Sport

By the time Legal Light won his Derby, the commentary booth was controlled by the wonderful Chris Armond, who brought a whole new style of race calling to the radio in which every horse’s position was noted on several occasions during the race and every finish was exciting.  He...

So, we come to the weight-carrying feats of local champions of yore. No thoroughbred’s career had a chance of being memorable unless it included at least one weight-defying performance fuelling arguments on street corners, in bars and around domino tables. Derby winners were so rated according to their subsequent...

When Titania won the Derby in 1974, David Vernon was still in charge of RJR’s commentary booth but the skill and artistry of George HoSang ruled the racetrack.  Titania (trained by Michael “Buddy” Silvera for Mrs. Hazel Chen) was the third filly to win the Derby and HoSang’s second...

Once upon a time, when piggy was a swine, people participated in sports for fun, recreation and exercise. Sports has now evolved into big business where the rewards for success are so enormous that the emphasis on winning is what now dominates this pastime. Sports now has morphed into...

 Horseracing has always been an audio-visual sport and, as such, identified with and by the voices of its commentators. One of the earliest was the legendary Charlie “Dollars to Donuts” McCormack.   When the little boy’s first “favourite horse”, Saumarez, won the 1962 Derby, he was called home by Charlie...

The little boy had heard stories of Caymanas Park’s early days when Jockeys vying for the lead at the three furlong pole were alert for the shout of the Master himself, the great Arthur Jones. “Dog coming!” Jones would yell, “Rent due!” This was to signal younger jocks ahead...

“Have I missed anything?” the small boy in the disheveled prep school uniform hopped nervously from foot to foot, peering over his father’s shoulder for a glimpse of the as-yet-forbidden fruit. “Take a bath, eat your lunch and then we can talk” was the gruff response. “But, have they...

The new racing promoter has taken some steps in the right direction. For example, I notice there has been an attempt to raise the value of claiming tags albeit only at the top end. A few races have been successfully offered for horses prepared to enter for claiming tags...

In sports, there are rules. The rules are designed to make the event as fair as possible to ALL the participants. The introduction of discretion gives power to a named official to decide or act without other control than one’s own judgment. In the greatest show on Earth, the...