Durkin Call

[PaceAdvantage]

Someone on here already bombed on Durkin, but listening to the derby call again on the video I linked to on the home page (www.paceadvantage.com (http://www.paceadvantage.com)), I thought it was quite good.

Those who think Durkin stunk up the joint yesterday, please detail why here (and try and be civil).

[banacek]

I am not a Tom Durkin fan, but I do think he did a good job today-especially with such a large field. And he caught the winner coming from 19th pretty quickly.

[bigmack]

As a guy who gives thought to the way people use their voices when they express themselves I thought Durkins call was VERY good. I punched out of the "who's a better announcer" discussions a while back but I do recall someone who mentioned that Durk feels more like he's part of the action and TrevDen feels more like a guy sitting in a booth - By gum, I believe you made that point PA.

In any event, the excitement he expresses in his voice is sometimes childlike in its earnest and by that, I mean that's a darn good thing. The bedazzlement of S2 being 19th was serendipitously the story of the race.

[Greyfox]

I am not a Tom Durkin fan, but I do think he did a good job today-especially with such a large field. And he caught the winner coming from 19th pretty quickly.

I'm not a Durkin fan. No knocks on his calls here though.
Job well done. IMO.
How hard is it to call a 2 horse race? :lol: (At the end.)
One went to the front.
One passed from the back.
But the blimp shot makes it look like # 7 Street Sense had
an "escalator ride" or "as if" sliding down a water slide.
Durkin was great on picking that up. Kudos.
Somewhere is Luke's on track call. I consider him to be pretty good too.

[boomman]

I'm not a Durkin fan. No knocks on his calls here though.
Job well done. IMO.
How hard is it to call a 2 horse race? :lol: (At the end.)
One went to the front.
One passed from the back.
But the blimp shot makes it look like # 7 Street Sense had
an "escalator ride" or "as if" sliding down a water slide.
Durkin was great on picking that up. Kudos.
Somewhere is Luke's on track call. I consider him to be pretty good too.

Tom Durkin remains one of the best in the business! Having called somewhere in the neighborhood of 50,000 races in my career, I can't imagine the degree of difficulty involved in accurately calling a 20 horse field before a live national tv audience, as 14 is the most I've ever called in The US and that was certainly tough enough. I also echo Greyfox in saluting Tom for "picking up" the run of Street Sense all the way from the 19th position. And I must give CD their props for listening to the race fan (at least on one level, lol) and keeping the saddle blankets different colors so that the race fans could easily identify where their horse was in the race...Every track needs to resist the silly temptation to go to one color saddle cloth for stakes races, as The Breeders Cup clearly demonstrated how crazy that was last year. If Trevor Denman didn't know where Street Sense was, I'm sure most of watching on television didn't as well :D

Boomer

[Bubbles]

I didn't like the call at first. I thought he didn't pay enough attention to the times, especially when Hard Spun went out in :22 4/5 and it wasn't called. After listening to it again, I like it a bit better. While I still don't think it was one of his better calls, I don't think it was as bad as I originally framed it. Maybe I was just so miffed by NBC and their ineptitude (i.e. showing the wrong half-mile fraction, the overhead cam, etc.) I painted Durkin with the same brush.

[BeatTheChalk]

Someone on here already bombed on Durkin, but listening to the derby call again on the video I linked to on the home page (www.paceadvantage.com (http://www.paceadvantage.com)), I thought it was quite good.

Those who think Durkin stunk up the joint yesterday, please detail why here (and try and be civil).

OK OK I will watch the replay. See if Brother Durkin sounds as good as
yawl say he did. ( I admit -- I never did like the guy ) As for NBC -- aka
Nothng But Costas --- I think the Queen was covered better than
the Race itself.
Long live the Queen.

[Tom]

It was adequatae -he didn't miss anything important and caught the big move. I just don't think evey call he makes has to sound like an orgasm.

[Greyfox]

. And I must give CD their props for listening to the race fan (at least on one level, lol) and keeping the saddle blankets different colors so that the race fans could easily identify where their horse was in the race...Every track needs to resist the silly temptation to go to one color saddle cloth for stakes races, as The Breeders Cup clearly demonstrated how crazy that was last year. :D

Boomer

Yes. Good point.
The saddle cloth colors were helpful to me.
However, I think that some of them looked very "bleached out."
Rumor was that Circular Quay was wearing Thunder Gulch's original cloth?
(Not confirmed.) His number was hard to pick off even in the post parade.

[BillW]

I just don't think evey call he makes has to sound like an orgasm.

Some people just like their job. :eek:

[JPinMaryland]

It was adequatae -he didn't miss anything important and caught the big move. I just don't think evey call he makes has to sound like an orgasm.

