Ed Chamberlin said he felt more relief than elation when ITV secured a three-year extension to its terrestrial racing coverage.
Well, the sport should be doing handsprings and popping champagne corks.
First things first. This is not a TV review.
Everyone who watches the Roger Mellie is an expert, and you have to keep only half an eye on Twitter during a Saturday afternoon to know that there are many who would cover racing in a very different way to channel that has been its terrestrial partner since 2017.
But since a Racing TV viewer opined on an internet forum that the doctor had been “too handy with the forceps” at my birth - something my mother denies - I’ve learned to treat social media with a pinch of salt.
What’s important are the numbers.
Last month, over 2.2million people watched Serpentine’s victory in the Investec Derby - the biggest viewership for the Classic since 2012.
Some would counter that figure was boosted by people staying at home during the coronavirus pandemic, but the same argument can’t be used against the station’s draw for the Cheltenham Festival last March, which was the highest since records began in 2003.
Even allowing for COVID-19, the numbers are on the up, and that’s crucial - both for attracting new people to the sport and keeping sponsors happy.
The alternative - Sky were ITV’s rivals for the post-2020 contract - would have seen the totals disappear over the cliff edge.
While football hasn’t looked back since teaming up with Sky, there are plenty of other sports whose profiles have sunk into the sand since they vanished from terrestrial viewing.
Racing cannot afford to join them.
The events of the last few months mean that racing faces difficulties the like of which it has never seen before.
At least it doesn’t have to cope with plummeting audience figures into the bargain.
