Blatant Bias? What a Surprise! Trevor Denman tried to root Zenyatta home

[andymays]

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-...,4695748.story

Excerpt:

"In only two races in my history have I been blatantly biased," Denman said Tuesday from his farm in Minnesota. "[ Bill] Shoemaker's last ride, in that race I said, 'Come on Shoe,' because I wanted him to win so bad, he ran fourth but at the eighth pole he could have won it and, literally, I said, 'Come on Shoe,' and then Saturday. I wanted so badly for Zenyatta to win.

"You have to have sagacity and say, 'This occasion is different and I have to be different.' I have to admit, I almost said, 'Come on,' right before Blame and Zenyatta hit the wire.

I think you can hear exasperation in my voice, at the end. I was deflated when I said, 'Blame has won it.' "

[ihatenyra]

At least he admitted it. I can tell you Durkin has been biased a heck of a lot more than 2 times in his career.

Was there ever an obvious letdown than "Birdstone wins the belmont stakes"

[FenceBored]

Originally Posted by ihatenyra

At least he admitted it. I can tell you Durkin has been biased a heck of a lot more than 2 times in his career.

Was there ever an obvious letdown than "Birdstone wins the belmont stakes"

Yeah, and Denman's delusional if he thinks his bias has been blatant only twice. A race caller doesn't need to yell "move your bloomin' arse" to be blatantly biased.

[ihatenyra]

Actually though in fairness to Tom he did make it up to Birdstone and acknowledged his belmont stakes victory more enthusiastically. The problem was it came in the Travers

[andymays]

I don't think this is a surprise to anyone. It was pretty obvious.

I'm not a Denman fan but at least he's admitting it.

I guess a quite a few announcers anticipate things that don't always happen. Especially when they handicap and bet on a race they're calling.

[lamboguy]

i don't blame him

[andymays]

Originally Posted by lamboguy

i don't blame him

Hmmmmm

[NTamm1215]

Originally Posted by ihatenyra

Actually though in fairness to Tom he did make it up to Birdstone and acknowledged his belmont stakes victory more enthusiastically. The problem was it came in the Travers

It would have been so much better if Durkin's call of the 2004 Belmont stretch was "Smarty Jones, Smarty JOnes, Smmmmaarrrtttyyy Jjjjoonnneesss! Birdstone won it a length."

That call, from start to finish, is absolutely flawless and should be used as an example for how to capture a huge moment perfectly from the booth.

[ihatenyra]

Originally Posted by NTamm1215

It would have been so much better if Durkin's call of the 2004 Belmont stretch was "Smarty Jones, Smarty JOnes, Smmmmaarrrtttyyy Jjjjoonnneesss! Birdstone won it a length."

That call, from start to finish, is absolutely flawless and should be used as an example for how to capture a huge moment perfectly from the booth.

I'll give him credit for one thing, he knew Birdstone would be a huge threat before they straightened for the stretch.

And Birdstone, what a horse only one to win the belmont stakes twice

[eastie]

They are supposed to be biased. You could tell who Jim Hannon bet just by the way the race was called. That's what makes this game so great. Individuality is a wonderful thing. I'm sure there were plenty of people who bet Blame who were rooting for Zenyatta to win anyway. Almost everyone was rooting for Zenyatta to make history ( except PA CJ TLG and Duh Hoss) If Denman gets knocked for this, then people have way too much time to complain. Long live the Queen

[cj]

Originally Posted by eastie

They are supposed to be biased. You could tell who Jim Hannon bet just by the way the race was called. That's what makes this game so great. Individuality is a wonderful thing. I'm sure there were plenty of people who bet Blame who were rooting for Zenyatta to win anyway. Almost everyone was rooting for Zenyatta to make history ( except PA CJ TLG and Duh Hoss) If Denman gets knocked for this, then people have way too much time to complain. Long live the Queen

I seriously doubt most people that bet on Blame were rooting for Zenyatta. You are maintaining your 100% batting average.

[FenceBored]

Originally Posted by eastie

They are supposed to be biased. You could tell who Jim Hannon bet just by the way the race was called. That's what makes this game so great. Individuality is a wonderful thing. I'm sure there were plenty of people who bet Blame who were rooting for Zenyatta to win anyway. Almost everyone was rooting for Zenyatta to make history ( except PA CJ TLG and Duh Hoss) If Denman gets knocked for this, then people have way too much time to complain. Long live the Queen

Elizabeth? I'll second that (no pun intended).

[ukbro00]

I see nothing wrong with it. TV Ratings were up 300% because of Zenyatta and the 2 million extra people who were watching the race were rooting for her.

[NTamm1215]

Originally Posted by eastie

They are supposed to be biased. You could tell who Jim Hannon bet just by the way the race was called. That's what makes this game so great. Individuality is a wonderful thing. I'm sure there were plenty of people who bet Blame who were rooting for Zenyatta to win anyway. Almost everyone was rooting for Zenyatta to make history ( except PA CJ TLG and Duh Hoss) If Denman gets knocked for this, then people have way too much time to complain. Long live the Queen

They are specifically NOT supposed to be biased. That's why the large majority of racing entities don't allow their announcers to wager.

And by the way, I bet Blame, I was cheering for him.

[mountainman]

In his prime, perhaps the best caller ever. In this instance, completely unprofessional. In whining for a Zenyatta win, Denman shortchanged the multitudes whose hopes, dreams, and money were carried by other participants. And the disservice done to the gallant winner, his supporters, and connections is unforgivable. Blame's brave effort deserved to be punctuated by a fair and square stretch-call that both captured the drama and gave him HIS due.