Worst Call Yet

[toetoe]

Vic ... has ... DONE IT! Vic Stauffer spent more time talking about a riderless horse at SR, than he did about how the race, the $100,000 meet highlight, was unfolding. And of course, it was in that chatty conversational tone he uses too too much. After the race he kept talking, and would not shut up.

Note to Vic:

1) A To The Z is NOT a "special, special horse" (paraphrasing here).

2) If he were, he wouldn't deserve more concern for his safety.

3) After going on and on about A To The Z, give equal time to the actual runners remaining. Alert the riders, maybe; gush about their safety, if you must gush, and that of their mounts.

[chickenhead]

I was too distacted by all the morons around me cheering and laughing, as if potentially lethal situation for horse and riders alike is a wonderful novelty, to pay any attention to Vics call.

[JustRalph]

I thought Vic handled it pretty interestingly. The horse was the favorite and it was a pretty dangerous situation...............and without the favorite........it was a pretty boring merry go round race anyway..........

[Art P]

Tom Durkin , the most overrated announcer ever. The guy should stick to calling the names instead of trying to tell a story. Terrible. Everyone at OTB hates the guy

[rokitman]

And the OTB crowd is well known for their taste, charm and generous spirit.

[PaceAdvantage]

Art P, obviously, a lot of folks disagree with you. Perhaps you can give an example or two of why you think Durkin is the worst. Some folks like a little color.

[chrisg]

I think Vic Stauffer (sp?) is terrible. He'll tell you a horse is done & then wins by 5. His reading of the race is awful. Less is more. So Tom Durkin & VS shut the heck up. Durkin acts like Secretariat is running. If the G1 sucks, don't overstate it. What's the deal w/all the raising of the voice? It's not nearly as exciting as they're trying to make it. It reminds me of all the bullshit hype the put in the racing publications. I know I'm getting away from the point here, but has anyone else noticed the crappy graded races lately. Pathetic.

[PaceAdvantage]

Man, you guys are freakin harsh. Chill out and enjoy a race or two....

God, all the negativity in racing and on this board is just bringing me down. This stuff is supposed to be FUN!!! Remember that.

[Tor Ekman]

Tom Durkin , the most overrated announcer ever. The guy should stick to calling the names instead of trying to tell a story. Terrible. Everyone at OTB hates the guy
Seems to me that Tom Durkin's calls tend to be enjoyed by the denizens at OTB in direct correlation to the running line of their respective horses.

Personally, I enjoy the flavor that he injects into the race.

[tholl]

Man, you guys are freakin harsh. Chill out and enjoy a race or two....

God, all the negativity in racing and on this board is just bringing me down. This stuff is supposed to be FUN!!! Remember that.

Totally agree. Durkin and Stauffer are both top class racecallers and I'd just love to hear "art p" or "chrisg" call a race..hilarious.

[chrisg]

On a positive note, I think Durkin has a real good eye for what's unfolding in the race.

[Doc]

On a positive note: I love Durkin's racecalls, as well as Keith Jones at Philly. Jones cracks me up when he shouts "Hel-lo!" when a longshot wins...it's almost like he's poking fun at another improbable winner sent out by that crack training corps at the Phabulous Pha.

Also on a positive note: Philly is getting ready to shut down until Sept. 3 - supposedly they're going to be doing some reconstructive work on the surface. The joint wants to be a big-league oval once the slots money kicks in, but the track super they've employed for the last two decades can't figure out how to fill in all the holes both on the main track and the turf. No trainer with decent stock is gonna ship in there unless they pull a Delaware Park and fire his butt and bring in somebody new...somebody who knows what he's doing.

On a negative note: I can't stand Vic Stauffer's Chatty Cathy approach, and for the life of me I can't understand why he still has a job.