Oh. Is that what they sound like? :confused:

[Lasix1]

I've said it before on this board, but his call in this year's Derby makes me want to say it again: Nobody calls big races better than Tom Durkin.

2004: "Deadlocked at the 1/8th pole, Lion Heart is all heart; Smarty Jones is all out!"
2006: "As the field turns for home in the Kentucky Derby, Barbaro turns it on!"
"It's all Barbaro in a sublime performance. He runs away from them all."

With Durkin, I always have the feeling of being at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May watching the 10th race. The Breeder's Cup isn't the same without him.

For my money, he's the best........

[ghostyapper]

I've said it before on this board, but his call in this year's Derby makes me want to say it again: Nobody calls big races better than Tom Durkin.

2004: "Deadlocked at the 1/8th pole, Lion Heart is all heart; Smarty Jones is all out!"
2006: "As the field turns for home in the Kentucky Derby, Barbaro turns it on!"
"It's all Barbaro in a sublime performance. He runs away from them all."

With Durkin, I always have the feeling of being at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May watching the 10th race. The Breeder's Cup isn't the same without him.

For my money, he's the best........

I thought 2004 and 2006 were 2 of his worst stretch calls. Both times he spent too much time focusing on the horses fighting for place and show without mentioning the winner. Last year he went from the quarter pole to the 1/16 pole without even mentioning barbaro's name.

[jballscalls]

I've said it before on this board, but his call in this year's Derby makes me want to say it again: Nobody calls big races better than Tom Durkin.

2004: "Deadlocked at the 1/8th pole, Lion Heart is all heart; Smarty Jones is all out!"
2006: "As the field turns for home in the Kentucky Derby, Barbaro turns it on!"
"It's all Barbaro in a sublime performance. He runs away from them all."

With Durkin, I always have the feeling of being at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May watching the 10th race. The Breeder's Cup isn't the same without him.

For my money, he's the best........

couldnt agree with this post any more! He's unbelievable. Go back and listen to the Personal Ensign call and watch the race. I still get chills.

[ELA]

You are a very easy target when you are the best in the game.

Eric

[Edward DeVere]

I just don't think every call he makes has to sound like an orgasm.

That would be Terry Wallace.

[JustRalph]

That would be Terry Wallace.

you got that right. Drives me nuts.........and he needs to change that signature line about

"as they enter the long portion of the short stretch"

or whatever the hell he says.............

[gIracing]

you got that right. Drives me nuts.........and he needs to change that signature line about

"as they enter the long portion of the short stretch"

or whatever the hell he says.............


tell me about it.. I'm from little rock so oaklawn is my home track. He has the most annoying voice I have ever heard in my life. it sounds like he is doing the race while holding his noise. He's not bad at actually calling the races, but I just can't stand his voice, espically as I got older and got to hear some of the better race callers across the country/world.

I love mountineer's race caller... I doubt he is there much longer.

Turfway park has the worst caller I have ever heard in my life.

[JustRalph]

Turfway park has the worst caller I have ever heard in my life.

Oh come on? He is getting better. In fact he is "Gaining Ground!" :lol:

[levinmpa]

I didn't like the call at first. I thought he didn't pay enough attention to the times, especially when Hard Spun went out in :22 4/5 and it wasn't called.

Why do you need the announcer to remind you of the fractional times when they are posted right in front of you on the screen? Trevor Denman talks about this in interviews all the time. He doesn't understand why race callers go out of their way to mention the fractional times. They have to take their eyes off the field to pick up the fractions off the tote board or a monitor. He believes a good announcer should be able to know if a pace is fast or not just by the action of the frontrunners. I agree.

I love Durkin's calls, and really missed him in the BC last year. I like Denman too, but I thought he had a tough BC day, especially for completely missing Street Sense until he was 5 in front. I thought Durkin did a great job in the Derby, noting that Street Sense was 19th entering the backstretch, and he picked him up on the turn when he was on a roll. I don't have a lot of announcers that I'm crazy about these days, but Durkin is at the top of my list.

[boomman]

[QUOTE=levinmpa]Why do you need the announcer to remind you of the fractional times when they are posted right in front of you on the screen? Trevor Denman talks about this in interviews all the time. He doesn't understand why race callers go out of their way to mention the fractional times. They have to take their eyes off the field to pick up the fractions off the tote board or a monitor. He believes a good announcer should be able to know if a pace is fast or not just by the action of the frontrunners. I agree.

