Thanks For Everything Tommo ;)

... Yep, If you employ a Mechanic you dont want a Chef turning up.
    Childish  / non race related commentarys, persistent aggrovating sucking / slurping noises.

his commentaries cause some aggra

His commentaries are clear, fluent and accurate.  That’s what I praise about Thommo.  He’s so good at it people look for nonsense to knock him.
Well done Thommo and have a good retirement.

Thommo at the Fallon Trial hearing.

   

The funeral story made me laugh.

A great many regular racegoers, especially in recent years, would groan upon arriving at a track to find Thommo was the course commentator. His sometimes over dramatic style and continued reference to tired old cliches - 'Hayley Turner, the head turner' - being but one example would soon grate.

But, watching the Channel 4 Racing clips from the 1980's and early 1990's -  now viewable on Youtube - has brought it home to me that he used to be quite good. More as a presenter than a commentator. Personally, though, I think he went on too long and his work has suffered for it.

I could also tell a tale about one March Sunday at Sedgefield many years ago when he was the race day host - I cannot recall if he was also commentating that day. But if my memory fully serves me, he behaved poorly before racing when attempting to do some quick publicity work for the track.

I will not say what happened but he asked me if it was alright for him to do something with my little, highly disabled brother (whom we had brought along for a day out). I agreed but he then greatly disappointed me afterwards and I have never quite forgotten just how self-centered he appeared. To be fair, perhaps he wasn't thinking but I rather suspect his urge to do the publicity thing at all costs was all he was thinking of that day!

So, a muted farewell to Thommo from me.

He assisted a friend mine in his role as paddock judge of the best turned out.  He knew nothing whatsoever about horses and told me that Thommo had been brilliant with him and very helpful.  As for the Fallon trial any lawyer will tell you that the best liar in court wins.

His complaint at not making a bean from the #1 with his voice - Steve Coogan  shirley (sic) based his AP character on Thommo!

Here they come back towards us...
Coming with a good-looking run....
The favourite...
PHOTO...
All travelling well as they should at this stage...(after 1 or 2 f)

One final thing from me about Thommo.

He surely perfected the art of, for example, 'and the one on the outside in the black and white hoops and red cap is starting a run'.

Now in my example, the horse's position and colours, could be anything but what I always felt Thommo was doing as he called it was frantically scanning his race card to find out the name of the horse in the 'black and white hoops and red cap on the outside'!

A clever little trick to buy himself a couple of seconds!!!

As much as I agree TN...it's a tough gig...and a highly skilled one imo

.. Yes, one which Thommo sadly failed to master.
  I am all for cheeky charlie chappys, rattling buckets etc, just dont let them near the microphone.

His strength was not comms....that is fair

We'll miss him when he's gone, like most things whether you've loved him or hated him but he's in your Psyche.
  Who can forget little gems like, "Firework going off like a rocket," ok he might have called the wrong horse as the winner but well dubbed afterwards.

Agreed Stew....Who of us hasn't made a mistake in the workplace

asking for a friend, will he still be running his tipping line ?

I think he's bought a dog to do that..

His commentaries were regularly full of gibberish, but I'll still miss them.

Whatever happened to his alter-ego...Artie?

He was always on the wind-up on the regular 'anti-Tommo' threads

Jul 21, 2025 -- 12:23PM, lead on wrote:

I think he's bought a dog to do that..

Good riddajce the old basxxxx ...

The bloke is genuine, and a workaholic. I think he was a good presenter. He might not be everyone's cup of tea as a commentator but he's always in demand.

He'll be missed, part of the furniture for decades and a very passionate horse racing man.

"And Apache is on the warpath."

Prayer does work

Freddie.     I like Thommo but I liked your wry quip too.

never liked the man, false, disengenious, slimey and full of crap.

so lucky to have lasted as long as he has,

goodbye and good ridiance

are you still writing for Clintons cards Dragon ?

He has a true story about the time Sheikh Mohammed invited him over to Dubai.
He was in the stables with the good sheik when an; "Arab walked in"
The sheik introcued the guy as a policeman from Hatta who was to train his horses and he wanted Thommo to, "teach him English"
so says Thommo, " I taught Saeed Bin Surror English"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3PBEzEp6xk
around 19:30 mins in.

