Favorite Racetrack Announcers

[trying2win]

Would be interested in what some of the readers' top 2 or 3 favorite track announcers are at the thoroughbred and/or harness races:

To me, all the track announcers listed below seem to exude the right amount of excitement and pizzazz in their race calls.

My favorite announcers for calling thoroughbred races are... (not in any particular order):


...Trevor Denman -- Santa Anita, Del Mar, Fairplex
...Luke Kruytbosch -- Churchill Downs, Turf Paradise


My favorite announcers for calling harness races are...(again not in any particular order):

...Roger Huston -- The Meadows, Delaware County Fair
...Frank Salive -- Woodbine/Mohawk Circuit
...John Bothe -- Formerly of the Meadowlands (remember him when a horse was closing fast on the outside near the wire..."ZOOOO...M". I think I read somewhere, that John Bothe is now calling the harness races at Batavia Downs. Maybe someone could enlighten me on that.

Of course, there are are going to be readers who will agree with me and some who disagree with my choices above. No problem. We all have our own likes and dislikes. Clue me in, if there are some other fine announcers that I'm not familar with. That's because I haven't tuned in to every racetrack that's available via live video.

Of course there are many racetrack announcers that just don't seem to have the talent for race calling. Some announcers are dull, with no excitement in their monotone voices, some holler too much and some are not bad, but they don't do their homework and have too many pauses in their race calls etc.

[Zaf]

T-Breds

1) Trevor Denman
2) Michael Wrona
3) Dan Loiselle

Harness

1) Howard Oil
2) Jean Desautels
3) Frank Salive
4) Roger Huston

ZAFONIC

[smf]

t-breds

1-Wrona

2-Dooley

3-(tie) Denman, Chaimberlain

honorable mention; Loiselle, Becker, Mirahmadi.

[trying2win]

ZAFONIC, SMF:

Some forum readers might figure I've being living in a cave, if I haven't heard of Michael Wrona before. Honestly, I've never heard of him before. What track does he do the race calls for? Guess I'll have to listen to a race called by M.W. That's if he's at a racetrack that has live audio and/or video.

I've heard Dan Loiselle of Woodbine before. Yes I agree, Dan's pretty good with his race calls too.

Looks like Trevor Denman's leading the consensus for favorite thoroughbred race caller so far. Frank Salive and Roger Huston are leading the way at the harness tracks.

Funny how a lot of race callers have their favorite expressions, when calling a race. Adds a bit flair, wouldn't you say?

[smf]

trying2,

Mike Wrona calls races for Lone Star and the Fairgrounds. FG is running now, you can check him out Thurs-Sun this month, Thurs-Monday from Jan-Mar.

In the past, he's called races at Arlington, Hollywood, Golden Gate to name a few.

He is not everyone's cup of tea. Likes to call every runner out as they finish the race at Lone Star. He only calls the top 3 finishers at FG, likely b/c of posts made by the locals at the StartingGate forum. Before one thinks that's a stretch (announcer reading a forum and reacting in kind), the Fairgrounds track owner responds to reasonable posts there. Also used to have some trainers post till the negative-poster types ran em off.

Best thing about Wrona is that if you are somewhere in the paddock or away from the track, his calls paint a picture of the race perfectly. Never heard anyone do it better, live.

[trying2win]

SMF:

Thanks for the info regarding Mike Wrona. I just checked the live video schedule at the www.pennnational.com website. They do carry the live video from the Fairgrounds. I'll have to give a listen to M.W.'s race calls and find out how he sounds.

One other thing. Since Trevor Denman is probably a favorite racetrack announcer of many other bettors, you'd think Hollywood Park would be clamoring after his services too. Wonder what the deal is with Hollywood Park. Do they have their own agenda, on who they think is the best announcer for their track? Or...are the personnel who operate Hollywood Park, dictated by Churchill Downs Inc?

