SPEAR CELEBRATES 30TH YEAR OF
TELEVISING HORSE RACING FROM GGF
When Sam Spear welcomes viewers to The Golden Gate Report this evening it will mark his 30th year of bringing horse racing action from Golden Gate Fields into the homes of Bay Area racing fans.
Spear recently celebrated the 30th anniversary of his nightly race replay show, which debuted on Labor Day 1978 with coverage of the Tanforan meeting at Bay Meadows. Spear hosted and produced that inaugural show and remains the host and producer today.
Spear was working in the public relations departments at Golden Gate Fields and Bay Meadows and doing race recreations for various radio stations when he came up with the idea of televising the races.
“I felt the races should be on TV,” said Spear. “So I went out and found a relatively new UHF station, KTSF-TV 26, and convinced them to sell me a half-hour a night. I pioneered the nightly televising of races despite my total inexperience with television production. I hired myself as the host and producer to keep costs down.”
There was nothing fancy about Spear’s operation.
“I’d get a tape of the races at the end of the day and drive to the top of Mount San Bruno, the location of the station,” said Spear. “We’d show the program page and then play the replay of the race.”
Since Spear also covered the fair circuit, he spent a lot of time in his car. “I was averaging 1,000 miles a week,” said Spear.
Spear’s show was on seven nights a week, which meant he had to come up with features to fill his time slot on non-racing days.
“We’d show you how a horse gets shoed, how entries are taken in the racing office, explain the equipment used by jockeys, and do interviews with racing officials and personalities,” said Spear. “We took the viewers behind the scenes of horse racing. The show was very well received because it was the first program to give fans horse racing every night of the week.”
Spear’s shows – the Golden Gate Report, Bay Meadows Report and Summer Fair Report – have aired on KTSF-TV 26 for all but five years of their existence. A change in management at that station resulted in Spear having to move his programs to the San Mateo PBS station KCSM, which aired the shows from 1981-1985.
The advancement in telecommunications and the support of the racetracks enabled Spear to purchase a microwave satellite, which allowed him to do his shows live from the track.
“Being able to do the show at the track and sending it via microwave got me back on KTSF and greatly cut down my traveling,” said Spear. “Doing the show at the track also enabled me to upgrade the coverage of the races with timely news.
“I was fortunate that Golden Gate Fields and Bay Meadows had hired Alan Balch as the director of their marketing departments,” Spear continued. “Alan realized the value of a nightly race replay show – how it benefited existing horse racing fans and how it could attract new fans by exposing them to the sport – and he got the tracks behind the show.
“I thank Alan for being one of the early supporters of the show, and I also thank Peter Tunney (a longtime president of Golden Gate Fields), Jack Liebau (president of Bay Meadows) and Robert Hartman (general manager of Golden Gate Fields) for their tremendous support throughout the years,” said Spear.
Spear has always been in charge of attracting sponsors for his show.
“Obviously, you don’t get on TV without sponsorship and I’ve been fortunate enough to have great sponsors like Bart Heller (Baron’s Jewelers), Andy Herrera (Herrera Buick), Joe Battaglieri (Gino’s Restaurant), Danny Hountalas (The Cliff House Restaurant) and Al Scoma (Scoma’s Restaurant),” said Spear. “I thank them all as well as my current sponsors for their support of the show.”
Spear said he treasures his affiliation with KTSF-TV, a channel that allows him to reach nearly three million homes in the Bay Area.
“I can’t thank the management and staff at KTSF enough for the support they have given me all these years,” said Spear. “Station owner Lillian Howell and general manager Mike Sherman have truly been great backers of the show.”
Spear said many segments of the racing industry have contributed to the success of his program.
“I’ve been fortunate throughout the years to have the support of the tracks, the horsemen and the fans,” said Spear. “My approach to the show has always been that I represent the fan. I’ve always tried to give the fans the most information possible.”
Spear gives a big assist on his 30-year run to the crews in the video departments at Golden Gate Fields and Bay Meadows.
“I’m proud of the fact that we have been able to provide 30 years of continuous racing coverage,” said Spear. “I couldn’t have done it without the help and fine work of the people behind the scenes in the video departments. From thoroughbred races, Quarter Horse races, harness races, Arabian races, Appaloosa races and mule races, we’ve covered them all.”