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View Full Version : Was Larry Collmus' Call of the Belmont "One for the Ages"?


infrontby1
06-12-2015, 08:58 PM
If no, tell us which announcer you think would've done a better job, especially for the last eighth of the mile of the race.

Grits
06-12-2015, 09:12 PM
This is unnecessary. There is already a thread here about Larry's call, plus his call was noted in various other Belmont threads. And, your notion of "who would've done better" is insulting.

http://www.paceadvantage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123465

Stillriledup
06-12-2015, 09:20 PM
This is unnecessary. There is already a thread here about Larry's call, plus his call was noted in various other Belmont threads. And, your notion of "who would've done better" is insulting.

http://www.paceadvantage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123465

Normally i would say that a public figure is open to be "talked about" on horse racing message boards, but in this case i dont agree with the criticism on this announcer and this specific call. To me, the call was good enough where there doesnt need to be any debate about it. Was it the best all time call? Probably not, but it was certainly closer to the top than to the bottom.

Criticizing this call and asking who could have done better ls like being critical of an nba player who scored 45 in a game and asking "could he have scored 50" and then asking "who would have scored more"

thespaah
06-12-2015, 09:28 PM
Collmus did an excellent job. he held his excitement in check. He didn't just call a race. He was telling a story. He went through the field but kept the call relative to the position of AP. AP and a potential TC win was the story.
All around, Larry Collmus did a professional job.

thaskalos
06-12-2015, 09:38 PM
It was not a "call for the ages", IMO...it was a competent, professional race call. The Pharoah's performance was such that no further excitement needed to be supplied by the race caller.

JustRalph
06-12-2015, 09:45 PM
It's official. We're going to milk this Triple Crown for every bit of discussion. :bang:

098poi
06-12-2015, 09:57 PM
It's official. We're going to milk this Triple Crown for every bit of discussion. :bang:

I agree!! I think it was overdone right after the race was won!! We have a Triple Crown winner! It was a great race, great call. This comparing it to every other aspect of every other Triple Crown race diminishes the joy of it. Enough already! Just enjoy the ride!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

dogkatcher
06-12-2015, 10:15 PM
It makes no difference to me if it was or wasn't. Everyone always wanting more instead of taking in what Happened.

Zaf
06-13-2015, 12:54 AM
Not a call for the ages , but a very good call, race for the ages , the industry needed this one :ThmbUp:

Z

Stillriledup
06-13-2015, 03:25 AM
Not a call for the ages , but a very good call, race for the ages , the industry needed this one :ThmbUp:

Z

Yes, they (the industry) needed it because Karl 'the truth' Broberg winning 60 pct of his races simply isn't enough!

Zaf
06-13-2015, 09:38 AM
Yes, they (the industry) needed it because Karl 'the truth' Broberg winning 60 pct of his races simply isn't enough!

:p :D

OTM Al
06-13-2015, 10:21 PM
I'm not one to complain about race callers and think Larry does a great job, but the pronunciation on the winner of the 9th today was painful to hear. Perhaps I'm a bit of a Latin snob but he butchered Praetereo, which means "I excel" or "I pass by" which makes it quite a good name. "Pray-terio". Ugh. What was worse it reminded me of Dance Fever host Deney Terrio. Ouch. Double wince. I tweeted him the proper pronunciation for next time. Hope he got that....

v j stauffer
06-13-2015, 10:39 PM
I'm not one to complain about race callers and think Larry does a great job, but the pronunciation on the winner of the 9th today was painful to hear. Perhaps I'm a bit of a Latin snob but he butchered Praetereo, which means "I excel" or "I pass by" which makes it quite a good name. "Pray-terio". Ugh. What was worse it reminded me of Dance Fever host Deney Terrio. Ouch. Double wince. I tweeted him the proper pronunciation for next time. Hope he got that....

There is NOTHING an announcer hates more than help with a name after the fact. Of course one can't spend all their time anticipating which ones might cause a slip up.

If in fact your way is correct, rest assured Larry will research it fully with a myopic intent to always get names correct.

OTM Al
06-13-2015, 10:48 PM
There is NOTHING an announcer hates more than help with a name after the fact. Of course one can't spend all their time anticipating which ones might cause a slip up.

If in fact your way is correct, rest assured Larry will research it fully with a myopic intent to always get names correct.
By all means we should never offer any help to the guy. How the hell is he supposed to know how to pronounce a difficult name if someone doesn't help him? I'd hazard to say there is nothing a bad announcer hates more than help. A good one, one would think, would take any help he could get to do an exact and professional job. Guess that's why Larry has an announcing job....