[doophus]

trying2win:

Fairgrounds is one of the very few tracks that continues to webcast live races at no cost. They have the best video that I've seen anywhere. Take a look at: www.fgno.com

[Zaf]

Originally posted by trying2win
ZAFONIC, SMF:


Funny how a lot of race callers have their favorite expressions, when calling a race. Adds a bit flair, wouldn't you say?


Thats true, I love when the EVD guy says " Ils sont parti" there off in french, even though he's not one of my favorites.

ZAFONIC

[so.cal.fan]

Michael Wrona and Trevor Denman.

My son tipped me off several years ago to these guys real value.
If you tape their race calls, you can get some first class trip notes for horses to watch.
They will often tell you how easy a horse is going or if it is struggling.
If you don't tape races, mark your programs if you hear one of these guys make an interesting observation........it is information that many players would pay to get.......and it is FREE.

[levinmpa]

Folks, you're all forgetting the man, who in my opinion is the best in the business. Mr. Breeders' Cup himself, Tom Durkin. He's called every Breeders' Cup race and has been calling the NYRA races for several years now. I don't need a fancy accent to be impressed. Just give me the nuts and bolts and do it with style and accuracy. He's the Michael Jordan of racecallers. No one is in his league. Just go to www.breederscup.com and click the Results link and you can hear some of the best calls ever.

[Lefty]

Trevor used to call every trk in So. CA but he had a falling out with Hubbard(big cheese at the time)and hasn't called there since and uses that time for vaction so don't look for him back at that plant.

[Lefty]

I can't figure out why Tom Durkin gets the big gigs when to my taste he's plain vanilla run of the mill. 2 best in my opinion are Wrona and Denman.

[smf]

Originally posted by Lefty
I can't figure out why Tom Durkin gets the big gigs when to my taste he's plain vanilla run of the mill. 2 best in my opinion are Wrona and Denman.

Plus, if you listen to him in big races he sounds like someone stole his wind. Out of breathe, and sounds nervous for some reason (he's been at it for a long while).

I've never judged a race caller by his accent, just his competence. Lots of BigSouthernDummy types do get bugged by the Aussie accent for some reason. Glad the folks that run racetracks aren't bothered by the small stuff, and hire these guys.

[anotherdave]

Originally posted by Lefty
I can't figure out why Tom Durkin gets the big gigs when to my taste he's plain vanilla run of the mill.

I second that!

And although he's not my favourite, I love when Davy Johnson says "And down the stretch they come!" - Letterman even phoned him up so that he could do it on the show this year.

AD

[TenZin]

Tom Durkin rules and Dave Johnson S*cks and so does his
Down The Stretch . And so does Letterman.

[JustRalph]

Trevor Denman and Vic Stauffer. Vic is doing Hollywood now.

Two of the best race callers in Harness racing are now working at TVG. Robin Burns is famous for some great Harness calls. He is now the Television scheduling coordinator for TVG.

Gary Seibel at TVG is a first rate television broadcaster and has a very good reputation for race calling. He has been the owner of a few nice harness horses. One in particular that had over half a million in winnings as of last year. He still gets requests to interview for announcer jobs. He is from upstate NY and after living in S. California the last few years, the weather keeps him there. He did the Hambletonian show for NBC this last year as the lead personality on air.

[anotherdave]

Originally posted by TenZin
Tom Durkin rules and Dave Johnson S*cks and so does his
Down The Stretch . And so does Letterman.

Thanks for the thoughtful comments in our discussion. You are correct. I must be wrong. I'll just go back to betting the races and watching Jay Leno.

AD

[kitts]

Larry Letterman and Michael Wrona!

I don't hear about Larry anymore but he did the Jersey circuit. My favorite of his was when a closer collared the leader in the stretch "looks him in the eye and right on bye!"

[delayjf]

I think you can't go wrong with either Denman, Wrona, or Durkin.
The year Wrona called Hollywood, I was very impressed. He's the only race caller who actually made me crack up laughing with one particular call: It involved a horse with an extremely long name. This horse broke out on or near the lead causing Wrona to have to repeat his name several times finally exclaiming something like "with a name like that, wouldn't you know he'd break out on top". Anybody remember the name of that horse?

