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bigmack
05-18-2008, 03:02 AM
With any level of acumen, a track announcer should have a fairly sound idea about the shape of a race. Some are more intuitive than others.

Is neutrality and/or a mere "stone cold call" of a race preferred to one that might hint of the callers expectations?

Overlay
05-18-2008, 03:22 AM
Your question reminds me of Robert Klein's routine about the great race caller Fred Capossela where he commented about how Fred was always so objective, and said that in Fred's business, you couldn't get involved (especially by betting) in how the race would turn out. He imagined Fred calling, "Tamburlaine coming up quick on the outside! Run, you SOB, run! There goes the rent! For crying out loud!"

misscashalot
05-18-2008, 03:30 AM
stone cold call

bigmack
05-18-2008, 03:30 AM
With little objection, one of the all time greats.

http://www.tvguide.com/images/pgimg/robert-klein1.jpg


Back to the matter:

Stauffer: Expects an outcome
Durkin: Expects an outcome

KMS
05-18-2008, 03:44 AM
doesn't really matter to me, but I'm always impressed with the ability of announcer to be enthusiastic (or at lest fake it) in calling the stretch drive of a $5000 maiden claiming race.

One pet peeve: There's a caller at one of the low level tracks-maybe Mountaineer, I'm not sure--who has a bad habit of breathing into his microphone. Very annoying.

Overlay
05-18-2008, 03:54 AM
As you say, back to the matter. Although I like individual callers with low-key styles, I think emotion can attract or create greater interest than a more understated approach (as long as the enthusiasm isn't viewed as contrived or repetitive). And I don't think you necessarily have to have an idea about how a particular race will be run to do that. Just "go with the flow" and describe what you see. (Instead of having an idea how a specific race will turn out, I think an announcer should have been around racing long enough to have some knowledge of its "norms" and a historical perspective about it, in order to know what's worth getting excited about and what isn't.)

JustRalph
05-18-2008, 04:32 AM
doesn't really matter to me, but I'm always impressed with the ability of announcer to be enthusiastic (or at lest fake it) in calling the stretch drive of a $5000 maiden claiming race.

One pet peeve: There's a caller at one of the low level tracks-maybe Mountaineer, I'm not sure--who has a bad habit of breathing into his microphone. Very annoying.

Well Send him a PM, or wait for him to read this thread. He is a member here. I think he might just have a new microphone.........it sounds much better lately and it appears to be much more sensitive. I noticed it a few days ago............:ThmbUp:

bigmack
05-18-2008, 04:57 AM
Just "go with the flow" and describe what you see.
Some do. Most don't.

Is it fair to ask that they have, and/or show little in the way of a hint of their own expection of the race?

As their audience is primarly "within reach" chalk becomes "Yippie Kay-yay" No?

KMS
05-18-2008, 06:25 AM
Well Send him a PM, or wait for him to read this thread. He is a member here. I think he might just have a new microphone.........it sounds much better lately and it appears to be much more sensitive. I noticed it a few days ago............:ThmbUp:

Well I certainly didn't mean to embarass him. He does a good job, that was just something I noticed.

wonatthewire1
05-18-2008, 08:54 AM
doesn't really matter to me, but I'm always impressed with the ability of announcer to be enthusiastic (or at lest fake it) in calling the stretch drive of a $5000 maiden claiming race.

The guy at Arlington does a good job with the calls - even with the 6 horse fields

Bubbles
05-18-2008, 08:56 AM
The guy at Arlington does a good job with the calls - even with the 6 horse fieldsAnd the REALLY annoying artificial crowd noise, too! :faint:

TravisVOX
05-18-2008, 09:10 AM
Understanding the shape of race, or knowing potential race scenarios, in my opinion, is crucial to making a good race call.

I truly enjoy to handicap, and when I'm calling a race, I employ the same tactics I do to a field when handicapping. I typically chart-out the likely pace scenario: Who is the early speed? Who are the pressers? Mid-packers? Closers?

If the race looks extremely speedy, I'll go over my notebook and the sayings I have for such scenarios just in case. Often times I forget to use them, never use them, or have no reason to use them, but they're there just in case.

Yesterday we had a turf race for fillies/mares and it featured two really classy horses amongst the LA-bred ranks. I had a few phrases jotted down in anticipation of a stretch battle between them. It never materialized, I never used them, but they were there if need-be. I find that if I don't write stuff down, my calls can become rather stale in terms of vocabulary and expressions.

Race calling has shifted from being an objective relay of the facts to a more dramatic representation of the events on the track. I think it's evolved for the better... and it's a lot of fun!

Peter Berry
05-18-2008, 02:06 PM
doesn't really matter to me, but I'm always impressed with the ability of announcer to be enthusiastic (or at lest fake it) in calling the stretch drive of a $5000 maiden claiming race.

One pet peeve: There's a caller at one of the low level tracks-maybe Mountaineer, I'm not sure--who has a bad habit of breathing into his microphone. Very annoying.

Rest assured, it's more annoying to me than anyone else. We are working on it. It seems to have become worse since I switched to double IPAs.

saratoga guy
05-18-2008, 04:11 PM
Baltimore Sun profiled Dave Rodman this week and Rodman told a funny story about working on audition tapes:

He also realized that betting on and calling the same race doesn't make for a good mix. "Generally, I would have placed a bet on the race, and I'd get more interested in that. So it was like 'They're off!' and then I didn't get too far."

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bal-voice0516,0,5665512.story

toetoe
05-18-2008, 05:48 PM
Whomever Toetoe likes
Toetoe bets,
And Little mack,
Little Toetoe
Likes (2).