098poi
06-13-2015, 11:40 PM
I'm not one to complain about race callers and think Larry does a great job, but the pronunciation on the winner of the 9th today was painful to hear. Perhaps I'm a bit of a Latin snob but he butchered Praetereo, which means "I excel" or "I pass by" which makes it quite a good name. "Pray-terio". Ugh. What was worse it reminded me of Dance Fever host Deney Terrio. Ouch. Double wince. I tweeted him the proper pronunciation for next time. Hope he got that....

OTM ALEREO, could you let us little people in on the correct pronunciation? Thanks

chenoa
06-14-2015, 12:07 AM
By all means we should never offer any help to the guy. How the hell is he supposed to know how to pronounce a difficult name if someone doesn't help him? I'd hazard to say there is nothing a bad announcer hates more than help. A good one, one would think, would take any help he could get to do an exact and professional job. Guess that's why Larry has an announcing job....

Speaking of announcing jobs, very impressed with Robert Geller and his 1st day at Woodbine, think they made an excellent choice. :ThmbUp:

v j stauffer
06-14-2015, 03:14 AM
By all means we should never offer any help to the guy. How the hell is he supposed to know how to pronounce a difficult name if someone doesn't help him? I'd hazard to say there is nothing a bad announcer hates more than help. A good one, one would think, would take any help he could get to do an exact and professional job. Guess that's why Larry has an announcing job....

OTM. Perhaps I'm lousy at conveying my point. I'll try again. Real announcers completely cherish and appreciate any help they can get. Whenever they can get it. It's tough when they hear it after the fact because they hate making mistakes. But my point was it's better then so it can be fixed or a least confirmed for the next time. Larry has an announcing job because he's an elite announcer.

OTM Al
06-14-2015, 05:27 AM
OTM ALEREO, could you let us little people in on the correct pronunciation? Thanks

Pry-ter-A-oh. 1st person singular present active verb. "I excel" or "I pass by" either of which is a pretty good horse name. It is a compound verb made up of the preverb praeter which has the basic sense of beyond, and the verb eo, I go. He was prononouncing like it rhymed with stereo. I get why it is a tricky name and I was merely relating what I thought was a humorous incident, not criticizing anyone, well except maybe Deney Terrio.

OTM Al
06-14-2015, 05:32 AM
OTM. Perhaps I'm lousy at conveying my point. I'll try again. Real announcers completely cherish and appreciate any help they can get. Whenever they can get it. It's tough when they hear it after the fact because they hate making mistakes. But my point was it's better then so it can be fixed or a least confirmed for the next time. Larry has an announcing job because he's an elite announcer.
That would be correct. For most people cherish and hate are not the same things. If I got that distinction right of course.

BlinkersOn
06-15-2015, 09:03 PM
It would be tough to top Chick Anderson's call of the Belmont when Secretariat won, but Larry did an awesome job.

SandyW
06-15-2015, 10:53 PM
What may I ask is a call for the ages, as far as I am concerned the call is either good or not good.
In this case the call was very good.

dilanesp
06-15-2015, 11:45 PM
It would be tough to top Chick Anderson's call of the Belmont when Secretariat won, but Larry did an awesome job.

I wonder how many people like Anderson's Seattle Slew Belmont call?

EMD4ME
06-16-2015, 06:36 PM
Speaking of announcing jobs, very impressed with Robert Geller and his 1st day at Woodbine, think they made an excellent choice. :ThmbUp:

I already miss him at Emerald (NO DISRESPECT TO JACOB-who is new and doing just fine as a new race caller)

After a while, Geller really grows on you.

He is SO sharp. I usually detest foreign accents in US racing. However, RG has charisma, I love his "all in, LOOOOOCKED UP" before the race goes off and he is SO in tune to who is making what move and when.

He handicaps real well, knows what to expect and has a lot of wit in his calls.

He's my silver medal earner behind Tom Durkin.

Woodbine is so lucky to have him.

dilanesp
06-16-2015, 07:05 PM
I already miss him at Emerald (NO DISRESPECT TO JACOB-who is new and doing just fine as a new race caller)

After a while, Geller really grows on you.

He is SO sharp. I usually detest foreign accents in US racing. However, RG has charisma, I love his "all in, LOOOOOCKED UP" before the race goes off and he is SO in tune to who is making what move and when.

He handicaps real well, knows what to expect and has a lot of wit in his calls.

He's my silver medal earner behind Tom Durkin.

Woodbine is so lucky to have him.

I remember watching the Longacres Mile on simulcast at Del Mar the year Mario Gutierrez won it. Geller brought him into the winner's circle by saying "ladies and gentlemen, presenting the first jockey to ever complete the Kentucky Derby-Longacres Mile double in the same year, Mario Gutierrez!".

EMD4ME
06-16-2015, 07:12 PM
I remember watching the Longacres Mile on simulcast at Del Mar the year Mario Gutierrez won it. Geller brought him into the winner's circle by saying "ladies and gentlemen, presenting the first jockey to ever complete the Kentucky Derby-Longacres Mile double in the same year, Mario Gutierrez!".