Doc :)

[TrackManSam]

I hate announcers that try to overplay a race with phony enthusiasm. If a race is boring, damnit tell us!! Don't scream at the top of your lungs and try to make it exciting. I heard a good one from Hazel Park the other day. It was a horribly slow pace, and the announcer says "wake me up when they get to the quarter pole". Everyone in the otb was on the ground laughing because he stopped announcing for about 5 seconds.

[PaceAdvantage]

I hate announcers that try to overplay a race with phony enthusiasm. If a race is boring, damnit tell us!!

Baloney. It's their job to make it exciting. A 10,000 claimer can be just as exciting as a Grade 1. I don't think I've seen Durkin go overboard when a horse is going to be a clear winner, unless it's warranted (ie. overcoming a horrible trip, record time, etc.)

I'm not sure what announcer you're talking about, but to be fair, it's their job to make the races sound exciting....

What do you want? A race caller who does his best impression of Steven Wright?

[banacek]

What do you want? A race caller who does his best impression of Steven Wright?

Yes, that I'd love to hear! (but just once)

[JimG]

On a positive note, I think Durkin has a real good eye for what's unfolding in the race.

That's exactly what I've always thought about Trevor Denman.

[midnight]

Agreed that the announcer's job is to make the race exciting, but he can do that without cheering for his favorite jockey (ala Durkin for Bailey), babbling about how wonderful a horse is (ala Stauffer), or screaming into the mike (too many to list). That said, I like both Durkin and Stauffer as announcers.

As an example of how to stir up interest without going overboard, listen to David Raphael (Sha Tin in Hong Kong), or for a Stateside example, Robert Geller (Emerald Downs).

Of course, some races are so boring that it's nearly impossible to make them exciting. In that case, an announcer might do what Larry Lederman did years ago during a steeplechase race at either Philadelphia Park or Atlantic City: read the weather forecast, run down the baseball scores, ask if anybody in the stands had a nail clipper, and announce that he was going to get a cup of coffee and would be back in a minute.

[Bubbles]

As a prospective communications guy, I truly believe that there are very few bad announcers out there. Durkin and Denman are top-class, and Larry Collmus, from Monmouth, is vastly underrated. Stauffer can get on my nerves sometimes, but I think he's genuinely OK. The guy that I want to put a sock into most is Battaglia, though. The stages where shows enthusiasm are just pathetic. Mike, when a horse moves from seventh to sixth, five lengths back, after an opening half in :54 and change, you can really afford to scale it back a little bit.

[Doc]

Lederman is the greatest. During the last weeks of American Idol, he'd ask - right in the middle of a racecall - why in the heck so-and-so was booted from the show. I loved it.

I was talking to a friend yesterday about my favorite Lederman call of all time. It was in 1992 at Atlantic City, and there was an apprentice named Anthony Alcade riding in one of those marathon mile and a half contests they'd occasionally card on the grass. Anyway, the race started on the backstretch, and they had to come through the lane and keep going for another entire lap around the course. Well, Alcade forgot that there was another lap to go...and started whipping and driving the first time down the stretch, pumping and trying to get his mount up. Lederman started screaming into the mike: "Yo, Anthony! Anthony! Keep going...the race isn't over yet! Whaddya doin', Ant-knee? Holy cow...keep going!"


:lol:

[chrisg]

Baloney. It's their job to make it exciting. A 10,000 claimer can be just as exciting as a Grade 1. I don't think I've seen Durkin go overboard when a horse is going to be a clear winner, unless it's warranted (ie. overcoming a horrible trip, record time, etc.)

I'm not sure what announcer you're talking about, but to be fair, it's their job to make the races sound exciting....

What do you want? A race caller who does his best impression of Steven Wright?


Yes! :D

In fact, SW might have gotten his act from the legendary Tony Bentley of Fairgrounds fame :)

[chrisg]

Originally Posted by chrisg
On a positive note, I think Durkin has a real good eye for what's unfolding in the race.

That's exactly what I've always thought about Trevor Denman.

I absolutely agree w/you. He knows what's happening.

