using robotic equines).
A Dream Works/Spielberg movie, released on Christmas Day, will either be a huge
success or a huge flop, but one would think that those attempting (feebly) to
market thoroughbred racing would take the opportunity for some cross promotion.
Will not be holding my breath.
We are going to be incapable of watching this show as \"outsiders.\" I have already had a half-dozen close friends, none of them racing fans, contact me about the show with very favorable reactions. They are reasonably discerning TV and movie viewers. The factual or technical discrepancies will completely elude them. To me, this is a very good thing for the sport. There is some kind of advertising jargon which describes a halo factor in which a product gets a bump from positive association. Having Dustin Hoffman, Nick Nolte and David Milch associated with your \"product\" has to add some luster to the sport. God knows it can use it.
Haven\'t seen this yet but I know the errors are going to drive me crazy.
I\'m so nitpicky I hate the movie portrayal when they run the race and the hero horse is in an all out drive while the one that is supposed to lose is under a stranglehold to lose. I\'m thinking ...couldn\'t they run the bad horse for a mile before the race shoot to tire him out a little and make it look more believable. It made the Seabiscuit races and the Secretariat races in the movie look like stiff jobs.
\"I\'d love to get Milch\'s take on some of the complaints here, but we\'d probably have to clear the room of women and children.\"
I\'m thinking he\'d be using that 10-letter job that was sprinkled liberally throughout \"Deadwood\", even though it didn\'t really come into vogue until the days of Frances Farmer.
Despite your eloquence, I doubt that your friends and family will look highly on you missing a Saturday family BBQ to go to the track to chase a Pick 6 carry over based on the \"Luck\" lowlifes you will be hanging with
Denman\'s call\'s on Jockeys were scripted and embarrassing.....I\'m sure he pukes at the thought of what they made him do.
Plasticman wrote:
\"I wasn\'t too excited of them portraying horseplayers as broken down degenerates who don\'t have two nickels to rub together.\"
That was actually pretty generous of them. If they wanted to be realistic, they\'d film the show in a cemetery.
Edgorman Wrote:
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> Despite your eloquence, I doubt that your friends
> and family will look highly on you missing a
> Saturday family BBQ to go to the track to chase a
> Pick 6 carry over based on the \"Luck\" lowlifes you
> will be hanging with
Humorous take, but....
1) wasn\'t exactly my point
2) the \"Runyon-esque\" nature of the denizens of the sport have actually been part of its allure for quite some time
3) do people think all lawyers are William Shatner and James Spader? Okay, lawyers may be a bad example, but viewers are not necessarily literalists in transferring what they see on the flat screen to the real world.
4) if they did take it literally, and if I did hit that Pick 6, they\'d be thinking very highly of me at the next Spago-catered BBQ.
My point, by the advertising analogy, is that specific content isn\'t always what really sells. Sometimes, the spokesperson is key. Sometimes it\'s the set and setting. All that old \"medium is the message\" kind of hooey. Horse racing is now on HBO with serious movie stars. Look what it did for the mob.