I've always like the "down the stretch they come call" by Johnson, but I believe in one recent Kentucky Derby, as the horses were entering the final turn, he stopped calling the race for what seemed like about 10 seconds and then was calling the wrong horse. Granted, what a tough race to call. I'll bet race calling is a skill that quickly degrades with a lack of recent experience.

[Zaf]

Larry Collmus is a pretty good one too.

ZAFONIC

[WINMANWIN]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by trying2win
[B]Would be interested in what some of the readers' top 2 or 3 favorite track announcers are at the thoroughbred and/or harness races:

To me, all the track announcers listed below seem to exude the right amount of excitement and pizzazz in their race calls.

My favorite announcers for calling thoroughbred races are... (not in any particular order):


...Trevor Denman -- Santa Anita, Del Mar, Fairplex
...Luke Kruytbosch -- Churchill Downs, Turf Paradise


My favorite announcers for calling harness races are...(again not in any particular order):

...Roger Huston -- The Meadows, Delaware County Fair
...Frank Salive -- Woodbine/Mohawk Circuit
...John Bothe -- Formerly of the Meadowlands (remember him when a horse was closing fast on the outside near the wire..."ZOOOO...M". I think I read somewhere, that John Bothe is now calling the harness races at Batavia Downs. Maybe someone could enlighten me on that.


booth had a gambling problem in new jersey and refused to do the analsis of jersy races.I believe he went to court and lost the fight to keep is job.

[Observer]

Is there any point to hollering "And Down the Stretch They Come" when the horses are inside the 16th pole?? Johnson coined himself a nice little phrase that once added excitement to the calls when the horses were turning for home, but I think it's overdone now, to the point where it seems that that's all that matters in the calls, even if he has to throw it in when the horses are in deep stretch.

Gotta go with Durkin, here. It just doesn't seem "right" if Durkin isn't calling ... guess it's kinda like waking up on the wrong side of the bed, or putting on the opposite shoe first.

[Handle]

I admire Wrona for his precision and all the other stuff people have written here -- but, honestly, he bugs me. Wish it weren't so, and given his skills and popularity I guess he won't be leaving one of my favorite race tracks soon <g>.

I think Chamberlain does an excellent job -- he's not only accurate, you get the sense that he's really a part of what's going on and cares about it. His opinion when late jockey changes come in just seeps through when he announces it. Flavor.

" Ils sont parti" -- that's kind of cute, but that guy sounds drunk when he's calling the races.

I do like the way the MNR caller (who is that?) does the finish. Its always a crescendo whether he says "In Front" or that the race was too close to call, etc..

[Speed Figure]

Using the words of the great Trevor Denman "BUT IT'S SPEED FIGURE OUT HERE MOVING LIKE A WINNER".

[GameTheory]

I do like the way the MNR caller (who is that?) does the finish. Its always a crescendo whether he says "In Front" or that the race was too close to call, etc..

I kind of like that too, but unfortunately, it is the climax of something like:

"And it is...the...ahh...four coming up on the outside and then we go back... ahh... 2 lengths to the... number seven, yes seven, no wait, THAT'S the four, and then... HANDLE, IN FRONT!"

He makes me want to die.

[Zaf]

Originally posted by Handle

I do like the way the MNR caller (who is that?) does the finish. Its always a crescendo whether he says "In Front" or that the race was too close to call, etc..

I like that too, he sounds alot like Dan Loiselle.

ZAFONIC

[GR1@HTR]

I've mentioned this before but the guy at TUP who did the Rodney Dangerfield calls...Where is that guy now?