[levinmpa]

I have always enjoyed Durkin's Breeders' Cup calls, but these days there are so many races going off at once that I don't even hear the calls on most of them. I've been watching races for over 30 years so I feel like I can see for myself what's happening in the race. I could care less what the announcer is saying.

[Hosshead]

I can't stand Vic Stauffer's Chatty Cathy approach, and for the life of me I can't understand why he still has a job.

Doc :)Norm Crosby could call a race better than Vic Stauffer ! :D

[toetoe]

Let me be the first to say Trevor is not Done-man. He went through a patch fumbled names and misread moves, but since the start of Del Mar, he's been spot on. Part of it is that that big move on the turn and 4-wide into the stretch can actually win at Del Mar. Not so at SA or Hol. Am I:

1) making sense here?

2) wrong, in my usual clueless way? or

3) way off base and certifiable? Actually, don't answer that.

[cnollfan]

Frank Mirahmadi at Louisiana Downs, very occasionally, does some excellent impressions during a race. His Rodney Dangerfield is outstanding, and his Trev Albert is also very very good.

[toetoe]

Don't Get Mad, from DOWNTOWN ... YES! Oops, that was Marv Albert, not Trev.

[Macdiarmadillo]

If you don't like the calls, bring earplugs. Please also bring some ball gags to shut up the loudmouths in the stands and the simos.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. :)

[racingrev]

Some of the posters on this forum :eek: exactly..

Look.. As the ANNOUNCER bagging continues..

Pray tell me what was wrong with Vic's call of the Santa Rosa race...

To be honest a minor track is lucky to have such a good caller as VJS.. :ThmbUp:

If Vic, Trevor, Tom D, Larry C, Peter B and Mike W and a few others all decided to get much better paying jobs elsewhere some of you guys would be left banging your brains :bang: out and getting arthritis in the fingers from posting about the rest..

These Pro's continually, year after year... And insult after insult continue to describe racing from the States not just in your world but to the entire world... :eek:

[Doc]

If Vic, Trevor, Tom D, Larry C, Peter B and Mike W and a few others all decided to get much better paying jobs elsewhere some of you guys would be left banging your brains :bang: out and getting arthritis in the fingers from posting about the rest..

No matter who it is, no matter how bad nor how good, you always defend announcers. As in every profession, there are some who are the creme dela creme, and others who are the dregs. Trying to defend every announcer that gets criticized on this forum just makes you look like a fool.

Doc

[toetoe]

You don't really mean to discourage us from speaking our mind, do you? I know I'm the motor-mouthed mingler, but I feel strongly that an announcer should have positive qualities, on balance. Otherwise, let's just do the old Keeneland thing --- no announcer at all.

I guess the chatty, hushed, gushing froth from Vic is just a bit of crying wolf. What will he do when there's REALLY a problem? There was little danger in the A-To-The-Z race. Really, there wasn't much at all. Trust me. If he told all to beware once, then went back to his, um, JOB, I would give nary a peep. I hope you noticed I did no bashing of the earthquake call. I totally understand the apprehension, and maybe you or I would bolt without finishing the race.

[kenwoodallpromos]

I have not heard any as bad as Dennis Miller would be!LOL!

[racingrev]

No matter who it is, no matter how bad nor how good, you always defend announcers. As in every profession, there are some who are the creme dela creme, and others who are the dregs. Trying to defend every announcer that gets criticized on this forum just makes you look like a fool.

Doc

That's not the case Doc.. I agree totally that there some announcers in every country in the world that shouldn't be in the position.

Obviously we disagree about who's the dregs and who's not. Although dregs is a pretty rough word to use as an example.

One thing I have noticed is that some of the top line announcers in the States and in Australia have slipped a notch or two leaving the door wide open for some of the next level guys.

[racingrev]

You don't really mean to discourage us from speaking our mind, do you?

Who me :D :D :D

All the way from New Zealand......... :eek: :eek: :eek:

I too have my favorite announcers and well, one's I won't listen too unless it's unavoidable ...

