Page 14 - The Game May 2006

14 The Game, May 2006 Your Thoroughbred Racing Community Newspaper
Opening Day at Hastings - April 14, 2006
Photo Above: Ponygirls Megan Kerford, Talitha Wyatt, and Claire Hills carried the colours to the post for the opening of the 2006 racing season Photo Right:The first horse through the paddock gates this season was Fifteen Dimes and groom Kathy Bremner.
CTHS - BC President Dixie Jacobson and new owner Jim Marsh talk to Tom Wolski before the 4th.
She seems uncomfortable having her picture taken, but its part of the job after all and she’s about the job and the work involved. So she poses and smiles. A great smile—there’s no guile in it, only an honesty and openness of spirit that reflects the person within.
Carmen Thomas is the co-host on Tom Wolski’s The Sport of Kings television show. She was born in Vancouver and grew up in the resort town of White Rock before making the transition back to the big city a few years ago. Now, she says proudly, "I am a Vancouver resident."
At 24 years she has made a positive start on a career which, although the outline isn’t exactly clearly defined seems to be heading in a direction she’s happy with.
While taking
broadcast journalism
course at the British
Columbia Institute
of Technology
fellow student Brad
Peters, who was then the cameraman for The Sport of Kings, asked her if she was interested in trying out for a new segment of the show they were planning.
For the interview she was asked to come up with something about horseracing and here’s where Carmen’s work ethic and versatility came in to play. She knew nothing about horseracing but she did know a girl who had a horse. One or two conversations and a search of the Fraser Downs website and she came up with a ‘pretend script’ for the audition.
"I had my friend go over it to see if it made sense, then practiced it, memorized it and went to the audition."
The work she put into it paid off as the producer and crew thought she had been given a real script to read and were impressed by the homework she had done.
"I didn’t think I got the job but after a few weeks I got a call and the next thing you know here it is four years later."
In those four years she’s come a long way. She does the writing for the show, filling an on-track segment each week, doing interviews and coming up with content ideas. She readily admits she gets a lot of help and is open to any story ideas.
"I knew pretty much nothing about horseracing but Tommy and the crew did a
really great job to get me up to speed. And the BCIT training helped. They teach you to look for stories even when your not the most informed about something.
"Now I’d say I can hold my own in a conversation about horseracing but I can’t talk shop with trainers, especially the old school trainers who throw out lingo I don’t
understand, that’s where I know to just smile and nod."
As for her likes and dislikes of the job, she enjoys coming to the races.
"Especially on a sunny day. It doesn’t feel like work at all. I like the sport and the people involved. My least favourite part is the early mornings. I’m a musician."
Mention the music and there’s that smile again. Carmen and her twin sister Camille have had a pop-rock band for the last couple of years and played at Hastings Park on BC Oaks Day last year.
"We have a slide guitar player that plays with us and makes us sound more rootsy but its definitely pop-rock. We went to L.A. twice last year to do some writing with a couple of different people - producers and writers. It was a good experience and one night we went to a movie premier with Cuba Gooding jr. and met Jude Law.
"Writing wise it was a good experience and we wrote a song on our own that we have since recorded."
"The Sport of Kings has been an amazing job but my heart is in the music. I’m hoping that it will take off although I’m not in a huge rush."
As to the others who work with her there seems to be a warm and protective bond.
"She’s hard working and dedicated, an integral part of the team," says cameraman Howard Jones.
"Its like were one big family," says Wolski. "A few years ago we decided we needed a different spin on the show, to bring some youth into the picture and when we met her, right off the bat we just fell in love with her, and she’s just improved and improved. Her work ethic is excellent."
"She’s rare. I mean for a girl of 24 years old she’s not worried about the wrong things, she’s worried about the right things. She’s enthusiastic and brings a lot to the table and that makes our show better and her career on the up-track. And what ever happens we wish her the best."
Carmen Thomas
A Look at Racing in British Columbia
By Jim Reynolds
Jockey Frank Fuentes and Clerk of Scales Pete Hodge share a joke before the first
Ex-jockey and Queen's Plate winner (Whistling Sea) Tak Inouye poses in
the paddock before his Earl's Diamond won the 4th race on day two.
Photos by Jim Reynolds
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