JUST two weeks ago Richard Hoiles was calling the Gold Cup home to over a million punters on ITV.
Now with the sport and country in lockdown, things have changed.
Times Table and Biology are the new runners and riders as Hoiles has switched the microphone for the classroom.
Like many, ITV Racing’s big race commentator has taken on a new role as teacher in the past week.
“I’d definitely prefer it if Cheltenham was still on, compared to trying to teach the two kids, put it that way!”, he laughed.
Much of the attention has been on the plight of jockeys and trainers, but where does it leave our commentators?
During a break between maths and English, he said: “I’ve turned myself into a school master for the week.
“Primarily my focus will be on trying to look after my family, and we’re lucky where we are as it’s rural.”
Racing in Britain shut up shop just under two weeks ago, but like many, Hoiles believes the sport had little choice and hopes it can bounce back sooner rather than later.
He added: “The priority for the next two or three weeks won’t be us and rightly so, the scale of this is much greater.
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“But it’ll become a question of when you can release the clamp.
“Racing is probably in a good place in that we did have a plan behind closed doors, and while we didn’t really use it, it’s worked around the world.
“I think all of us have been forced to re-evaluate the importance of jobs in society to be honest.
“The NHS is top of that list and it’s a sad indictment I get more for commentating on a Gold Cup than people would trying to save lives.”
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The road to becoming ITV’s lead caller started when commentators were needed to beam coverage into the betting shops.
His career would grow step-by-step and he took in the biggest races around the globe, from Hong Kong to Dubai.
Hoiles said: “I don’t come from a racing background and racing was just my hobby growing up.
“I’m actually a qualified accountant, but in the early 90s there was a recession just after I qualified and it meant no firms would take on youngsters like me.
“I saw an advert in the Sporting Life for commentators. I’d never thought of being one, never practised and I just applied.
“My late mum's other half at the time worked in TV and we gave it a crack. After the third race making a demo he turned round and said ‘you can actually do this!’”
Hoiles would stay with SIS until the first racing channel was launched in 1995 and soon started there with the likes of Jeff Stelling and Mike Cattermole.
A stint in Hong Kong from 1997 enhanced his profile further and domestically he continued to work his way up the roster until he landed the number two job behind Simon Holt at Channel 4.
He added: “I was based back in the UK then and commentated on a better level of racing than when I left, but was then also doing stints in Dubai, South Africa and Japan. There were offers to go and do specific races abroad.”
A shake up then meant ITV took over the terrestrial coverage in Britain and Hoiles was then made the main man.
But with ITV’s contract in its final year, could there be yet another change in the offing?
Like many in the industry, Hoiles is frustrated at the hold up in talks between parties and knows how vital it is racing stays on the main channels.
He said: “The difficulty with the ITV contract is that the deal has been on the table for a very long time.
“And whenever that happens different people come in and personnel change with differing views and importance placed on different things.
“It was something that was very nearly over the line, but that’s been changed.
Hoiles's Top Three Calls
1) 1997 Japan Cup
I was lucky to be sent to the Japan Cup in 1997 and I was one of very few English speaking commentators that could be released. It was a fortunate set of events as the race was won by Pilsudski for Sir Michael Stoute. Mick Kinane was very friendly with a leading, late journalist out there called Robin Park and as a result I got some form of scoop and he helped me out immensely with a post-race interview which went global. It helped me a lot and obviously there are 160,000 people there and calling a Japan Cup is the most bizarre and noisy experience you can get, it makes Cheltenham look manageable!
2) 2008 and 2009 Cheltenham Gold Cup
I loved the rivalry between Kauto Star and Denman for obvious reasons. The characters behind them were great ad the public really got into that. Cheltenham is a special place on its own anyway and these two really brought it to life.
3) 2006 Nassau Stakes
Ouija Board’s Nassau Stakes win against Alexander Goldrun was amazing. And that’s because I’d seen these horses around the world and then to have them at Goodwood, which is just one of the most spectacular tracks.
“It’s so important it is sorted and particularly in the current circumstances, and particularly when our viewership tends to be of the older generation.
“The thought of removing something from that generation who are being hit at the moment is not nice.
“How good would it be if during all this we have reason to celebrate with a new deal announced? That would be so great for the sport.
“For a generation that are going to need support coming out of this and for a sport that doesn’t really know what it’s got until it’s gone, and I know that’s really trite, but it is absolutely true, we need it done.
“There is no way it would come back to terrestrial television in the same way quantity that it is now.”
Stark words they may be, but what would racing become if coverage was left to the specialised channels?
Fingers-crossed the sport can push forward with an agreement and we hear Hoiles on ITV for years to come.
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