[so.cal.fan]

It's not really important, if you like the announcer or not........
look, if you aren't at the track everyday yourself, it is very helpful to have good observers who will comment on horses for you.
The announcers like Wrona and Denman give very useful comments, as do some of the simulcast people on track and some of the people at TVG. It is as good as being at the track in many instances. Take advantage of it.
If we want to hear good announcers, we will listen to the news programs, talk shows, etc.......
WE ARE LOOKING for WINNERS, at least I am!
;)

[Lefty]

GR1, that guy you mentioned, I like him, too. He was at Louisiana Downs the last meet, but now?
I can't think of his name either.

[BillW]

Originally posted by Lefty
GR1, that guy you mentioned, I like him, too. He was at Louisiana Downs the last meet, but now?
I can't think of his name either.

Damn, I hate trying to spell this guys name ...


Frank Mirahmadi

[Derek2U]

I like TD especially when he says of an Early Type whose getting
collared "He's Backpedalling" or "The Whip is out early on #5".
I guess I like Tom because he anticipates whats happening and
says it with wit many times. (Except when its my horse thats
backpedalling)

[GR1@HTR]

Does the Rodney Dangerfield guy still make those calls? If so, I haven't heard them...

[Zaf]

Originally posted by GR1
Does the Rodney Dangerfield guy still make those calls? If so, I haven't heard them...

I love that, the first time I heard it I was floored.

ZAFONIC

[smf]

Originally posted by GR1
Does the Rodney Dangerfield guy still make those calls? If so, I haven't heard them...

Yeah he still does it, but Ray Tromba (ladowns suit) doesn't like him doing those calls from what I hear. So they're few & far between now.

My favorite is when he does Rodney and Marv Albert (and someone else--forget who it is) in the same race.

[superfecta]

Originally posted by smf
Yeah he still does it, but Ray Tromba (ladowns suit) doesn't like him doing those calls from what I hear. So they're few & far between now.

My favorite is when he does Rodney and Marv Albert (and someone else--forget who it is) in the same race. Didn't he once do Porky Pig or Elmer Fudd?I thought he did the impressions on the last day at Hollywood Park,and when he did Porky or Elmer several guys went ballistic.I thought it was hillarious because these guys were so uptight about the race being called right.
I remember at Dover Downs one night the racecaller saying sarcastically in the middle of the race "oh man,this ones so good I can't wait for the replay"...

[smf]

Super,

yeah, and he did Sylvester the Cat's ssssufferinssssuccatash thing once also..Funny guy!

Also like to hear Larry Letterman (sp?) at the end of a tight race. He'll yell out sumthin like "oh my heart just can't take this anymore!!", and you know he's joking around.

[trying2win]

Thanks to everybody for all the entertaining posts on this thread.

--I didn't realize Trevor Denman once called the races at Hollywood Park.

--Have listened to the audio calls sometimes at the Turf Paradise website, as well as the live video from that track via the link at www.pennnational.com. Don't quite know who does Rodney Dangerfield impersonations at Turf Paradise. What's his name? I'm a real Rodney Dangerfield fan. I get a kick out of watching Rodney when he appears on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, now and then. I also like checking out Rodney's website at www.rodney.com, once in awhile to have a laugh or two.

--Does Tom Durkin announce regularly at one racetrack, or does he just call races for special occasions like the Breeders Cup etc?

--Does anyone ever tune in late on a Friday evening to the harness races at Fraser Downs via their live video at www.fraserdowns.com? There you will hear the calls by the inimitable Rick Uppal. I get a kick out of Rick's race call, when sometimes a few horses are together in a bunch at the finish line...he usually hollers "CLOOOO...SE".

[delayjf]

Never heard this Rodney guy, but I have heard one race caller who imitates other race callers so that during a race you might hear Denman at the start and Durkin down the stretch with five differnent race callers in between.

[syyamo]

I believe Frank Miramahdi also mixes in different track announcers periodically.

Frank was the track announcer at Hialeah and that alone is enough to wish the place would open again. Plus 8 continuous months of Phil Saltzman saying "there not going to get him today" is more than any human should be forced to endure.