Even though I think Tom did a great job in the Derby (and said so in an earlier thread) I must admit that as an announcer, I have always wondered why fractions were "repeated" to the public as well. There is probably no way that I could do this now (even if I wanted to) after 25+ years because I HATE to look away from the race when I'm calling it! To me it is distracting and I would think would have to take away (somewhat) from your ability to "relay" everything going on in the race to the public. I was "lucky" I guess in that a track I worked at for 19 years never had reliable electronic timing on the totalizator board, so I made a habit not to EVER look at it during a race!!
LOL:D

Boomer

[Greyfox]

[QUOTE=levinmpa]Why do you need the announcer to remind you of the fractional times when they are posted right in front of you on the screen?

I agree. It is particularly annoying at "bull ring ovals" when the announcer on the speaker calls out "They've done the half in...."
At these small tracks I'm certain some of the jockeys can hear that and it gives them a clue as to whether they've gone to fast or not fast enough.

[ponyplayerdotca]

I have never liked Durkin, but that doesn't mean he's not a credible race caller. He's just not my kind of race caller.

Case in point:

There is no need for him to instill artificial fear into those watching the race and exclaim that "STREET SENSE is 19th and about 20 lengths from the lead!" when they've only completed the first turn in a 1 1/4 mile race. Although noteworthy, it didn't require such amazement and alarm for a closer to be at the back of that pack considering how fast they were racing up front.

Now, if they had been coming around the clubhouse turn heading into the stretch, and that was the case (STREET SENSE in 19th), then THAT'S when this exact call would have been prudent, relevant, and responsible to the viewer.

For me, it's about WHEN Durkin decides to elevate his call that bothers me mostly, not that he does so.

On the whole though, his call of the Derby was good. Other than the abovementioned critique, no other complaints.

[JustRalph]

There is no need for him to instill artificial fear into those watching the race and exclaim that "STREET SENSE is 19th and about 20 lengths from the lead!" when they've only completed the first turn in a 1 1/4 mile race.

there are two sides to that coin. You are adding drama, and everybody who bet against him was very interested in the fact that he was 19th......... I thought it was very interesting and gave me something more to watch.

[depalma13]

He wasn't calling this race for people that regularly bet horses. This is a sporting event for television, and for an audience that rarely watches horse racing, finding out that the favorite was second to last is dramatic.

You and I both knew he was going to be running somewhere off of that pace. Average viewer has no idea. Durkin should make it as exciting as he can. The viewers need to come back for the second leg of the Triple Crown.

Also, calling the times in the race doesn't mean he ever has to take his eyes of the horses. He is wearing an IFB, someone in the truck can tell him what the times are at each pole.

[samyn on the green]

Durkin is clearly the class of American racecallers. The greatest racecaller of all time.

The triple crown is a great time to peer into the brilliance of Tom Durkin. Go to the msnbc page and listen to the Durkin replay of the Derby. Then go to NTRA.com and listen to the Luke K. call. The class and mastery of Durkin clearly comes into view. Luke K is a very good caller, one of the best in the country but he struggles calling the Derby when compared to Durkin. Luke K. almost pulled a Denman and missed Street Sense up to the point he was at Hard Spuns throat latch. Durkin had that move pegged entering the far turn. Then compare how Luke K slowly goes through the 20 horse field and misses the significance of pace and the fact that the fave was almost in last. Durkin barrels right through the field, displaying his diligent preparation while conveying a sense of excitment and drama.

It has been a true gift listening to Tom Durkin all these years, he is the greatest voice in sports.

[ELA]

I also like the people who end up saying "Durkin didn't see Street Sense until he was just about to take the lead" and that kind of BS. If people think they can base "what" Durkin "sees" exclusively on "what" he "calls" then they are being very naive and truly don't understand the game.

Eric

[PaceAdvantage]

Go to the msnbc page and listen to the Durkin replay of the Derby.

No, no, no, no, NO!

Go HERE -- > www.paceadvantage.com (http://www.paceadvantage.com) and scroll to the bottom to watch and listen to a replay of the Derby! ;)

[HuggingTheRail]

I'd give his call of the Derby an 8 out of 10. I think there were a couple of slight errors, but in a 20 horse field, its bound to happen. As they round the clubhouse turn, I think he calls a horse in 10th, 11th and 13th..."skipping " the 12th horse. When he gets down the list...he calls something in 18th, another horse, and then SS in 2nd to last. Ill watch the replay to see if thats true..

Other than that, nothing too major. Some may argue he didnt call the move by SS until late, the horse was in about 5th, but in a 20 horse field...its gonna take time. Others would be complaining that "he didnt even call so-and-so"...so hes bound to upset some

[wonatthewire1]

you got that right. Drives me nuts.........and he needs to change that signature line about

"as they enter the long portion of the short stretch"

or whatever the hell he says.............


"...and here they come into the short stretch"

The dude at EVD isn't too bad

[wonatthewire1]

I have never liked Durkin, but that doesn't mean he's not a credible race caller. He's just not my kind of race caller.

