Trevor Denman

[BitPlayer]

Not only is Trevor a very good race caller, he is, in my mind, a pioneer.  In my (perhaps flawed) memory, he was the first to regularly incorporate comments on how horses were performing into his calls.  He notes which horses are \"moving comfortably\", which are \"having to be asked\", which are \"crying out for room\", which \"loom a danger\", etc.  Go back and listen to how  early he picked up Imperialism\'s move in his call of the San Rafael and told viewers to focus on the horse \"in the pink sleeves.\"  I don\'t like the fact that he doesn\'t give split times, but he does make make general comments on how fast the pace is.  Other callers (like Tom Durkin) now regularly do these kinds of things, and I think horse racing is better for it.

[jbelfior]

BitPlayer--

Trevor\'s \"call\" on IMPERIALISM was one of the best anticipations of a winning move that I have ever heard. People that I have talked to who have been watching races for years all admitted that they did not see that coming.


Good Luck,
Joe B.

[Edgorman]

Speaking of race callers.... If Vic Stauffer tells me one more time that I better keep an eye on \".................\" I will have Lasik surgery or remove his vocal chords.
Does he think he is a fortune teller??

[kc]

I couldn\'t disagree with you more about Trevor Denman. Ten years ago he was a great track announcer,but now, more often than not, it seems like he just mails it in.Listening to him five days a week is torture.He mispronounces names,misses horses completly as they go down the back stretch,and he is gasping for air as they turn for home.He\'s still capable of making a great race call,as he did in the San Rafeal,but his usual tone of calling a week-day race is one of boredom and apathy.

[Chuckles_the_Clown2]

Sure he\'s gasping for air at the end, he calls as much extraneous information as race information, plus they circuit about 10,000 volts of electricity through him to get that high quality electrical hum into his voice.

Stick flipper with a battery and he could do as well.

eh eh eeeeeh heheheheheheheheheh

eh eh eeeeeh heheheheheheheheheh


Some random observations on the Florida Derby

The Cliff's Edge – Has lost when he's run into stakes caliber horses like Mr. Jester and Eurosilver. Edged Gran Prospect and Pro Prado. Gran Prospect flopped last. Previous race was undoubtedly better than it looks. 2nd back off layoff. Not sure his pace style is gonna be ideal on this track with the quality he's facing, but Zito probably isn't looking to bag THIS race either. At least Sellers can\'t kill this one on the pace.

Friends Lake – He ran into two good horses off a layoff in the Holy Bull, neither which is around this time.  His breeding is good and he seems to want to keep his competition in sight.

Read the Footnotes – What can you say, other than, "How fast was that FOY?"

Tapit – The money horses from that Laurel Futurity do not flatter him, however he did beat them by 5 lengths and was \"covered up\" before he found room. His trainer has more or less implied he's not cranked.  I have always wondered about his grey coat. I still think its Rubiano grey. Rubiano was a good horse but he wasn't a 10 mark horse.

Farnum Alley – He's another WinStar Distorted Humor. I'm not sure Funny Cide liked this track. This one is gonna have to jump through his skin from what I can see.

Sir Oscar – Bled in FOY in comeback race. New trainer, same jockey.

Notorious Rogue – aka "Notorious B.I.G."...Lost to decent horses by the following margins:

Deputy Storm – 8.5
Silver Wagon -  5.5
Chapel Royal – 1.5 & 10
Birdstone        - 12.5
Pollard's Vision – 6.5
Frisky Spider  - .5

Defeated Ghost Mountain by 2.5. I guess the theory is "If Frisky Spider's trainer thinks Frisky has a shot, we must have one too"

Value Plus – Tough call. You can find reasons he didn't win (trouble) and you can see results that may indicate distance limitations. Caveat: He finished up in 12:3 last His dam side breeding is Ohio. I don't have any reason to dismiss that other than most of the horses in that pedigree made their nut in Ohio racing. Note, dam has not been a Blue Hen but she has been an admirable producer. Had a half brother by Brocco go for 2,000K. Went for 1,100K himself:

http://www.pedigreequery.com/index.php?h=ROLL+OVER+BABY&g=5&query_type=progeny&search_bar=progeny&done=y&inbred=Standard&x2=n&username=&password=&x=0&y=0

He's a grey, like his daddy, and there is no grey (that I can see) in the five generation female side of his pedigree, though some of that pedigree is obscure. Trainer has placed his horses in spots they could win. This guy is here:

http://www.pedigreequery.com/index.php?query_type=check&search_bar=horse&h=value+plus&g=5&inbred=Standard&x2=n  

He was favored over Read the Footnotes in the Remson and unseated his rider. He's undoubtedly fast and has run best when on the lead, but he has caught blazing surfaces those days he was up front. If he can inherit the lead he could be a tough horse to beat, especially on this track. I\'m prepared to be proven wrong, but I\'m guessing he\'s not gonna want this distance in top company on most tracks.

Frisky Spider – Was this horse really unable to weather a 48:5 fraction in its last race? Granted it would have been on the slow part of the track, with turns and there was some trouble. Blinkers today and the trainer said he will be "whistling at every stop".  I know, I know..."that's what the trainer said"

Smoocher – Did win Grade II in Canada. First here excusable. Second found some trouble and is likely to get hotter fractions to close into.



Post Edited (03-12-04 05:12)