Tuesday, September 05, 2006

And away they go and is the bluegrass really blue?

I like Trevor Denman's calls. I find he picks up action that I would otherwise be missing and I think the "And away they go" is exciting and understated all at the same time. Very cool. Durkin is a consummate pro but I don't find this move distressing and it sounds like neither did Tom Durkin. I think the Breeder's Cup call will not suffer from this change. Here is a link to a year old article interviewing both of these pros.

I have recently gone from retired athlete to working out regularly, first for several weeks on the stair stepper and more recently to running 5k's each day . That and a healthier diet has shed 21lbs on my way from an overweight 207 down to my ideal body wt of 172. Anyway, we have had an unusually wet August in Kentucky and during my runs the past few days I noticed the grass giving off some really blue hues. At first I thought it was just oxygen deficit or some other pre-stroke hallucination but since it has happened twice I am going with it. I always wondered if the bluegrass was blue and have been hard pressed to really see that, mostly it is just really green. But the theory is (and I can attest to this having set my pastures fence posts) that Kentucky lies on mostly limestone. Apparently that helps nuture the grass and is said to give it a "blue hue". It is also said to build stronger equine bones. Also, bluegrass makes for good pastures as it tolerates a lot of grazing. More info on Wiki

3 comments:

John said...

Funny you should mention Blue Grass, the first couple of times I visited KY I was looking for that hue but I must say I have yet to see it. Kudos on the weight loss, I have started the better diet, more exercise regiment myself here in PA and hope to see some results soon. Turfway is open and I notice you have nada to say about it, what accounts for the silence?

Joe Danaher said...

I was just looking at my schedule to see where a trip up there would fit in. This is a track I have not been to in several years. A really good friend and I used to go up there a lot. We both worked night shift and one morning he went out for a post-work run and came back and promptly had the big one and keeled over dead. So that might account for why I haven't been back. Plus it's next to a major mall and I usually lose my family to that and end up at the track by myself! I am going to KY Downs for the first time next Saturday so that post is coming!

t said...

Kentucky Downs is a fabulous track. Well, there are no amenities, but I love their racing with up to the crest and down the other side, and both wide sweeping turns and the hairpin whip around, then they're coming for home for like a week.

It's great live, but it's also fun to watch people watching it on the monitor because they don't all know about the funky camera angle & cuts. Just when you think your horse is home and coming to the wire, BAM the switch camera and there's another 1/16th to go.