HOW ABOUT WORST ANNOUNCER

[post time]

who do you think is the worst announcer

[46zilzal]

I know the answer to this

[ArlJim78]

Don't know the name, but the guy doing the calls at Indiana Downs is terrible.

[MaTH716]

Battaglia

[Steve 'StatMan']

Uh Oh. Is it time for the Quarterly Pissing Match again? Get out the raincoat and goggles. These Best & Worst Announcer threads tend to bring out the worst, over and over.

[jballscalls]

these threads always scare the crap out of me! good to be unknown :)

[Cardus]

This is mean.

You are hurting the feelings of men who work very hard in order to describe for us, the racing fans, what is happening in the races on which we wager and watch.

[BlueShoe]

Decline to state. Im with Cardus on this one. If it were so easy we all would have been doing it.

[OTM Al]

We haven't had the monthly TVG sucks thread for a while now, so I guess this makes up for it.....

[Dahoss9698]

This is mean.

You are hurting the feelings of men who work very hard in order to describe for us, the racing fans, what is happening in the races on which we wager and watch.

Sharp post

[Tom]

We haven't had the monthly TVG sucks thread for a while now, so I guess this makes up for it.....

You missed it while your were in Baltimore.
A pleasant time was had by all! :D

[iwearpurple]

Here is the winner!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xt5avawQS0

[exiles]

who do you think is the worst announcer


BATAGLIA, by a mile.

[Wickel]

The dude from Tampa Bay leaves a lot to be desired IMO.

[craigbraddick]

The guy at Arapahoe Park has a funny accent. Must be one of those foreigners from England or such like....

Craig

[wisconsin]

The guy at Arapahoe Park has a funny accent. Must be one of those foreigners from England or such like....

Craig

:lol: :lol: :lol: Craig, you crack me up! Did you hear the one about the QH announcer who went to England to call the 'chasers home?

[craigbraddick]

If he was as bad as I was when I started calling the Quarters, he will be more winded at the end of it than the horses who have just steeplechased three miles in the mud!!

Craig

[sandpit]

Here is the winner!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xt5avawQS0

Wow...that is horrible!

[thespaah]

I'm not going there either.
Calling races is not easy. I have done it into a tape recorder without using a program because at one time I thought about a career calling races. It took me a while to just get beyond sounding like an idiot. We all have our favorites and non-favs. I do as well.
I'll go with "no comment".

[turfnsport]

Here is the winner!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xt5avawQS0

There they go.....Wow!

That's just classic.

[craigbraddick]

I'm not going there either.
Calling races is not easy. I have done it into a tape recorder without using a program because at one time I thought about a career calling races. It took me a while to just get beyond sounding like an idiot. We all have our favorites and non-favs. I do as well.
I'll go with "no comment".

One of the hard things about racecalling is there is no perfect way to do it. But there are some fundamentals that one has to obtain to get beyond a certain stage and even when one has got to that stage, there are still many upward steps to climb and of course they are different for everyone.

I never stop learning from my calls. But I have found the curve quite steep. I do not even like listening to myself from a few months ago as I see things when I look back that I overlooked that I catch on a regular basis today.

I am by no means at the top of the game (though I think one day I will be) but I feel one can never do enough to get better at the job.

Craig

[Stillriledup]

The worst announcers are the guys who make the most mistakes and have incredibly annoying voices. If you're accurate and don't have a 'crazy sounding' voice that might rub people the wrong way, than i think you're probably NOT in the bottom 5.

[thespaah]

One of the hard things about racecalling is there is no perfect way to do it. But there are some fundamentals that one has to obtain to get beyond a certain stage and even when one has got to that stage, there are still many upward steps to climb and of course they are different for everyone.

I never stop learning from my calls. But I have found the curve quite steep. I do not even like listening to myself from a few months ago as I see things when I look back that I overlooked that I catch on a regular basis today.

I am by no means at the top of the game (though I think one day I will be) but I feel one can never do enough to get better at the job.