Case in point:

There is no need for him to instill artificial fear into those watching the race and exclaim that "STREET SENSE is 19th and about 20 lengths from the lead!" when they've only completed the first turn in a 1 1/4 mile race. Although noteworthy, it didn't require such amazement and alarm for a closer to be at the back of that pack considering how fast they were racing up front.

Now, if they had been coming around the clubhouse turn heading into the stretch, and that was the case (STREET SENSE in 19th), then THAT'S when this exact call would have been prudent, relevant, and responsible to the viewer.

For me, it's about WHEN Durkin decides to elevate his call that bothers me mostly, not that he does so.

On the whole though, his call of the Derby was good. Other than the abovementioned critique, no other complaints.


He was calling the 19th of 20 as he was calling all of the horses in the race by position early; once they get into the backstretch, he rightfully focuses on the top 5-6 in the race, that's why it was nice that he picked up SS's move along the rail

[tonto1944]

I thought Durkin was good. I also thought Baily was great on ESPN.
Now Gary Stevens Really SUCKED!!!!
And those handi cappers were ,well lets say they should get on their knees and thank GOD that these people are stupid enough to pay them. Only 1 Person had exacta Box.

[santanajimi]

I used to go to the races with a guy that lost his sight. He had been a pretty sharp guy betting, and also had a great memory....The fractional times were a good thing for him to listen to, while trying to follow the race.....
TOM DURKIN is easily one of the all time best.

[DanG]

It’s obviously a completely subjective subject, but how anyone could deny Durkin is on the short list of all time race callers boggles my mind.

[MNslappy]

How about Durkin's call today? IMO very, very good, I don't think you could've asked for more than that.

It is Curlin on the inside, Rags to Riches on the outside.
A desperate finish! -- Rags to Riches and Curlin.
They're coming down to the wire, it's going to be very close.
And it's gonna be....
A FILLY IN THE BELMONT.

[JustRalph]

I saw Durkin in a info commercial for NY Bred Horses this morning on HRTV. The guy was great! He can actually act. It was kind of corny, but he was really really good............. I couldn't believe it.

[keilan]

I met a childhood friend of Durkin's a few years back and he spoke of how Durkin would call races from his "minds eye" while in class.

Guess it was his calling from early on.

[Bruddah]

is old school. Goes back to the days before we had all of this electronic wizardry. I can see most of you came into this sport during the hay day of electronics. In the old days, we wanted/needed the caller to paint a picture with a broad brush. Both Durkin and Terry Wallace are old school and much appreciated by this old Handicapper. It's the new race callers which have trouble calling a two horse race, which drive me nuts. Also, the nasal twang by Trevor Denman grates on me like chalk on a blackboard. He lived up to my expectations in the Breeders Cup last year. Simply awful and unforgiveable. He had plenty of time to prepare and he blew it...BIG TIME!! (JMHO)

[Tom]

Guess I'm alone, but I thought the majority of the call sucked. He recoverd late in the stretch, but up until then, I was not im pressed. And, Dan, I have him on a short list, too.........but not the same one as you. :eek:

[46zilzal]

TRY IT YOURSELF and you will see how difficult it is. Then, to have enough control of the situation to interject humorous comments, you have to have a very good handle on things.

[BeatTheChalk]

Guess I'm alone, but I thought the majority of the call sucked. He recoverd late in the stretch, but up until then, I was not im pressed. And, Dan, I have him on a short list, too.........but not the same one as you. :eek:

You are not alone ! His call up to the start of the Far Turn was like a
daytime soap opera. He must have said " We still have a long way to run " ..
at least 1/2 a dozen times. Small talk nonsense with vague references to
the action on the track. Then he finally got into it ..as they approached the
far turn.
I guess I will be punished for the comments ( I said I would never do it
again ) ABC actually did a good job on the TV coverage. Some great tight
shots of the leaders. And finally ..given my choice....Jim McKay and
Howard Cossell ...they were old school ! I dont care if I am thee only
person on the planet who liked Howwaard ! :bang: :mad:

[46zilzal]

Jack Whittaker was a good analyst as well. When the movie was popular he called the three year old crop Mutant Teenage Ninja Thoroughbreds.

[Tom]

TRY IT YOURSELF and you will see how difficult it is. Then, to have enough control of the situation to interject humorous comments, you have to have a very good handle on things.

I've heard plenty of others do it far better.
I just don't think cutesy comments and jokes during a race are classy.
The one word I always associate with Durkin is amature.

[JustRalph]

I liked the call. I thought it was pretty cool when he called it the "battle of the sexes" coming down the lane...........

[DanG]

I liked the call. I thought it was pretty cool when he called it the "battle of the sexes" coming down the lane...........
I agree Ralph…:ThmbUp:

Excellent call that was up to the races historical significants.