Comes across as a very modest man

not sure what you mean ttt

i took my young family to ayr races a few years back and he was there. he treated my wife with total disdain and looked at my kids with disdain (mixed race)

Vile individual imvho

Dragon or impossible.......who do  u believe

i aint making it up freddie

the man was all about himself... massive ego and very dismissive of people who didnt fit in with his ego

still don't get the whole IRA / Shergar thing ? 

we have da hoss.  and we wanna speak to someone about it.  And that someone is Derek "Thommo" Thompson. 

everyone be like, whaaa ?  you wanna speak to Thommo ?  As in Derek Thompson ?  Deeko ?


Even we don't speak to him ....

Jul 21, 2025 -- 8:17PM, TameTheTiger wrote:

are you still writing for Clintons cards Dragon ?

I believe u dragon

gospel truth freddie

TTT.

Wolverhampton tonight and that's it

Tommo's greatest achievement - slimeball successfully swerving spending time at Her Majesty's Pleasure!

Mystic Meg was hoping to be at Wolverhampton tonight, but couldn't make it due to...

Will be call "Phhhooooootttttoooooo" last race as thr winner wins by 3L?

Will be choke up a little?

Will he sound like he's got a rhubarb and custard sweet in his gob mid race?

Will he shed a tear?


Like all those retiring I wish him well. Always an achievement to work 3/4 of your life and a send off is nearly always deserved.

Feet up now Tommo...enjoy

He says "there's a few surprises lined up but he doesn't know the details".

Saeed Bin suroor turns up to thank him for "teaching him English", perhaps.

"I'll leave that one to the Betfair forumites"

Oisin turns up, begging - “Can you help me Thommo.  I can’t get rid of this khount Chapman.  Can you please get him to retire”?

Another one bites the dust thankfully, rinsed the sport for all it was worth, put in a glass bookcase with Sir Bob, only break in an emergency... albeit 30 years to late.

Met him at Dubai Airport once, absolutely charming.

Thanks for everything Tommo

He’s bang in the spirit of things tonight that’s for sure.

Shook the great man's hand when he opened a shop in my town,been in the game a long time, good luck to him

Should be a market up for his final words, imo
That's one for the judge, obviously odds on
Too close to call, second fav

If the last one wins by a margin, Poor Thommo will be apoplectic

He's done Reg.
Darren whatshisname said this is Thomo's last commentary, anywhere earlier.

Not quite correct because the big fella has already stated he'd be over in Jersey commentating as he has done for many a year.

Not sure when that will be but he says he enjoys going there.

Pay him in Jersey royals no doubt.

anyone know why 'Barty' did the last two races ?

well might have been 3 actually coz i missed the 8pm race ?

Racetech must have paid both coz there's no way Thommo would chuck Barty a few quid to do the last few races.

Presumably Tommo stopped halfway through the card to leave time for a glass of champagne with the great and good of Redcar racecourse (and hopefully a small, tasteful and above all expensive keepsake).

did he have his bucket with him last night ?

namedropping till the end...

----------------------------------------------

And he said: "It's a very emotional evening. The phone hasn't stopped. There's been a message virtually every 40 seconds – I can't believe how many there have been. We had to turn the sound off in the car getting here because it was getting ridiculous.

"I've had messages from Frankie Dettori and William Buick. And they've come from some people I haven't seen for years – one said 'you commentated when I had my first point-to-point ride nearly 60 years ago'."

"I got a lovely message from Nicky Henderson, who sent me a personal text," said Thompson. "He said: 'I wanted to say well done for a remarkable career and service to horseracing. You've been a legend and your dulcet tones will never be forgotten. It seems a long time ago to that amazing day at Plumpton, but what fun we've all had over the years. We both seem to have managed to survive! Good luck today and enjoy the rest of your journey'. Messages like that are just so wonderful."

'service to horseracing'...

dear god...

it's comments like that that really gets my back up...

it's his fkn job Nicky...

he's not done it for free ffs...

there ain't no service to horseracing...

it's called making a living...

the racing establishment...

a bunch of runtbags.

Ozzy just shown what happens when you put your feet up….

LEIF   Gives a lot of time to us here mixes very well with everyone is very popular, Yes he gets well paid and no doubt air fare paid and if an evening meeting no doubt hotel paid for.

Listen to Thommo, then listen to that clown Darren Owen.  That’s the standard we are left with.  Dreadful.

Thommo's retirement was only afforded a 20 second slot on ITV this Morning.