I got choked up watching RG accept a 'thank you ceremony' at Emerald last week. He was there since it opened and he KNEW why Emerald opened. He appreciated how much the game meant and means to the local area.

From a talent perspective, I came to really appreciate his calls. I secretly hoped NYRA would hire him but they went with the 'safe' call in LC. I don't blame them.

Woodbine is lucky.

I already missed him as he was absent from Emerald Downs (obviously) last week. Jacob did well. Real well but the soul of RG was missing and made me sad.

Same way I was sad as TD was not calling the Belmont this year.

dilanesp
06-16-2015, 08:11 PM
I got choked up watching RG accept a 'thank you ceremony' at Emerald last week. He was there since it opened and he KNEW why Emerald opened. He appreciated how much the game meant and means to the local area.

From a talent perspective, I came to really appreciate his calls. I secretly hoped NYRA would hire him but they went with the 'safe' call in LC. I don't blame them.

Woodbine is lucky.

I already missed him as he was absent from Emerald Downs (obviously) last week. Jacob did well. Real well but the soul of RG was missing and made me sad.

Same way I was sad as TD was not calling the Belmont this year.

One thing I don't really understand, but can't deny, is how people connect themselves with announcers.

Right now we are going through this in LA with Dodgers' announcer Vin Scully, who is recognized as an all-time great and whose calls are not available on free television for the first time in 60 years.

But it isn't just great announcers. Cubs fans loved Harry Caray, and he was a terrible announcer. They still sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" at Wrigley every home game to honor him.

In horse racing, people seem to really fall in love with an announcer early on and connect with them. I guess I did this too-- when I started really going to Santa Anita a lot as a kid, they had just gotten rid of Chic Anderson (who was extremely unpopular here and seen as boring despite his lofty reputation in the east) and replaced him with Dave Johnson. And Johnson was in his prime and really was great at Santa Anita.

But you know what? I STOPPED being this way when Trevor Denman came around. Trevor was truly a fine announcer, even though he wasn't anything at all similar to Dave Johnson. (Interestingly, Johnson mentored him the first couple of years, though.) So I realized that there would always be someone calling the races, and as long as Santa Anita was a major league track they would always have someone good on the mic. Hollywood Park went through a few announcers during the same time period, and I thought Harry Henson, Jim Byers, Michael Wrona, Luke Kruytbosch, and Vic Stauffer were all excellent.

The thing is, my love of the sport has never wavered. It really doesn't matter, when you think about it, who is announcing the races. We think it does, but it doesn't.

Indeed, anyone who hasn't heard Chic Anderson's call of Seattle Slew winning the Belmont should go back and look at it. It really is boring! It's nothing like the Secretariat call, or the Affirmed-Alydar call. And yet people still remember Seattle Slew and that Belmont and his Triple Crown.

So many people think the calls matter, but they really don't. In the end, the horses matter.

EMD4ME
06-16-2015, 08:14 PM
One thing I don't really understand, but can't deny, is how people connect themselves with announcers.

Right now we are going through this in LA with Dodgers' announcer Vin Scully, who is recognized as an all-time great and whose calls are not available on free television for the first time in 60 years.

But it isn't just great announcers. Cubs fans loved Harry Caray, and he was a terrible announcer. They still sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" at Wrigley every home game to honor him.

In horse racing, people seem to really fall in love with an announcer early on and connect with them. I guess I did this too-- when I started really going to Santa Anita a lot as a kid, they had just gotten rid of Chic Anderson (who was extremely unpopular here and seen as boring despite his lofty reputation in the east) and replaced him with Dave Johnson. And Johnson was in his prime and really was great at Santa Anita.

But you know what? I STOPPED being this way when Trevor Denman came around. Trevor was truly a fine announcer, even though he wasn't anything at all similar to Dave Johnson. (Interestingly, Johnson mentored him the first couple of years, though.) So I realized that there would always be someone calling the races, and as long as Santa Anita was a major league track they would always have someone good on the mic. Hollywood Park went through a few announcers during the same time period, and I thought Harry Henson, Jim Byers, Michael Wrona, Luke Kruytbosch, and Vic Stauffer were all excellent.

The thing is, my love of the sport has never wavered. It really doesn't matter, when you think about it, who is announcing the races. We think it does, but it doesn't.

Indeed, anyone who hasn't heard Chic Anderson's call of Seattle Slew winning the Belmont should go back and look at it. It really is boring! It's nothing like the Secretariat call, or the Affirmed-Alydar call. And yet people still remember Seattle Slew and that Belmont and his Triple Crown.

So many people think the calls matter, but they really don't. In the end, the horses matter.


You make many solid points.

I would disagree with the calls don't matter. Awesome is awesome but when awesome is called by awesome, it becomes once in a lifetime spectacular.