I have no problem with critisism as I've had plenty and learn't a lot from it.. But sometimes the uderlying venom that get's spewed out is right off track.

Not suggesting you do this either toetoe... You're just not a VJS fan :rolleyes:

[toetoe]

Understood. I always say this medium translates a bit more bitter and 'venomous' than intended. I guess it's because it's oral and not written. Frigzample, if Vic were text-messaging the call, it might bring a smile and a shake of the head. As it's vocal, though, it's just too much like my wife nagging me to take out the garbage, etc. OH, WE'LL SEE HOW CHRIS NEGOTIATES THE DRIVEWAY, WATCH OUT FOR DOG MESS AND BROKEN GLASS, ... AND CHRIS HAS ... DONE IT!, etc.

[kingfin66]

I met Mr. Vic Stauffer today at Del Mar. He was there doing some work for TVG. After he interviewed Baffert in the winner's circle, he was hanging out on the track level concourse with his wife (a beautiful and very nice woman). I told him what a great announcer that I think he is (see my previous posts on this subject) and he graciously took a picture with me. In addition to being an excellent race caller, he also turns out to be CLASS ACT all the way.

I will be posting about my trip to the Del Mar Turf Club. There were other class acts there - all of the TVG guys - and one snub (Baffert).

[Art P]

Roots for his favorite during the race ,especially Bailey. Calls a 22 quarter astounding when it is the rule not the exception. wastes to much time telling a story. I think hes impressed with himself. Cals to many of the back of the pack horses and is just overly annoying.

[PaceAdvantage]

I don't know Art, I guess I must have missed those times he's called a 22 quarter astounding....never heard this...ever....

Story? What stories does he tell? Hansel and Gretel? Cat in the Hat? Never heard him tell a story before, during a race....

[Figman]

I don't know Art P either but my guess is:
1) He is in love with the voice in his AOL service that states "You've Got Mail!"
2) He would like all track announcers to be common and drab.
3) He is in love with the voice on his voice mail that instructs the caller to begin "after you hear the tone."

[toetoe]

Yes, race fans, Joe Alto, Toetoe's favorite racecaller, is back. John McGary went to Evangeline Downs, and good for them. I don't know whether they coaxed Joe out of retirement, or what. I think he does some fairs, but his meat-and-potatoes is Cal Expo Harness. Kinda generic, but I LOVE the guy. Never, ever chatty, same old expressions, kind of monotonous, in the classic style, but it works. It's almost like a comedy routine, in that timing is critical, and I think that's where the harness part comes in. I think it's easier to judge moves and easier to gauge how much time until they hit the wire.

At the fairs, Joe used to say of a 2-horse stretch battle, "MANO A MANO!" Hand to hand, one on one, you get the picture. Well, Jamie Ough, sitting in for Sam Spear on the replay show, followed the video by saying, "Yes, it was geldo a geldo," which was hilarious and ignorant at the same time. Just another Alto moment.

[xfile]

This is a funny thread. You all have valid points. Durkin used to be the best but he seems to have lost his edge. THe other day he said something like "this will be a tight photo finish".....and the winner ended up like 3 lengths ahead. Vic "Stouf" used to be good but didn't he just get married? lol....his mind might be wandering? And whatever happened to Dave Johnson? He should have more work on national tv at the very least.

[cj]

And whatever happened to Dave Johnson? He should have more work on national tv at the very least.

He still does the Big M, and he also did the big card at Mnr on Sunday.

[DrugSalvastore]

If anyone really wants to hear the worst race call ever, it was at Ellis Park yesterday--maybe the 8th or 9th race. They let the local mayor call the race. He only gave two horses a call the entire race---and he called Miss Ashley the winner--even though she finished a well-beaten 4th.

I realize he isn't a professional race caller---but that had to be the worst effort of all time.

[Doc]

Dave Johnson used to be very good, but his racecalls now are painful to listen to. I wonder if his eyesight is failing him. He's a nice guy, but WAY too involved at the windows to be objective, if you ask me. One night I saw him pumping away at an automated teller machine and there was something like $900 on his ticket when he was done.

