Charlsie cantey biography
•
Charlsie Cantey: A Pioneer in Horse Racing Media
Charlsie Cantey never sought to break ground as the first female racing broadcaster. She never fancied herself as the pioneering type. It just sort of happened.
Cantey was among a handful of women exercising horses in 1975 when Frank Tours, then with the New York Racing Association, asked if she might be interested in appearing regularly on a television show that featured local racing on WOR. The more he asked, the more vehemently she rejected the notion.
Finally, as a way to put the matter to rest more than anything, she reluctantly agreed to meet with Bill Creasy, who oversaw the broadcast and was eager to add Cantey to the voices of Dave Johnson and Frank Wright.
Not long after that, Cantey received a phone call that Wright would be forced to miss one show due to another commitment. Would she replace him for an afternoon?
She agreed, and it was as if it was meant to be from the start. Her search for material began and ended wi
•
Charlsie Cantey
American sportscaster
Charlsie Cantey (born c. 1946 in Raleigh, North Carolina), one of broadcasting's veteran thoroughbredhorse racing analysts, is an American sportscaster who worked for ESPN (1985–2002), ABC Sports (1986–2000), WOR-TV (1975–1977), CBS Sports (1977–1986), USA Network (2002–2005) and NBC Sports (2000–2005).
Career
[edit]Early career
[edit]Cantey studied for two years at Mount Vernon College for Women then two years at George Washington University, graduating in 1968 despite missing class a number of times to ride horses.[1] She was an exercise rider for Ruffian when Frank Whiteley first started training the filly in late 1973 in Camden, South Carolina,[2] and she later became a horse trainer.[3]
Cantey appeared on TV on What's My Line? as the trainer of a thoroughbred named Arlene Francis, which was named after one of the show's stars; the real Arlene Francis failed to guess her occupation.
When Cante
•
During Derby, This Rider to Keep Her Feet on the Ground
One thing a little different about Charlsie Cantey is her name. No, it’s not a nickname.
Her father, Charles Oscar, chose the name. He already had two daughters and was planning on a son, whom he was going to name after himself. Well, things didn’t quite go according to plan, so little Charlie became Charlsie.
Oh well, at least she wasn’t named Oscarina.
Another thing that sets Charlsie Cantey apart is the way she became a network sports commentator. She got there, you might say, on horseback.
In 1975, she was an exercise rider at Belmont Park in New York and the wife of a trainer, Joe Cantey. A public relations man for the New York Racing Assn., Frank Tours, suggested that she try out for a spot on a nightly racing show the organization produced for television station WOR.
Dave Johnson and trainer Frank Wright were the hosts, and the NYRA was looking for a woman to join them.
“Me on TV?” Cantey said she told Tours. “You