[Lindsay]

T-bred: Best: Michael Wrona. Most annoying: Denman (roots for every favorite, driving me nuts)

Harness: Best: Joe Alto (superb). Most annoying: Robin ("Mile in 156, not too shabby") Burns.

Denman spends his time off working on a book on literary figures. I hope he starts putting more time into it.

[PaceAdvantage]

Trying2Win,

Tom Durkin is the regular race caller at NYRA (Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga)


==PA

[Zaf]

Originally posted by Lindsay

Harness: Best: Joe Alto (superb).

Where is Alto working now ??? I remember he used to be at Monticello about 20 years ago.

ZAFONIC

[Lindsay]

Zafonic wrote: "Where is Alto working now ??? I remember he used to be at Monticello about 20 years ago."

Sacramento.

[delayjf]

Have to agree with you about the calder race caller, that phrase is over done and annoying. I guess every body thinks they need a signiture phrase. Hollywood park brought in some guy from Louisiana a few years back. He blew several calls and was roundly critized, needless to say he was replaced the next year.
Never cared much for Luke Kruytbosch when he was out at Hollywood, too mono-toned for my taste.
I don't think Denman cheers more for favorites rather he cheers more for the Top horses, which usually are the favorites.

[JimG]

Denman is my favorite...my favorite phrase of his is "he looks like he dropped in at the eighth pole"

Also like Wrona...except when he calls all the horses after the race...I find that annoying.

Durkin is solid...one of my fav calls of his was on Cigar in the Breeders Cup Classic a few years back.

Also like Kurt Hoover at Keeneland.

Most of the rest deserve a mute button.

Jim

[Lefty]

I really like it when Wrona calls all the horses order after a race. This talent amazes me and when I can't find my horse in the race Wrona tells me where he finished so I don't have to wonder if he was a late scratch.

[so.cal.fan]

Have you ever heard Wrona yell out that "so and so will have to catch a cab" You can throw out those horses in future races unless they really drop in class.

[smf]

Originally posted by so.cal.fan
It's not really important, if you like the announcer or not........
look, if you aren't at the track everyday yourself, it is very helpful to have good observers who will comment on horses for you.
The announcers like Wrona and Denman give very useful comments, as do some of the simulcast people on track and some of the people at TVG. It is as good as being at the track in many instances. Take advantage of it.
If we want to hear good announcers, we will listen to the news programs, talk shows, etc.......
WE ARE LOOKING for WINNERS, at least I am!
;)


SCF,

Just now listening to Roger Stein's show (archive). He and Hesz agree with ya word for word. The comments are on minute 15 of the clip.

My take on Wrona is 'you'll appreciate him more when he leaves' and I'm sure he'll leave LS for greener pastures someday. Until then, I'll be happy he's here.

[so.cal.fan]

smf:
LOL, Roger and Aaron probably "pirated" my comments from this board!
I talk to them both at the track every so often, but never seem to listen to their show. I'll pull it up and catch that one. Thanks.

[Tom]

Ross Morton, FL announcer since the Civil War, once called a futurity race in which there was a 5-horse entry - the silks were Kelly green with dice on the backs.
At the top of the stretch, all five horse were dueling for the lead. Ross called out, "As they turn for home, it's a crap shoot!"
Another time, he called Mr. Rabbit "hops up for the show spot"

[superfecta]

Of mine would be Trevor Denman saying"On the lead its Chock Full of Drugs!" from the Simpson episode.

[sq764]

If anyone is familiar with Larry Lederman (who announces at Freehold, but also announced at Garden St t-breds), you have already heard it..

One afternoon there was a horse called Dominatrix racing at Freehold, down the lane, he announces "..and Moiseyev is whipping Dominatrix down the lane, and I think she's liking it!"

[David McKenzie]

Originally posted by sq764
If anyone is familiar with Larry Lederman (who announces at Freehold, but also announced at Garden St t-breds), you have already heard it..

One afternoon there was a horse called Dominatrix racing at Freehold, down the lane, he announces "..and Moiseyev is whipping Dominatrix down the lane, and I think she's liking it!"