    The groupies will be Seething. !!

Stupid man.  You, not Thommo.

Never understood the negativity towards Tommo i always thought he was good for the game.

Tommo on Luck on Sunday this morning.

Jesus he’s on now, what a total **** of a man
I suggest if you cannot see through this man,
It probably says more about you.

Vomit inducing bilge.

Tommo for strictly.

Recently an old school chum died. He'd got Cs and Ds in class, and could barely put one foot in front of the other on the playing field.

He died as MD of a medium-sized company, part-time coach of a sport he'd never played, a wife at least two levels above him.

The secret of his success was a good work ethic, sound planning or project management, and the belief that everything is learnable.

Over there is where I want to be. Here is where I am. Those are the steps between here and there.

Therefore I need to learn these skills from the library (then) or YouTube (now). I need to get on the bottom rung of this ladder not that ladder. I need to go to these events to meet relevant people (and marry one of them). He achieved a damn sight more than me, with less discernible talent.

Tommo was the same. A strong work ethic and no self-doubt. Was he the best presenter? No. The best commentator, not by a long chalk. But he was good enough, and never said no.

A grafter,for certain.

Watched him this morning on Luck , good bloke , regular guy with good intentions and no animosity.

Agree entirely with Ramruna's great post   


Good luck Derek   

https://youtu.be/mtzzmD4hFLQ?si=DUK7J-sEhMy72lVC

Nice interview.....good luck to him

good bloke , regular guy with good intentions

Really? Not sure some of his history would chime in with any of that. I won't repeat it, as most will already know it.

The man is a total ponce, a fcuking parasite
A wart on the top of a pecker. Good Riddence

Don't sit on the fence Ponch

A wart on the top of a pecker.
Speaking from experience?

Yeah experience of you, ya cabbage

Oh Kale!

I thought you’d explode into
Your usual rant of foul language and name
Calling, ya must be learning some fcuking
Manners??

I'm adopting Cole's Law.

He is not going to retire,Nap.

poncho knows warts well as his Mrs has one right above her top lip

Ponchos is definitely two different people who have access to the one account.

He's doing filming fur the shergar story

Jul 23, 2025 -- 8:42AM, HappyHibby wrote:

'service to horseracing'...dear god...it's comments like that that really gets my back up...it's his fkn job Nicky...he's not done it for free ffs...there ain't no service to horseracing...it's called making a living...the racing establishment...a bunch of runtbags.

This is all true from happy, he is a Taker Out not a Putter In
Some examples of Putters In

Sheikh Mohammed
JP McManus
Anyone rehoming an ex racehorse
Losing and Winning Punters
St Johns Ambulance volunteers

As Alex Ferguson told his players,the best skill,talent any footballer can have,is hard work.hard work is in itself a talent,no matter how much you scream,encourage push a player,some just want to play within themselves,others will bust a gut.

But then Phil Neville,no talent but just constantly wanting to try harder work harder,or Eric cantona.

Both succeed,but why should talentless people do well just cos they try harder.vica versa for talented who can’t be arsad.

We all remember when Phil Neville was given a commentary job for the bbc,England v USA World Cup.

What a shocker,he got slated,his reply,I ve taken it onboard I’ll go away and work on it.so I can improve.

People call the racing gravy train,but they ll all doing a job,so they re promoting the sport,presenting the sport.

The only take out merchants are ,winning punters ,not many.
Anyone who makes a living from racing but put s nothing back.
I.e a pitch bookie,who maybe could sponsor a race.
A food vendor at tracks,same again.
Bigger bookies ,who don’t sponsor enough races,or do other stuff.
Employment companies who send 300 staff to a festival,but don’t put a penny back,even into racing charities etc.
Oh,I miss one,AK bets,who moans all the time about how much servicing a customer costs him,whilst sat in the fat duck blowing 5 k on burnt cream,then tells you we couldn’t take enough bets quick enough,it was our best day ever.
Then gets free tv of itv,the costs are a joke,we’ve just bought a racecourse shop.pmsl.

My Tommos best quote,was when he said to a rails bookie,

The rails bookie moaning about a night time meeting,20k people there to see Tom jones,the bookie,they don’t bet or only bet 2 quid.
Tommo said,there’s 20k people there,sell yourself,encourage them to bet.

Tommo said,there’s 20k people there,sell yourself,encourage them to bet.
Tommo would have sold his granny for a quid.