Craig
Just had a look at your website.
You announce all over the place, aren't you?
Anyway, there are likes and dislikes. I could list the things I do not care for regarding certain announcers. That in and of itself would be better than outright criticism or of course coming right out and saying "this guy sucks".
If someone asked me a direct question, "what do you think of this guy?", I'd tell them my opinion.
Good luck out there!!!

[Ian Meyers]

Don't know the name, but the guy doing the calls at Indiana Downs is terrible.


John Bothe. Former Meadowlands announcer. Just found out he's the same John Bothe that did the weather on NYC radio station WCBS.

I love that guy. :ThmbUp:

[Bruddah]

Here is the winner!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xt5avawQS0

Has youtube developed a machine which projects the future? The film clip looked like the Santa Anita meet of 2012. :eek: :(

[Kimsus]

BATAGLIA, by a mile.

I grew to like Battaglia, I think he's very good infact. He has a very distinctive style that cannot be replicated. There are too many guys that sound the same, just because he doesn't have the smoothness of the many 100's of racecallers that many sound the same doesn't mean he's bad by any means. Always like how he can make a horse sound like they have a realistic chance down the stretch when the horse has no chance...Always get a laugh when he does that.

[GaryG]

Sometimes you can tell by the pause that Battaglia is looking at his program to see who the hell is Gaining Ground. Meanwhile the winner is already unsaddled. I guess they have kept him all these years out of respect for his father. John was most responsible for the rise of Latonia.

[Cardus]

Sometimes you can tell by the pause that Battaglia is looking at his program to see who the hell is Gaining Ground. Meanwhile the winner is already unsaddled. I guess they have kept him all these years out of respect for his father. John was most responsible for the rise of Latonia.

Very funny.

[Kimsus]

Racecallers that sound the same are a dime a dozen, Battaglia is a fixture at TP and Kentucky. There are few guys who are as distinctive as he is, he's a pretty good handicapper also and adds good insight there also.

[Ejmenz]

If Dave Johnson had a large bet on a certain race, his attention may not have always been focused on the right horses, you could feel his pain somedays.

Speaking of pain, did anyone see Todd Schrup the day he was nosed out of the pick six and some stranger is in front of him celebrating his 3-1 winner, Todd was crunched up in pain and I think he was muttering being alive to the 6 horse, it was on air, amazingly good TV, I love it when we see emotions in our announcers, race callers or otherwise. (I think this happened 7-8 years ago)

[tzipi]

This ones a bit painful.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjTUf_BkX04

[thespaah]

John Bothe. Former Meadowlands announcer. Just found out he's the same John Bothe that did the weather on NYC radio station WCBS.

I love that guy. :ThmbUp:I think Bothe was or maybe still is calling races at either Indiana Downs or Hoosier Park.
Bothe took over after Tom Durkin was lured away from the Meadowlands by NYRA.

[InsideThePylons-MW]

The back-up announcer at Delta Downs who is calling all the races tonight has to be considered for the award

[Tom]

The one at CD and the one at FL - two HORRIBLE announcers.
Both make race watching almost impossible.

[judd]

roger huston (the meadows harness) gets on your nerves plus he wears 5 rings on each hand !! duh :D

[Bettowin]

Terry Wallace needs to step aside.

[Market Mover]

Sometimes you can tell by the pause that Battaglia is looking at his program to see who the hell is Gaining Ground. Meanwhile the winner is already unsaddled. I guess they have kept him all these years out of respect for his father. John was most responsible for the rise of Latonia.


hahaha!!! This is priceless! "Gaining Ground"...when they're already on the gallopout!

[Market Mover]

The back-up announcer at Delta Downs who is calling all the races tonight has to be considered for the award


I think they pulled him from the stands..when Travis needed a break..

[Edward DeVere]

As I am a kind and gentle soul, I will substitute track names for announcers' names:

Among the majors and mid-majors, Indiana, Oaklawn, Tampa and Turfway are all pretty horrendous.

Tampa gets bonus points, however, for the truly astonishing ability, even among track announcers, to mispronounce the names of horses. Tampa's steel-cage death-match struggles with "Odysseus" are the stuff of legends.