Hahaha.

I'm sure that was him calling PHA today. I wonder what's behind that?

Remember when he called Atlantic City? It was no-holds-barred back then!

[norm f]

my favorite t-bred announcer has got to be the Denman at S.A and Dan Loiselle a close second
On the harness side Pete Szmansky who called at buffalo i thought was a gem! Marty Adler at windsor i think is pretty colorful as well

[Scarlet Jimmy]

Dave Johnson, Trevor Denman, Tony Calo (BM and GGF)

Dave Johnson's call is one of THE GREATEST in all of sports.

[BABBAGENE]

There is and NEVER was a better harness track announcer Than ED GORMAN , who called the races at THE MEADOWLANDS when it first opened . He was great.
Roger Huston is the most annoying of all the announcers as he calls every races as if NIATROSS were running in it , he builds the horse and drivers he calls for into superstars when in fact thwey are all garbage.
If any of you guys get a chance to get some ED GORMAN audio from the Meadowlands you will see what I mean ! By far the best announcer ever to get behind the mike.

[trying2win]

There is and NEVER was a better harness track announcer Than ED GORMAN , who called the races at THE MEADOWLANDS when it first opened .



BABBAGENE,

Thank you for your opinion...and that's all it is...just an opinion and not a fact! Never heard of Ed Gorman. He may have been quite a good announcer though.

I liked the race calls of John Bothe when he was the Meadowlands announcer in the past. In my opinion, I thought John was pretty good at his craft and very entertaining to listen to. Apparently, John Bothe is now the announcer at Batavia Downs.

T2W

[Kreed]

The ONLY 1 who likes Dave Johnson just has to be a relative. he stinks, but
NOT boring. i think Tom Durkin is the BesT, hands down. He's smart & quick.

[toetoe]

Just a quick vignette about Turfway, which opened yesterday with first-time Astro-dirt. The hilarious thing is that I was blindsided at simulcast when I heard an announcer stumbling, bumbling, temporizing, blustering, hue-ing and crying, and finally letting loose with not one, but TWO howling renditions of "GAIN-ing GROUND!" More terrifying by far than the vampire bat --- yes, it was the dreaded MBatt.
I felt kinda sorry. It was as bad as anything ever described on here. I guess with Mike, you ain't heard nothin' yet.

[Lefty]

toe, why were you blindsided? Mike's been at Turfway a few yrs at least. He's still better than the guy at BM, Tony Colo or Coto or who cares?

[BABBAGENE]

GORMAN was absolutely fantastic calling the very early Meadowlands paces. Believe me he was far and away better than anyone.
That Roger Huston gets me sick, I was playing the Meadows tonight and actually had to shut the voice off on my computer as he was making a big thing out of a mile being paced in 1:56:4, this guy is a joke!

[BABBAGENE]

Hey are you the same guy from THE PRESCRIPTION "TRYINGTOWIN" ?

[toetoe]

Lefty,

Maybe I need a better term for it, but I forgot about him, and I didn't hear him between races. They were playing up the Astrodirt big-time, and the GM was on, apologizing for the tiny fields, and a few minutes later ... "GAIN-ing GROUND, ... GAINing GROUND," and I instantly knew where I was. It was classic MBatt, if that's not an oxymoron.

[trying2win]

Hey are you the same guy from THE PRESCRIPTION "TRYINGTOWIN" ?

BABBAGENE,

--Don't quite understand the context that goes with "TRYINGTOWIN" on your question here. Is that a kind of prescription drug or ???

--I have seen someone use the moniker "TRYINGTOWIN" on another website, but that's not me.


Trying2win

[midnight]

I believe he's referring to "The Prescription" sports-betting alleged watchdog site, and their forums.

[Lefty]

toe, gotcha, lol. I find Mike kinda humorous with his calls like they're coming dn the stretch tuhgether... But that guy at BM irritates ,me no end. I wonder how this artificial surface is gonna work out?

