'Horseplayers' on ESQ TV -- Debuts 1/21, 10p ET

[pmayjr]

Originally Posted by pweizer

Any publicity is good and I am thrilled to see attention given to horse players. But, since I have played in many contests with them, I am quite certain that a few of the people they chose will not give the rest of us a good name.

Hoping for the best.

Paul

of course they have to show the eccentric personalities... but this 1 minute blurb won't do much to pull in the casual fan. I think it's a bad 1-minute promo. I mean... unless they're just trying to get a small niche of people? But maybe this is al they have for the show? Watch horse player bet on horse or use horse in handicapping contest, watch them freak out cheering their horse, rinse-repeat.

I mean yeah, the pub in general is good, but I fail to see how this show lasts if this is all they got.

[MISTERGEE]

Originally Posted by pmayjr

of course they have to show the eccentric personalities... but this 1 minute blurb won't do much to pull in the casual fan. I think it's a bad 1-minute promo. I mean... unless they're just trying to get a small niche of people? But maybe this is al they have for the show? Watch horse player bet on horse or use horse in handicapping contest, watch them freak out cheering their horse, rinse-repeat.

I mean yeah, the pub in general is good, but I fail to see how this show lasts if this is all they got.

I was there at the GP contest when they were filming and yes they tended to gravitate toward filming the loudest and most eccentric as you say, but I guess they have to?

[pweizer]

I don't know. There are some players who have led extraordinary lives and done amazing things. There are hundreds of really good people who would make great stories (including some in the show). But, there are also a few who I would not want to be associated with when the world thinks about what a horse player is.

Paul

[MISTERGEE]

Originally Posted by pweizer

I don't know. There are some players who have led extraordinary lives and done amazing things. There are hundreds of really good people who would make great stories (including some in the show). But, there are also a few who I would not want to be associated with when the world thinks about what a horse player is.

Paul

i agree, interesting back stories and player theories will be what makes the show last not a few idiots screaming at a tv screen for their #

[Calzone Lord]

Poker tournaments had been televised on ESPN long before Poker caught fire.

What eventually made a difference was putting cameras underneath the table, which showed the cards each player was dealt.

This allowed for taking a painfully long and boring stretch of poker play, and editing it down to the most impactful and interesting hands. Also, placing the mathematical calculations showing what percent chance the hand had of eventually winning, and having a good, funny, commentator like Norman Chad were also major boosts.

In order for this show to be successful -- it has to be presented in a way that the viewer wants to understand and learn the strategy behind it.

I think the idea of following tournament players around isn't a good idea. It's been tried before by ESPN, they did an episode a few years back, and it was horrible TV.

It's easier for filming though, obviously.

Betting horses for a living is an extreme 'what you put in, is what you get out' type of game -- and it is played over the long run. Tournaments are more about chasing after longshots and trying to outscore people over a very limited amount of racing.

There was once a fairly major tournament won by a lady, and she claimed she did it by a mix of selecting gray horses or horses ridden by Shane Sellers. You can get lucky, catch fire, and win a tournament with virtually any off the wall method. However, you're going to get utterly destroyed if you tried to make a living as a bettor, doing that.

In Poker tournaments, you're going to be playing hundreds of hands in a day and making a ton more betting decisions. That reality reduces the luck factor. In horse racing tournaments, your options and opportunities are greatly reduced.

[pweizer]

I am not sure I agree. There are a million silly reality shows that are very popular because viewers like the people and want them to succeed.

These are all people chasing a million dollar prize. That, in itself, is intriguing.

To be successful, I am not sure anyone really need to understand horse play (although it would help). As long as the people are ones people want to root for, it could work.

The show ESPN did before was just the NHC. There was no way anyone would care since they didn't know the people. This is a season long chase of the big prize. That is why I am disappointing in some of those chosen for this show. There are many others who would be more compelling and are good people. Instead, they chose some who will come off as cartoon characters.

Paul

[Calzone Lord]

Originally Posted by pweizer

I am not sure I agree. There are a million silly reality shows that are very popular because viewers like the people and want them to succeed.

I should have said successful as it relates to the greater good of horse racing.

If cameras weren't hidden under the table in Poker...it never would have taken off.

[Calzone Lord]

Christian Hellmers
Entrepreneur and Wellness Coach

Christian’s father introduced him to the races at Del Mar after his family moved down from Long Beach. He has loved analyzing this game since the age of fourteen and still does to this day.

He finished first in the Santa Anita Handicapping Tournament in 1998 as part of the twenty something "Pick6Boys" with Nissan Gabbay and Kevin McFarland for a $24,000 payout. He then finished second in the 2011 and 2012 Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge earning over $121,000 and over $150,000 after starting with a bankroll of $7500.

Christian like to live in the moment, run half/full marathons, eat healthy animal friendly vegan food, love the "Burning Man" art festival and lifestyle, spin a fire staff, adore the ocean, use muscle-testing often and respect David Hawkins' work, coach people on alternative health, nutrition, dating and relationships. He lives with six other brilliant people in a mansion known as the "The Passion Mansion". He has traveled around the world as a Director for Betfair attempting to legalize exchange wagering but came up empty yet led the TVG acquisition for Betfair Limited. By teaming up with fellow UCLA engineering students he was able to disrupt the music industry's business model at internet start-up Scour.net<http://scour.net/>. He was involved with multiple startups, i.e. DivXNetworks et al and worked alongside brilliant young technology minds.

Christian would build a symbolic piece of art for a Burning Man festival and would donate 5-10% to retired horse programs, explore ways to raise consciousness in health for animals and the planet, as well as help out my family and friends and local artists in need.

Some bio, that.

I'm a little surprised Betfair decided on someone so off the wall, to pitch betting exchanges with.

[Sightseek]

I love the last paragraph of that bio.

[pmayjr]

I'll be at Coachella the same weekend as the Santa Anita Derby. Wonder how much Hellmers actually cares about that race or if he might be at the fest lol? Although Burning Man is way different, Coachella is an hour or so down the I-10

[Benny]

Monmouth Park and New Jersey horsemen are on to something big. Really big. If things go as planned this spring, the 2014 New Jersey Thoroughbred horse racing season could catapult the venerable New Jersey track into the annals of American horse racing history.

The track plans to offer a revolutionary form of wagering of European origin that may change the face of horse racing in the United States forever. It’s called exchange wagering and it is termed by professional horseplayer Christian Hellmers as nothing less than “euphoric.”

http://www.examiner.com/article/hors...-monmouth-park

[Rudeboyelvis]

You need to have one of the 2 highest priced packages on DirecTV in order to get this channel. I'm not sure what the distribution is like on FIOS or local cable, but for DirecTV customers, they've isolated a solid chunk of their subscription base from ever seeing it.