Tom Durkin's call.

[Merlinsky]

Originally Posted by _ed_

Yeah, very good call I thought. His only mistake was that went back to the English (and correct ) way of pronouncing Derby near the end of the race, but that's forgivable.

How is it correct to pronounce Derby like "Darby"? If we're messing around with things like swapping vowel sounds, I'll just start pronouncing IEAH as "thrrp."

[_ed_]

Do you pronounce everything exactly how it's spelt?

I just think it's correct because that's how the race it's named after is pronounced. Anyway, it was just a random comment and a spectacularly unsuccessful attempt at humour, at about the quality level you can expect from me when I'm bored at work.

[Scurlogue Champ]

Originally Posted by Merlinsky

How is it correct to pronounce Derby like "Darby"? If we're messing around with things like swapping vowel sounds, I'll just start pronouncing IEAH as "thrrp."

The same way it is correct to pronounce Paris (pah-ree)

I'm as American as anyone, but we do say it wrong.

I like hearing guys at the OTB in Kentucky pronouncing that Juddmonte horse Champs Elysees as if they never had a history class.

[parsixfarms]

Originally Posted by Merlinsky

How is it correct to pronounce Derby like "Darby"?

Or Versailles as "Ver-sales," as they do in Kentucky?

[Linny]

The race was named after the "Derby Stakes" in England and THAT race is pronounced dArby after Lord Derby, pronounced Darby. Ask Lord Derby about the pronunciation. It's been going on for centuries.
Every other racing nation that runs races called "Derbies" uses the British pronunciation.

I get a kick out of "Champs El-EE-es" as if the horse were from Ver-Sales KY!

[SlewsMyHero]

I love Durkin, but his call was reminiscent of Denman's call or miscall of Street Sense in the BC Juvenile. In all fairness, Mark Johnson did not catch the big move early either. He did call the winner sooner than Durkin did, but it wasn't like he saw him in early stretch. Johnson made the call just as MTB was taking the lead. I think announcers just get used to horses rallying on the outside and sometimes just don't see the ones that sneak up on the rail. All in all, I thought Mark Johnson's call was clearly superior to Durkin's.

[Pedigree Ann]

Originally Posted by parsixfarms

Or Versailles as "Ver-sales," as they do in Kentucky?

Don't forget the little town of Ai-thens, not Athens. Ever been to Desha's in Lexington? Duh-SHAY'S. We do have our quirky pronunciations.

In fact, the 'er' combo is always pronounced 'ar' in English English. 'Clark' is a phonetic spelling of clerk, and Berkshire, home of many racing stables, is 'Barkshire'. Our way of saying 'Derby' is more like 'Durby.' Nobody actually says the 'er' sound - would be Dairby.