Bad Announcers

[cj]

I know this was a topic before, but after listening to the Woodbine races today, there cannot possibly be a worse one, can there?

[Doc]

Oh yes there is. Take a listen to Pat Cummings when he subs for Keith Jones at Philly Park (he flubbed the names of three horses as they came toward the wire in his last gig) or Richard Grunder at Tampa Bay Downs. Some I just don't care for but are fairly competent, and that includes the Penn National announcer and the harness announcer at The Meadows, who goes so far overboard in his enthusiasm that you just want to hit the Mute button on your remote control.


Doc

[TrackManSam]

I am pretty sure the guy at Lebanon Harness is 124 years old.

[JimG]

I concur regarding Tampa Bay announcer. 2 of the worst in my opinion have recently retired. The guy who announced at MNR (he evidently was unaware there was exotic betting at the track) and the guy who used to announce at FG (musta had stage fright and drank Nyquil to get through it).:D

[JustRalph]

that guy at the Meadows is the biggest phoney in the world.........what bullshit!

[joeyspicks]

Fort Erie


hands down:ThmbDown:

[Wickel]

Mike Battaglia at Turfway---easily the worst!

[blind squirrel]

mike battaglia...{TP]"they're in the final furlong!!!

[toetoe]

If two bad ones retire, will MBatt be GAIN-ing GROUND?

I read that John McGary, decent caller at the fairs, is going to EvD. He didn't even get the Santa Rosa gig this year because Vic S. was available. Sometimes they have a separate caller for some simulcasts, one example being the K.D.

[melman]

Strange how one track (Woodbine) can have a bad caller for the t-breds and then have the best for harness racing. If you have a chance take a listen to Frank call Woodbine harness. The man is super good. :)

[Tor Ekman]

I like the guy at Evangeline who begins each call with: "ils sont éteints"

[racingrev]

Oh yes there is. Take a listen to Pat Cummings when he subs for Keith Jones at Philly Park (he flubbed the names of three horses as they came toward the wire in his last gig) or Richard Grunder at Tampa Bay Downs. Some I just don't care for but are fairly competent, and that includes the Penn National announcer and the harness announcer at The Meadows, who goes so far overboard in his enthusiasm that you just want to hit the Mute button on your remote control.


Doc

You really have a problem when it come's to Pat.....

I'd really like to know the reasons behind you're constant bagging of a young guy with a lot of ability.... :confused:

When Pat Cummings get's a track to call at full time and like all of us, improve at his craft.. He will become one of the top callers in the US...

That's my Prediction and I'm sticking to it...

Or maybe you can blow us all out of the water DOC???? :rolleyes:

[BillW]

I like the guy at Evangeline who begins each call with: "ils sont éteints"

I think that's "ils sont partis" (pardon my French) :) from Sean Beirne who will be leaving at the end of the meet (I assume?).



http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/todaysnews/newsview.asp?recno=56320&subsec=1

[ceejay]

Battaglia, that's a given. One I hate is Terry Wallace. He messes up horse names and has these really annoying inflections.

Vic Stauffer is competent as to calling the race but in big races his calls are too contrived for me. His Azeri call was just over the top.

[QuarterCrack]

For some reason, Larry Collmus always got on my nerves. I was always tempted to put the Suffolk Downs replay show on mute when it came on just so I didn't have to listen to him.
:D

[kingfin66]

Battaglia, that's a given. One I hate is Terry Wallace. He messes up horse names and has these really annoying inflections.

Vic Stauffer is competent as to calling the race but in big races his calls are too contrived for me. His Azeri call was just over the top.

Okay, contrived is a fair comment to make about Vic at times. That said, I think he is one of the best in the business.

[racingrev]

Okay, contrived is a fair comment to make about Vic at times. That said, I think he is one of the best in the business.


Good Call...

Vic is without a doubt the most improved racecaller in the US and the one that perform's at all levels...

Also a great guy and a man with a passion for racing....

I interviewed him on Radio Trackside in New Zealand after the Earthquake Call and I can tell you he has a cult following down here now...

Go Vic...

The next voice of the Breeders....

[midnight]

My pick is Tony Calo. He gets most of the horses right, but he sounds like a carnival barker.

Jim Dolan (Mountaineer) was actually quite good back in the day. He fell out of it the last four or five years.

Greg Young (Northfield harness) is annoying. He'll rush call tight finishes so that he could get his trademark "and there they are" in.

Mike Battaglia is actually quite good if you ignore all the horses he gets wrong, understand that he's probably spending most of the race glancing from the action on the track to his program to get the horses' names, and overlook the fact that 80% of his racing delivery consists of "gaining ground" (which he applies arbitrarily, even if the horse has pulled up at the quater pole), "on the inside", and "on the outside".

[toetoe]

Rev,

To the extent that I can know this, Vic IS a good fellow and a passionate hippophile. Also, much improved, which shows how very very bad he was to begin with.

[racingrev]

Rev,

To the extent that I can know this, Vic IS a good fellow and a passionate hippophile. Also, much improved, which shows how very very bad he was to begin with. :D

I'm sure Vic and many of us can agree with your comments man... I listen to my early tapes and I'm glad they are not for public use..lol :eek:

[Doc]

You really have a problem when it come's to Pat.....

I'd really like to know the reasons behind you're constant bagging of a young guy with a lot of ability.... :confused:

When Pat Cummings get's a track to call at full time and like all of us, improve at his craft.. He will become one of the top callers in the US...

That's my Prediction and I'm sticking to it...

Or maybe you can blow us all out of the water DOC???? :rolleyes:

You obviously haven't listened to him much lately...I'm not alone in my opinion that his calls are contrived and inaccurate, plus he tries to give a Keith Jones spin to his descriptions ("going into that first tight turf turn" is a Jones-ism that Cummings uses often). I betcha if Philly Park had other options as far as a Jones fill-in they'd use it, but the available pool of racecallers is pretty thin. By the way, I firmly believe Jones is one of the best in the country - he harkens back to the old style of calling races, ala Fred Caposella or Bob Weems.