Perhaps for a ton,leif.
A man of little integrity

Yeah,but that was his point,every thing is an opportunity,most people like this are driven from a poor child hood,they are  frightened of ending up back there,so they constantly want to make more money,then when they get enough money,it’s so ingrained into them they just can’t stop.they think if they stop,they ll be skint.

Taking 3 suitcases full of washing to Dubai ,cos the hotel had a free laundry service,when he went commentating over there,even though only there 2 days.

Constantly on it.
The mistake at Ayr,excuse,he d drove for 4 hours,at his age,just couldn’t stop.no doubt,he ll be selling stuff if he ends up in a care home.probably already bought a pallet of bedpans.

Sue Montgomery on Thommo back in 1998 in The Independent (my fave part of the article, highlighted)

DEREK THOMPSON, the racing journalist whose evidence in The Sporting Life libel trial caused such a stir yesterday, is best-known as the member of the Channel 4 team whose watchwords might be: have mike, will interview.

Thompson, 47, has established a reputation that he will talk to anyone, indeed to anything - from the champion jockey to a goat. His wide range and uncrushable matiness have some praising his consummate professionalism, others reaching for the sick bag.

Thompson's style is veneer-smooth - it has been said he is veneer all the way through - with an almost permanently fixed smile (false at times, he admits) and a manner that is sometimes undeniably patronising. He tends to be given the lightweight, off-beat spots on Channel 4 and aims for populist appeal, but he is by no means everyone's cup of tea.


The biographical blurb on the inside flap of the cover of his recently published book Tommo's Year gives his nickname as "The Master of the Microphone". Many, however, know him as "The Nodding Dog", a reference to the constant head-bobbing that accompanies many interviews, or "Toilet" Thompson. The goat, a racehorse's companion, is to blame for the latter as viewers were informed: "Oh look, it's doing a pooh."

"Tommoballs" are legion, and Lester Piggott, never one to waste words, apparently told him to "F*** off" in front of a worldwide audience of hundreds of millions on Derby Day in 1983.

He undoubtedly enjoys the celebrity status that TV exposure has given him, but then an ego of a certain size is not uncommon in visual media work. And to his credit, the man also gives the impression he would carry on interviewing if someone set his trousers on fire. In his book, the show must go on.

Thompson earns his living as a TV presenter, as a commentator for Satellite Information Services (the service which shows live racing in betting shops) and at Nad El Sheba racecourse in Dubai. He also contributes to the Irish television station RTE and has his name on a premium-rate tipping line.

His made his debut with a microphone at the age of 15, while still at Guisborough Grammar School, when he called the runners home at his local Cleveland point-to-point.

After he left school at 17, he gained first-hand experience of horses, working for periods of six months each for the Bishop Auckland trainer Denys Smith and Pierre Sanoner at Chantilly, and rode in several amateur races on the Flat and over jumps, famously beating the Prince Of Wales in a close finish at Plumpton in 1980 for his only victory.

Often came across as a bit of a condescending sleazy slime bag around women IMO.
tad creepy

Remember him,running up the stand in the best mate stand at chelt,the big no roof one,temporary at the far end of the stand,it’s gone now.

Before big bucks 3rd win in world hurdle,screaming at everyone,have you all backed big bucks.

The laugh might have been put on,but he seemed genuine,his job was to do that,and he did.
There’s not many bad stories about him,only him wanting to make money and laugh,he wasn’t fake,he was a showman,for a fee of course.

Leif,that might of been,he was of his time,weren’t all 60/70s celebs a bit like that,it was a man’s world.

Fined for telling lies on his Tipping Line whilst being in Dubai and claiming to be in Newmarket at the time.
A good worker but with not an ounce of integrity.

Thommo interviewing a Trainer. Thommo: "So your horse, in with a good chance today?" .. Trainer: Well, Hmm, Thommo: "Say no More"

Iron,who fined him. Ofcom

He must have forgotten his own advice with his Tipping Line

Never bet odds on.bookies must love this.

So it’s a 6/4 banker.

Put it up at 10/11,that will stop a lot from backing it.

No idea,CUTH.
All I know was that he was

He had a 100% winning strike rate riding for Nicky Henderson apparently.

Tried his best, remember him getting rugby tackled down the hill at Chester in Tatts, took it well.

Never bets odds on.....drivel of the highest standard