Make up your PIX-IX TIX
Sans Jeff Metz.
Resign yourself,
Re-Klein yourself.
I'm through.

toetoe
05-18-2008, 05:50 PM
mack, don't disclude:

Elliott Spitzer --- wants an outcome;

Valley Girl --- wants an income.

bigmack
05-18-2008, 05:55 PM
Rest assured, it's more annoying to me than anyone else. We are working on it. It seems to have become worse since I switched to double IPAs.
I assume you guys have tried these.

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u70/macktime/5_18_08_14_54_11.png

Peter Berry
05-18-2008, 07:26 PM
I assume you guys have tried these.

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u70/macktime/5_18_08_14_54_11.png

We have tried everything. It must be me.

bigmack
05-18-2008, 08:07 PM
We have tried everything. It must be me.
The good news is that some find it fetching.

Woman I know hears your voice & between the accent & the heavy breathing becomes amorous. With little reluctance I comply.

4ish, LeftCoast time, I give her a call & say "Peter" is on.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, thanks. :cool:

Peter Berry
05-18-2008, 08:37 PM
The good news is that some find it fetching.

Woman I know hears your voice & between the accent & the heavy breathing becomes amorous. With little reluctance I comply.

4ish, LeftCoast time, I give her a call & say "Peter" is on.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, thanks. :cool:

I think I've just been Punked.

toetoe
05-18-2008, 08:39 PM
Gott lieb, mein herr ? :p

lilmegahertz
05-18-2008, 08:48 PM
"Scrappy T blew the turn!!!" Way to call it Tom D. I really like the way Tom calls them. I'm trying to remember who it was that said he calls each race like the Kentucky Derby. Even if a 5,000 maiden claimer, for that race, it is that horses', owners, trainers, jockey's Kentucky Derby no matter the price. All races should be called with awe.

TravisVOX
05-18-2008, 08:56 PM
"Scrappy T blew the turn!!!" Way to call it Tom D. I really like the way Tom calls them. I'm trying to remember who it was that said he calls each race like the Kentucky Derby. Even if a 5,000 maiden claimer, for that race, it is that horses', owners, trainers, jockey's Kentucky Derby no matter the price. All races should be called with awe.

I think it's a very fine line. Very fine. $5k races are very important to those that bet on them, and those who are racing in them. However, they're not worthy of the excitement level of a Kentucky Derby. Not to say the call should sound lame or boring or non-thrilling, but rather, more appropriately represented.

It's kinda like imagining Chic Anderson using his famous line "moving like a tremendous machine" every time a horse had a big lead. That would be a bit much, no?

rastajenk
05-18-2008, 08:56 PM
The Tampa guy can make bottom level claimers into the most important sports thing going on at that very moment.

Shenanigans
05-18-2008, 09:04 PM
Terry Wallace does a great job at Oaklawn. He can get pretty enthusiastic. Durkin is pretty good for the broadcasted races.

lilmegahertz
05-18-2008, 09:35 PM
Yes, but announcers should not sound as if they are in their pajamas getting ready for bed. They need to instill excitement in any race to spur the moment on. What if it is a child's first trip to the track, say Blue Ribbons Downs. That child needs the excitement to build instead of a ho-hum day. I like my announcers to do it like the old radio days and make me feel the moment in my mind, not by what I just saw on tv....

bigmack
05-18-2008, 09:52 PM
I think I've just been Punked.
Okay, some/most of that was perhaps notional.

I retract my dissent on the Aus accent.

Round these parts, you're AOKmate.

toetoe
05-19-2008, 12:20 PM
mack,

Sir Peter's from Australia ? PHEW !! What a relief !! I thought he might be from South Africa, thereby forcing me to boycott his calls, ya know ? The personal is the political; and did I mention it takes a one-world village to cool a globe, blah, blah ... ? :faint:

Megaswooziekurtz,

I love the pyjama theory --- conjured from whole cloth, no doubt. May I recommend John Piesen ? He will save on at least half of the uniforms bill. :D

Peter Berry
05-20-2008, 06:49 PM
Yes, but announcers should not sound as if they are in their pajamas getting ready for bed. They need to instill excitement in any race to spur the moment on. What if it is a child's first trip to the track, say Blue Ribbons Downs. That child needs the excitement to build instead of a ho-hum day. I like my announcers to do it like the old radio days and make me feel the moment in my mind, not by what I just saw on tv....

Like the old radio days, yes, but more significantly, like the NEW Internet radio days. Before too long, we'll all be driving around listening to live racing in our cars.

JustRalph
05-20-2008, 07:34 PM
Like the old radio days, yes, but more significantly, like the NEW Internet radio days. Before too long, we'll all be driving around listening to live racing in our cars.

too late. They have solved the television problem in a moving car. It will be live TV with a mini dish on the dashboard. Give it a year to hit the street.

http://www.popsci.com/whats-next/article/2008-04/moving-pictures

Peter Berry
05-20-2008, 07:40 PM
too late. They have solved the television problem in a moving car. It will be live TV with a mini dish on the dashboard. Give it a year to hit the street.

http://www.popsci.com/whats-next/article/2008-04/moving-pictures

I have enough trouble avoiding the deer on the roads around here as it is without yet another distraction.

v j stauffer
05-20-2008, 08:31 PM
With little objection, one of the all time greats.

http://www.tvguide.com/images/pgimg/robert-klein1.jpg


Back to the matter:

Stauffer: Expects an outcome
Durkin: Expects an outcome

Totally untrue. Occasionally I hope for an outcome. Most times I haven't capped the race at all. Knowing the players doesn't mean that Tom and I call like we know or expect what's going to happen.

Stauffer: Expects a more accurate post!