[falconridge]

In at least two nationally broadcast calls of Triple Crown races, announcers have committed embarrassing gaffes by identifying the wrong horse on the lead during a critical stage of the race. Probably the more famous of the two occurred in 1947, when Clem McCarthy--whose call of the Seabiscuit-War Admiral showdown in 1938 had reached a millions-strong radio audience that included President Roosevelt--had his view momentarily obscured by a canopy that on Preakness morning had been put up on the far turn at Old Hilltop. Though the frontrunners disappeared for but a few strides, it happened that, at that instant, Faultless, the eventual winner, forged to the lead. McCarthy, with Kentucky Derby winner Jet Pilot on his mind, mistook Faultless's devil's red Calumet silks for the similar colors of Maine Chance Farm's Jet Pilot, and continued to call Jet Pilot the leader from about the 3/8 pole to the wire. Only as Faultless was pulling up after scoring his yet uncredited victory did McCarthy realize his error and apologize for what he called "a terrible mistake."

The other, which more of my colleagues are likely to remember, happened in the 1975 running of the Kentucky Derby, when Chick Anderson confused winner Foolish Pleasure with Prince Thou Art, the sixth-place finisher. Anderson, who may have been distracted by third-place finisher Diabolo's repeated bumping of runnerup Avatar in the upper stretch (Avatar might have won with a clean trip), changed his call only as Foolish Pleasure flashed under the wire. Fortunately for the veteran announcer--and for all who love the sport he so ably described for decades--Anderson's oft-replayed call of a particular chestnut colt "moving like a tremendous machine" has always held precedence in the memories of racing fans.

[toetoe]

ABC had a night-before show on the KD. Howard Cosell made his pick like this: (to a colleague) ... "Prince thou art NOT ... Prince thou shalt nevah be ... BUT, Prince Thou Art will .. WIN .. the Kentucky Derby. Made it an easy throwout.

[falconridge]

I wonder if that was the same program in which, to demonstrate his erudition, Cosell referred to the 1956 Kentucky Derby winner as "Noodles." Or maybe it was the one in which a sudden spring gust almost separated his hairpiece from his pate.

One I always depended on for automatic tosses in major races was Andy Beyer, who declared Linkage "the biggest lock in the history of the Triple Crown" and who went about 0 for 34 with his Breeders Cup picks before finally breaking through with Black Tie Affair in 1991. Another was the late Pete Axthelm, who ended his 1973 Derby preview article in Newsweek with the sentence, "My Gallant will win, with Sham second, Secretariat third" (at least he got the middle third of trifecta right; I don't know that My Gallant ever won another race). I liked the Ax, though, especially his philosophy of life, as evinced by the remark "You should make at least one bet every day. Otherwise you might be walking around lucky and never know it."

[toetoe]

RIP, PAxt.

[cnollfan]

My favorite Ax story: Beyer picked a horse and said something like "God Himself would bet on this horse." Beyer's horse was running third in perfect position, but didn't gain an inch down the stretch, finishing third. As they crossed the wire, Ax said, "I guess God bets to show."

[xfile]

My favorite Ax story: Beyer picked a horse and said something like "God Himself would bet on this horse." Beyer's horse was running third in perfect position, but didn't gain an inch down the stretch, finishing third. As they crossed the wire, Ax said, "I guess God bets to show."

One thing I have found out about Andy Beyer over the years. If he says a horse "has not shot whatsoever" go to windows with both hands...lol....And if he says " this horse is a mortal lock" throw him out because he'll be up the track.....lol....take this anyway you want it...just something i've noticed :D

[rastajenk]

I remember Cosell, after a Triple Crown race, as the horses were returning from the gallop-out, proclaiming in his know-it-all manner, "I don't know why this race isn't official, <whoever won> obviously dominated." The weigh-in, Howie, the weigh-in. ;) I was amused.