Michael Wrona calling LA thoroughbreds

[Redbullsnation]

Michael's vacation will be a bit shorter this time. Looks like he's calling LA this time around...

[elhelmete]

Michael's vacation will be a bit shorter this time. Looks like he's calling LA this time around...

Yes, the meet wrapped up July 12. I liked his calls.

[Redbullsnation]

I feel bad for Ed over there. His only opportunity to call a race longer than 4.5 furlongs vanished

[MPRanger]

I feel bad for Ed over there. His only opportunity to call a race longer than 4.5 furlongs vanished


Yeah but Ed is great at it.

Wrona could never do QH races because he's still calling a t-bred race 35 seconds after it's over.

[EMD4ME]

Yeah but Ed is great at it.

Wrona could never do QH races because he's still calling a t-bred race 35 seconds after it's over.


:lol: :lol: :lol: Imagine it was a 20 horse field?

[dilanesp]

I feel bad for Ed over there. His only opportunity to call a race longer than 4.5 furlongs vanished

I'm not sure he wanted to keep doing it. He was calling 20 races a day.

[dilanesp]

Yeah but Ed is great at it.

Wrona could never do QH races because he's still calling a t-bred race 35 seconds after it's over.

Wrona has called many QH races at Santa Rosa, the Bay Meadows Fair, and even a few at Fairplex. He's excellent (far better than Burgart, actually).

[MPRanger]

Wrona has called many QH races at Santa Rosa, the Bay Meadows Fair, and even a few at Fairplex. He's excellent (far better than Burgart, actually).


Of course you're right. I was really making a joke about how long he keeps running down the race after it's over.

Ed does get it over with by the time the race is over.

[dilanesp]

Of course you're right. I was really making a joke about how long he keeps running down the race after it's over.

Ed does get it over with by the time the race is over.

FWiW, I agree with that criticism (and Trevor sometimes does it too).

Interestingly, he didn't call past 4th or 5th at Los Al, so maybe they told him not to. (It really wouldn't matter much anyway, Los Al has the worst sound system of any major sports venue in Southern California so nobody heard a word he said.)

[anotherCAfan]

I thought Wrona did a great job calling Los Alamitos. To echo what dilanesp said, unfortunately it's easier to hear Wrona (or Ed) call on TVG, than at the track. :confused:

Do we know who will call the September daytime TB meet? Frank M.? Michael Wrona?

[v j stauffer]

Did you know. The GREAT Ed Burgart was once the full time announcer at Hollywood Park?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5unbtGtuDc

[EMD4ME]

Did you know. The GREAT Ed Burgart was once the full time announcer at Hollywood Park?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5unbtGtuDc

He did a good job! I did NOT know that...Nice to hear him call a full race.

[dilanesp]

Did you know. The GREAT Ed Burgart was once the full time announcer at Hollywood Park?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5unbtGtuDc

No he wasn't. There were a few years when Trevor was the annnouncer at Hollywood, and that gave him a year round job, so he would take a vacation during the last few weeks of the Hollywood Park fall meeting (which generated no public interest). They had different fill-in announcers-- one year Gary Henson came down from Longacres, another year Frank Miramahdi did it (and went crazy on the impressions of other announcers). Burgart did it at least two years.

But as far as I know, the full time announcers at Hollywood Park were:

Joe Hernandez (before and during WW2).
Hal Moore (late 1940's and 1950's).
Harry Henson (late 1950's through early 1980's).
Alan Buchdahl (1983).
Jim Byers (1984-87).
Bine Masters (first four days of 1988).
Mile Perrins (1988-89).
Don Alexander (1989-90).
Trevor (1991-95).
Luke Kruytbosch (late 1990's).
Chris Katoulak (one year in the late 1990's).
Vic Stauffer (last 13 years or so before closing).

Roy Shudt and Robin Burns were the harness announcers, and Terry Gilligan did the quarter horse races there.

[BIGTKLO]

YOU FORGOT WRONA

[dilanesp]

WRONA

Good point. I forgot him. He had two stints, I believe-- one in between Alexander and Trevor, and one in the late 1990's before Vic took over.

[BIGTKLO]

His first stint was after Trevor.

[BIGTKLO]

Wrona answered my letter in 1992, so his first stint at Hollywood Park was before that.

[dilanesp]

Wrona answered my letter in 1992, so his first stint at Hollywood Park was before that.

Correct. It was in 1990. He came in around memorial day with his mentor, John Tabb or Tapp I think his name was. The mentor called the races for a few days, then Wrona took over. He was extremely good.

But I guess RD Hubbard thought Trevor would give the track credibility when he took over in 1991, so Wrona was out. The track hired him back for a short stint at the end of the decade.

[eddieb]

Just to clarify the record, I filled in for Trevor Denman during the 1994 and 1995 fall Hollywood Park meets. R D Hubbard and my boss Ed Allred asked if I would fill in for Trevor at Hollywood while I was still calling the night races at Los Al. I had a replacement at Los Al on Fridays when Hollywood Park raced nights. I thoroughly enjoyed calling at Hollywood Park but my passion has always been at Los Al where I began working in 1977. I did call the final quarter horse meet at Hollywood Park in 1992 when Corona Chick's 13-race win streak ended in the Southern California Derby.

[Redbullsnation]

Cool, I also remember you filling in for Vic when he had a day off in recent times.

[EMD4ME]

Just to clarify the record, I filled in for Trevor Denman during the 1994 and 1995 fall Hollywood Park meets. R D Hubbard and my boss Ed Allred asked if I would fill in for Trevor at Hollywood while I was still calling the night races at Los Al. I had a replacement at Los Al on Fridays when Hollywood Park raced nights. I thoroughly enjoyed calling at Hollywood Park but my passion has always been at Los Al where I began working in 1977. I did call the final quarter horse meet at Hollywood Park in 1992 when Corona Chick's 13-race win streak ended in the Southern California Derby.

Very nice to hear from you Eddie. We wish you posted here more often sir! A pleasure.