When is awesome is called by Mr/Mrs average talent, it takes away from the moment.

At least that's how I feel.

Lemon Drop Husker
06-16-2015, 08:23 PM
I thought Larry did a great job, and captured the moment.

"37 yearss...'.

What I really think is that people are being way too judgmental during this entire Triple Crown.

Nothing is ever good enough. Somehow, perfection is now expected. And if we get anything less....? Let the bitching entail.

Why be on the ride when you can't enjoy it when it happens?

BIGTKLO
06-16-2015, 08:29 PM
Matt Dinerman is the new announcer at Emerald Downs.

EMD4ME
06-16-2015, 09:57 PM
Matt Dinerman is the new announcer at Emerald Downs.

My BAD. Jacob is the new guy on TV. Matt is doing a fine job....No complaints about him.

Elliott Sidewater
06-17-2015, 10:28 PM
What may I ask is a call for the ages, as far as I am concerned the call is either good or not good.
In this case the call was very good.

It was not a race for the ages, but Tom Durkin's call of Slambino's upset win in a turf race at Saratoga from post position 14 was a call for the ages in my opinion. What separates good from great would make for a long discussion that wouldn't resolve anything, so I'm abstaining from that question. Examples work better. Google "Ten Great Tom Durkin Horse Race Calls". Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

thaskalos
06-17-2015, 10:31 PM
It was not a race for the ages, but Tom Durkin's call of Slambino's upset win in a turf race at Saratoga from post position 14 was a call for the ages in my opinion. What separates good from great would make for a long discussion that wouldn't resolve anything, so I'm abstaining from that question. Examples work better. Google "Ten Great Tom Durkin Horse Race Calls". Trust me, you won't be disappointed.
"...but All Along, is ALL ALONE..." :ThmbUp:

charm city whizz
06-18-2015, 02:18 AM
"...but All Along, is ALL ALONE..." :ThmbUp:

Is first dude still clicking off furlong after powerful furlong in the Belmont??

Stillriledup
06-19-2015, 04:45 PM
I was watching some replays last night from Belmont and it just hit me why Collmus is very good at his craft and the main reason is that when youre watching a race or replay, what you really want is to be able to really concentrate on the movements of the horses without having to look down at your paper to see which horse youre watching. Collmus is great at describing action without interjecting any nervous energy into the call or interjecting anything else into the call thats not just a calm consistent voice that lets you watch the action while being able to really concentrate on the race.

nijinski
06-19-2015, 11:54 PM
Pry-ter-A-oh. 1st person singular present active verb. "I excel" or "I pass by" either of which is a pretty good horse name. It is a compound verb made up of the preverb praeter which has the basic sense of beyond, and the verb eo, I go. He was prononouncing like it rhymed with stereo. I get why it is a tricky name and I was merely relating what I thought was a humorous incident, not criticizing anyone, well except maybe Deney Terrio.

At Delmar last year AP's pronunciation due to the accent sounded
like American Fay-ro .

dilanesp
06-20-2015, 05:54 PM
I was watching some replays last night from Belmont and it just hit me why Collmus is very good at his craft and the main reason is that when youre watching a race or replay, what you really want is to be able to really concentrate on the movements of the horses without having to look down at your paper to see which horse youre watching. Collmus is great at describing action without interjecting any nervous energy into the call or interjecting anything else into the call thats not just a calm consistent voice that lets you watch the action while being able to really concentrate on the race.

Collmus is quite good for exactly this reason.

I suspect that a lot of PA'ers have a false impression of what a race call is all about.

The reason there are loudspeakers at the racetrack is not so someone can go on youtube 10 years from now and thrill to the verbiage used by the announcer.

Rather, it's because there are a heck of a lot of people at the racetrack and/or at simulcast facilities who don't have binoculars or are watching on a small television monitor or may not be near a monitor at all, and need to know how the race is developing, where the horse they are betting is, etc.

The central, defining job of the racetrack announcer is THAT. To be accurate and descriptive, and let the public know what is going on during the race. All the stuff that Trevor Denman and Tom Durkin added to calls is fine, but it's not at the center of the job.

Larry Collmus does the actual job very well. I really don't care if his calls are as "exciting" as Tom Durkin's or someone else's.

Stillriledup
07-09-2015, 05:07 PM
The more i listen to larry the more I'm starting to really enjoy his calls, he's a calming influence, when you are risking money you don't need any extra 'nervous energy' emanating from the tv, with him you don't get any of that.

dilanesp
07-09-2015, 08:48 PM
The more i listen to larry the more I'm starting to really enjoy his calls, he's a calming influence, when you are risking money you don't need any extra 'nervous energy' emanating from the tv, with him you don't get any of that.

He's going to have that job for as long as he wants. He's really excellent.