[mainardi]

I was wondering who would nominate Mr. NYRA... and it's nothing personal against you... I was just looking for an opening.

Durkin is at the bottom of my list... mainly because he's not very consistent, and that's what makes a racecaller great. If he worked the northern plains circuit, he'd be okay, but he's supposed to represent the best of the best. I think that he's a bit like Randy Moss, in that he takes races (and maybe even entire cards) off. He knows when to turn it on -- Triple Crown, Breeders' Cup, Travers -- but he's made some brutally atrocious race calls on average racing days. Between him getting excited about false moves on the back stretch, missing the "lengths back" calls when horses are close up, and just plain blowing stretch calls, he needs to bring his "A" (or at least "B+") game every day before I'd even consider him to be good enough.

One last Durkin bash: two weekends ago, I was intently watching a late-day turf race at Saratoga, and my 8-1 shot was on the rail entering the stretch. All of a sudden, Durkin stops calling his name and gets all geeked up about the favorites making their charges. So, at the wire, he anti-clamactically announces that my horse MAY have gotten up -- another pet peeve, he rarely calls a nose/head-bob finish on the wire; Trevor nails 'em 99+% of the time -- and solemnly announces after at least four slo-mo replays that he can now confirm the winner... which I could see at full-speed and "live".

[Lefty]

Joe, about Durkin; you hit the ol nail square on the head.

[mainardi]

I'm no shill for TVG, but a few of the guys have done pretty well calling races when the audio goes out and they feel like jumping in. One of the funniest calls was actually Vic Stauffer (Hollywood Park's guy), who worked the morning shift there and drove the 10 miles to Hollypark to do his "real" job. Anyway, he must have had a bet on this one race, because when the audio crashed he started calling the race... and then they lost the video and he made up the rest of the race like he was watching it. He had me fooled -- I just figured that he could see the race, but we couldn't -- and then busted all of our b%@^s by saying "at least that's how I hope it turned out, because I had the 6 horse!" Classic!!! :D

[midnight]

The best harness announcer I've heard was a guy at Quad City Downs in the 1980's named Tom Croarkin. The guy was smooth, unbiased, accurate, and could get the crowd involved without screaming or cheering. He used just a little humor (mainly plays on words involving the horse's name) without overdoing it. Almost never miss-called a photo finish. Unfortunately for the sport, he got out of announcing in the late 1980's.

His successor was Scott Erlich, who is one of the premier harness announcers (Chicago).

[mainardi]

I just finished watching Trevor call at Maiden Claimer at Fairplex and two things struck me as why so many like him.

First, just the fact that he's NOT blowing off the LA County Fair meet -- a relatively cheap bullring, for those that have never seen it (showing on TVG, sorry about the plug) -- and he's just as good there as he is calling The Big Cap at Santa Anita. Keep in mind that he's called races here in the states at Canterbury Downs AND he started in South Africa (right in the midst of their bush wars... kinda makes Durkin taking the Aqueduct winter meet off seem sorta soft, no?).

Also, he does his homework and then puts his insight to use seemingly ON EACH AND EVERY RACE! I know, some of you just want to hear the race called, and don't want any other information. But, as I read somewhere else here on PA, he's like a live trip report. It's easy to take swipes at Durkin, but I've yet to listen to him call a race and walk away thinking that something he said will be useful the next time a certain horse runs. Of course, with a job, I don't have the luxury of sitting around listening to him call races all the time... not that I could take it for very long! :p

[toetoe]

Keep an ear on him. He loves to play up horses moving, but still far back. He was way off at Hollywood doing this, due to the track tendencies, I guess. All of a sudden at Del Mar, all those horses were coming 5-wide and justifying his raves, often winning. I honestly thought he was starting to lose his touch, but he was as good as ever at Del Mar.

