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el; • 3h9hk OReilly on Racing ■ By Tom OReilly TV Cameraman Covering Derby Has Bad Day Review of Telecast Seen in Jamaica Jocks Room Boys Make Little Comment Following Running JAMAICA. L. I.. N. Y.. May 6— Pardon me, for pointing, but didnt you read this right here last week: "Today I must keep up with the Joneses. I dont care if they start only Iron Liege or Gen. Duke or both of them. When I see those Calumet colors going to the post in the Kentucky Derby, my two dollars must go with them. Frankly, I favor Gallant Man and Ill have a senti-menal deuce on him, too. but I cannot ignore the lesson I learned that pleasant morning at Churchill Downs backside years ago. Such childlike faith moves mountains and in the Derby it appar ently moved Willie Shoemaker out of riding position at just the right moment. I didnt actually see the Calumet colors going to the post because I caught parts of this one on a black and white television set. I say I only saw parts of it because it undoubtedly was the worst Derby telecast in history. Maybe it was because it was cold up there on the Churchill Downs roof, but the poor camera man was having a bad day. At one of the most crucial moments of the race, when -the horses were battling their way down the homestretch he lost the field entirely and had his lens focused on a deserted part of the track. On other occasions something went wrong so that Americas 122-000.000 televiewers Hatest estimate" only saw long periods of gray in front of them. Maybe somebody stepped in front of the camera. Maybe they were just shots of the sky. I dont know. At any rate they were not pictures of the Derby and the race was in full swing. Cassidy Orders Peace and Quiet The uproar these lapses caused in the Jamaica jocks room can only be imagined. I have it on the word of Eddie Farrell that his was one of the quietest / Derby viewings in the history of the jocks room. Not one window bulged from the noise. This was due partly because Marshall Cassidy passed the word around that there were to be no unauthorized persons admitted and indicated, during the process, that the noise in the past had been too distracting. First person to arrive on the scene was Tony Francisco, valet for Ted Atkinson: Dr. Alexander Kaye and yours truly. Then came Dick Dwyer and Dick Meehan. valets for Pete Anderson and Conn McCreary, respectively. At first there were no jockeys at all. because they were all out riding in the eighth race as the Derby telecast started. Done worry, thefll be here." said Dwyer. "Theyve got exactly six minutes, from the time they leave th» gate, to get here in time for the Derby start. Better leave that door open cause theyll come roarin in here like a bunch of gang busters." As the massed bands played "My Old Kentucky Home," Median asked Francisco, "Ever seen a Derby, Tony?" "Ever see one?" replied Tony, T was due to ride J. C. Cudahys Cup Bearer in one an he got scratched three days before. That was tough." The Derby horses had arrived at the stall gate when Jimmy Daley, the outrider, puffed into the room. Wha dyou do? Jump off in the middle o the race?" asked a valet. Daley didnt reply. The horses were in the Kentucky stall gate when the jocks came pouring in — Mike Sorrentino, Frank Lovato. Bill Boland. Harlan Dalton he rode Icarian, winner of the eighth race, Raul Sterling, Ted Atkinson. Pete Anderson, Gene Rodriguez and Eric Guerin. Riders Voice Their Disapproval The moment the Kentucky horses broke the hollering started but this time it wasnt too loud. You could hear every word of Fred Capossellas call. It was when the camera drew those blanks that his words became indistinct under the rain of disapproval from the onlookers. In the end, Cappy called Iron Liege the winner and then hedged saying hed have to wait for the photo. It was close enough. But nobody in the room, or later, saw Shoemakers 07,000 boo-boo at the sixteenth pole. Im not sure the sixteenth pole ever got into the picture. It was along there some place that the camera showed us a deserted track. The boys comments were little different from those you might get from a less-expert audience. Bill Boland said: "I thought both the first and second horses were in trouble at times." Bob Ussery reiftarked: "Round Table had trouble, Bold Ruler bumped him. That second horse had no excuse. He had plenty of time. He caught him at the 70-yard pole. He just couldnt get there." Ted Atkinson was noncommital. "It was quite a race," he said. So it was, suited me right down to the ground. Oh, the sun shines bright . . .1 .
