Mig is one tough act to follow. He provided insight that few could intelligently offer and was able to look for things not found in the form.

Willing to reserve judgement on what LoDuca may bring. But, he is stepping into big shoes.

Paul

Will see. Mig was great certainly offered a perspective LoDuca couldnt possibly be akin too but Maggie is their to tell us what firsters look ready, who's hoof is flat etc.

Amoss is MUCH more informative because Andy asks him more poignant question, even Stabile has improved immensely.

I t means that he is a baseball all star which is irrelevant and that is how he got on the show - the others are lifelong horsepeople with creds in the industry.

That is insane...that is the same back asswards thinking that had me run from the industry when I put my foot in.

“Paul is one of the most dynamic and captivating personalities in racing. As a former Major League All-Star he brings an athlete's perspective to the show,”

Wait, are they trying to say Andy is not and never was an athlete?

He gave Sky Low Low a couple of tough matches back in the day.

Solid.

Actually a lifelong background is why people such as Tom Amoss and Gabby are so competent, and can share knowledge that is interesting, relevant and insightful. That comes with their long history with horses. Additionally, and as importantly, they are good communicators.

Mig brought that to the game, obviously. That is why he will be sorely missed.

Bringing Paul LoDuca to the Saratoga Live broadcasts does come with some advantages. First and most obviously, Paul has been a West Coast handicapper and does come with that experience and might bring with him the West Coast audience that would be potentially watching from 1:00pm-3:00pm Pacific time.

Second, Paul does have very solid handicapping views and was consistently strong at forecasting how races might be run. He was able to make the value-argument in wagering better than just about anyone on TVG.

Now, there are some drawbacks. He tends to be very monotone (to my ear) and can be very deadpan. If the TV threesome panel is Greg Wolf, Andy, and Paul, that might not be as fun a dynamic as having Gabby on camera.

The other drawback is of course who is left out of the equation : Ernie Munick, Anthony Stabile, David Aragona, and visitors like Mike Beer or Frank Mirahmadi.

Hopefully, all of this will build a great summer presentation!

I have to admit that I'm not the biggest Mirahmadi fan in the world, but really enjoyed when he did his few days on the show. Him and Andy going back and forth was terrific. Informative and entertaining.

I'm glad you like Paul and I think he's a great addition to the group. Let me just address a couple of things...

Maybe because I'm inside of it, I have trouble seeing it from outside, however, I often wonder how people come to certain conclusions, or maybe I should say that I get confused as to how many people don't come to the right conclusion. While I haven't discussed it, last Summer's Saratoga shows had these groupings....Greg and Mig on the roof, Maggie in the paddock/Winner's Circle, Gabby and/or Tom and I in the paddock set. Given that Paul is filling Mig's spot, why would people expect he and I to be on the set together in Saratoga? Given that we perform very similar functions, doesn't it make even more sense that we would be separate? Don't get me wrong, I would be happy to share a desk with Paul, and imagine I will at some point in the future, but based on last year, if there was a betting line, I would say we are 1:9 to be on separate studio desks in Saratoga.

Now that we have that out of the way :D let's move on to the group of substitutes you mentioned...let me be clear, I like all of them, and enjoy working with all of them, however, they have only filled in during shows where someone was absent ( which happens fairly rarely ). The only reason you have seen more of them lately is because Mig left. The only reason you saw some of them during the last week of Belmont last year, and will again this week, is because I take this week off. None of them were on a single Saratoga Live episode last year. We are fortunate to have talented people like them to fill in on short notice, but they aren't being "left out of the equation" as their roles were to fill-in if needed.

OK...I feel better. See everyone in Saratoga.

DoLuca seems to be more insightful and handicaps better when he is paired with a more serious personality than when he is with Schrupp, who clowns around to much for me.

Thinking back to last season's Saratoga Live, you are of course correct that there were two panel desks as opposed to the single desk for Belmont Live which was how I was thinking about the host chairs.

As for the fill-in talent, I have really enjoyed some of the Belmont Live shows this season. Your discussion with Frank on race strategy was perhaps the best 15 minutes of viewing for the entire Spring-Summer season. Also, I have enjoyed both Ernie and "The Big A", but that is the "New Yorker" speaking as opposed to thinking about the national audience.

Thanks for writing, Andy. Enjoy your time away and see you at the Spa!

Oh it was Greg hosting the show last year from the roof? My memory must be going . . . :(

Is it that hard to remember from one year to the next?

Hopefully I can get the channel in the Los Angeles area. 7 straight hours of TVG is tired.

Racing these days: big profit hungry corporations where people are just head count and are immediately removed from memory as soon as they are no longer in the head count. Sad.