[PaceAdvantage]

Keep an ear on him. He loves to play up horses moving, but still far back. He was way off at Hollywood doing this, due to the track tendencies, I guess. All of a sudden at Del Mar, all those horses were coming 5-wide and justifying his raves, often winning. I honestly thought he was starting to lose his touch, but he was as good as ever at Del Mar.

So you mean that Trevor, like Durkin, isn't 100% accurate all the time? Phew....I was beginning to think mainardi was onto something....

Hey Joe M., nobody brings their "A" game to work every single day of the year...it's unfair of you to cite a few examples where Durkin may have screwed up the racecall, then paint a broad picture of someone who is fit for duty only at the "northern plains circuit"

Give us a break.

[PaceAdvantage]

Trevor used to blow off the LA county fair meets years ago, didn't he?

[falconridge]

Trevor used to blow off the LA county fair meets years ago, didn't he?
Never in my memory did Trevor Denman blow off Fairplex, and my memory's ... . Sorry. Remind me of your question. Oh, yes. William Miller, in 1964, at the Republican National Convention in San Francisco. Now, back to the Profumo affair, which cost Prime Minister Harold McMillan ...

[PaceAdvantage]

Is Fairplex even considered a fair? Stockton, Pleasanton, Solano....how bout those?

[rokitman]

Uh, FAIRplex, get it? :D http://www.fairplex.com/fp/

Finger Lakes has had a guy recently that sounds disturbingly like Dave Johnston but ain't Dave Johnston. It drives me to distraction. Not a long drive.

[PaceAdvantage]

Yeah, I got it....but in reality, Fairplex is bigger than just some little ol' county fair meet....despite its name...LOL

[mainardi]

Yep, Fairplex -- anybody willing to admit that they remember when it was called Pomona? -- is right in the middle of the LA County Fair, and they only run when the fair is open. Granted, they do have bigger purses than county fairs in most places. But they have $5k claimers, Apaloosa races, the occasional Q-horse race... roughly on a par with the No Cal fair circuit. The difference is that they don't load up the card with cheap races, and they do have a stakes race or decent allowance race just about every day. Oh yeah, and they run every day, and I can't remember if I've ever heard of him taking a day off, either. Look, I know not everybody likes him, but if people keep asking questions about him, I have no problem explaining myself.

The point that I'm trying to make is that Trevor calls a "$5,000 claiming, non-winners of 2 lifetime" on a Thursday at Fairplex with the same professionalism as he does when he's calling a Graded stakes race at Del Mar. And that earns him the top spot on my favorites list. :cool:

[Lefty]

Toe, Trevor hasn't called the Hol meet in yrs.

[mikeb]

Freddy Cappucella "It is now post time"

[toetoe]

This may be the wrong thread for this, but keep an eye out for maiden claimers at Fairplex that have faced maiden quarter horses at Los Alamitos, sometimes even straight maidens. Sounds esoteric, but this situation pops up every year at Fairplex. Whatever the lowest maiden level is at Fairplex (M5000?), anyone that has ever even raced at a real track, such as DM, SA, Hol, GG, BM, etc., or quarter horses of any class, and has ANY talent, is worth a look at a price.

[toetoe]

Lefty,
Of course I knew that, but in my attempt to make my argument plausible, I speculated myself right into a never-was. I guess it was just at this past SA meet that he REALLY started slipping, and as he's a good one, we hold him to a higher standard, and we notice little things ... maybe ... ? If that's true, why do I even bother with Vic S., MBatt, etc.? Anyway, Trevor was shaky at SA, and now he's back.
Funny that Wrona's the one I could stand to hear for about 5 meets straight, but he can't find year-round work. If we could get him back on half the time in NorCal, it would help Tony Calo, also. Everybody needs a break, including the fans.

[46zilzal]

I love the guy at Arlington telling us who is down on the RELL: his way of saying Rail.

[cnollfan]

I love Wrona's announcing. I heard from some friends in Louisiana that he was aloof and didn't play office politics well.

[dutzman]

Who calls the races at Tampa Bay Downs....I have grown to like this guy....