[Bruiser1]

Why pick just one when there are so many to choose from.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FAFwdIdTac

[Trotman]

The guy from Hastings, Tampa Bay Downs and Battaglia are in a class of their own ALL 3 STINK

[tampahorseplayer]

There is no bad announcer, as long as he says my horse is in the front at the wire!

[pdxmike]

I'll never be a battaglia hater and have never understood it. I got into this game from going to the derby starting in about 1982. Hearing "and their off...breaking for the lead (I think he's dropped the "breaking") still brings up old memories and for me is one of the most recognizable phrases in all of sports..
Otherwise, I have no comments about this topic. However, I do find this forum to be
filled with general nastiness, childish
bickering, supreme idiocy, and filled with a
cast of truly miserable characters.
Oops, I guess I stooped to that level.

[Ian Meyers]

I think Bothe was or maybe still is calling races at either Indiana Downs or Hoosier Park.
Bothe took over after Tom Durkin was lured away from the Meadowlands by NYRA.


He' still at IND. I always liked listening to him. Even when he was giving the weather report on WCBS radio in NY. When I hear his voice again at IND I know it's summer.

[v j stauffer]

I'll never be a battaglia hater and have never understood it. I got into this game from going to the derby starting in about 1982. Hearing "and their off...breaking for the lead (I think he's dropped the "breaking") still brings up old memories and for me is one of the most recognizable phrases in all of sports..
Otherwise, I have no comments about this topic. However, I do find this forum to be
filled with general nastiness, childish
bickering, supreme idiocy, and filled with a
cast of truly miserable characters.
Oops, I guess I stooped to that level.

And your point is?

[pdxmike]

And your point is?

ugh, sorry, just that I dont understand the battaglia hating..nor the hating in general that seems so pervasive here...



ps. Your calls are great!:blush:

[thaskalos]

ugh, sorry, just that I dont understand the battaglia hating..nor the hating in general that seems so pervasive here...



ps. Your calls are great!:blush: What "hating in general"? We are like one big, happy family!

[point given]

The one at CD and the one at FL - two HORRIBLE announcers.
Both make race watching almost impossible.

Agreed, Mark Johnston at CD is a bore and annoying. He repeats everything twice, he repeats everything twice, and no need to get his handicapping take from the booth as Jill Byrne is very goodall by herself. I like Becker calling at Keeneland though and wish he would takeover. As it is I mute the CD audio and just watch .

[PaceAdvantage]

ugh, sorry, just that I dont understand the battaglia hating..nor the hating in general that seems so pervasive here...



ps. Your calls are great!:blush:There's no hating...or at the very least, there's an equal amount of loving and hating. Some people love the NYRA, some people hate them.

Some people love TVG and HRTV. Some people hate them.

Some people love D. Wayne Lukas. Some people hate him.

Some people love Zenyatta. Some people love Rachel Alexandra. I don't think there are any of us that hate either horse.

So you see, it's all good. And if not, there are plenty of other horse racing forums on the Intrawebs for you to peruse.

[Robert Goren]

I haven't seen much love for Frank Stronach.:rolleyes:

[WinterTriangle]

This is mean.

You are hurting the feelings of men who work very hard in order to describe for us, the racing fans, what is happening in the races on which we wager and watch.

I agree. I saw the topic, and thought "what is the POINT of this except for somebody who gets their jollies from putting somebody down and therefore gets to feel "above" someone for a moment or two?"

Sheesh.

[headhawg]

I know the answer to thisAnd everything else as well, it seems.

The guy from Tampa is not a favorite of mine that's for sure. And I understand that calling a race is difficult but if it's your job you should try to do it with some proficiency.

[Trotman]

PA I agree with you and thank god we can express ourselves on your forum. Pdx Mike IMO your way off base, the only reason little Mike is prominent in horse racing is because of the old man. He sucks as an announcer but maybe he can handicap,you tell me. But not for one minute are you going to make me think this guy is on a pedestal of some one who's been there, and there are many. The guy's a bum born with a somewhat silver spoon in his mouth. Could screw up a 1 car parade not to mention the call of a race.