Grandstand Memories

In every sport we have them. - You can hear the arm-chair warriors carrying a torch for their team or runner. - That's just fine. It makes the game interesting. But, over the years, I've noticed some pretty good imitations of a rider walking around in the grandstand. - They're not going to make weight and pick up a call, but they'll sure give you all they got when they have $2 on the line. - Here are some of my favorites, and others I wish would go home early.

1. - The program whipper = This person can reach into their pocket and draw out a rolled program. - It's tight and bent, but it will do the trick. - They go right to the stick and cheer and scream as the horses turn for home. - They give commands as if the rider would hear them and won't stop until they hit the line. - If it all went south. They can tell you the rider should have switched sticks, changed leads, or threw a few crosses.

2. - The finger snapper = This is not my favorite, and I turn my head when hearing the snap. - They can get a snapping going by twitching their fingers and you can hear it deep to the bone. - They call out "Come on Willy, Come on Will. - That's it, Jorge, That's it. - Make the move Eddie, shoot the rail." - All the while this wicked snapping sound is like fingers on a chalkboard. - I'm all for rooting, but this one is rough to watch and hear.

3. - The smoocher = They're not giving anyone a kiss, but you would swear it was happening right there. - Smmmmoooooch - Come on baby, smoooooccccch. - They are calling to the horse like a rider does with a whistle, chirp, or a high pitched scream.

4. - The stooper = When tickets hit the floor they can flip the flat ticket like a world cup soccer player. It is an art, but tracks frown down on this practice of looking for winners that got tossed on the floor.

4. - The Hi-Five Gang = Usually a group of young men or women, and you'll see them jumping and giving the big five! - I love to see the energy, but sometimes they look like the cover of the program where you see people in bow ties and sunglasses having a great time.

5. - The Announcer = This is the guy in the far back of the racebook who roots for whoever is on top. - Funny, they have every winner and call it as they turn for home. " Get em, James. Turn him loose. You got it, you got it, draw and hide from them." - These folks are funny for about the first two hours but it gets old at the end of the night.