Mark Johnson's Derby Call

[Producer]

For all the complaints you guys have about this guy and his accent, his derby call was spot on and he didn't miss a beat.

I don't care what kind of accent you have. As long as you call all the proper horses at the proper time and can identify a horse taking the lead before they are 3 lengths in front, I'm happy.

I loved Durkin in his prime and some of the other great American race callers of the past. But I'm sorry guys the overseas race callers are far superior when it comes to calling a race with a big field.

[v j stauffer]

For all the complaints you guys have about this guy and his accent, his derby call was spot on and he didn't miss a beat.

I don't care what kind of accent you have. As long as you call all the proper horses at the proper time and can identify a horse taking the lead before they are 3 lengths in front, I'm happy.

I loved Durkin in his prime and some of the other great American race callers of the past. But I'm sorry guys the overseas race callers are far superior when it comes to calling a race with a big field.

Thought both Mark and Larry's calls were superb. Totally disagree about oversees callers being superior at calling full fields. They just do it more often. I can give you the name of 10 or more yanks that could slay those fields as good or better than our european conterparts.

[PhantomOnTour]

I only hear the call until they hit the final turn...then it's bedlam wherever I'm at.

[senortout]

While discussing the qualities of the two calls, might it be fair to ask NBC to assure Mr.Collmus can be heard above the din next time?
(Do a sound level check)

With only a little concentration, it was my belief at the time, that I had a choice of which caller to listen to, and thus, heard neither all that well!

Did others have this problem as well?

[Robert Goren]

I can not stand Johnson. Thank God for NBC. I would like to play CD because of their takeout, but Johnson drives me away.:bang:

[stuball]

The crowd noise was terrible overwhelming the race calls....they must have some setting for that. I could barely hear what they were sayin.

stuball

[Tom]

Audio for the "hats" was high quality.
What else matters?

[onefast99]

I can not stand Johnson. Thank God for NBC. I would like to play CD because of their takeout, but Johnson drives me away.:bang:
I didn't play CD either because Mccloones was out of clam chowder.

[Cardus]

I can not stand Johnson. Thank God for NBC. I would like to play CD because of their takeout, but Johnson drives me away.:bang:

I understand the concept of "personal preferences," but this is ridiculous. (Unless you're joking, of course.)

[Immanuel Kant]

I can not stand Johnson. Thank God for NBC. I would like to play CD because of their takeout, but Johnson drives me away.:bang:

I laughed out loud!...many thanks!

[Peter Berry]

Thought both Mark and Larry's calls were superb. Totally disagree about oversees callers being superior at calling full fields. They just do it more often. I can give you the name of 10 or more yanks that could slay those fields as good or better than our european conterparts.

I came up with six. Whom am I missing?

[Greyfox]

I can give you the name of 10 or more yanks that could slay those fields as good or better than our european conterparts.

There are a lot of good announcers in the U.S. including yourself.

But no one in the World calls a better race than

Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen.

They call the Tour de France bicycle race.

[Grits]

There are a lot of good announcers in the U.S. including yourself.

But no one in the World calls a better race than

Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen.

They call the Tour de France bicycle race.

Are they on steroids and EPO, too?

[Greyfox]

Are they on steroids and EPO, too?

:lol: Ritalin. ;)

[thaskalos]

Thought both Mark and Larry's calls were superb. Totally disagree about oversees callers being superior at calling full fields. They just do it more often. I can give you the name of 10 or more yanks that could slay those fields as good or better than our european conterparts.
TEN (or more?) American race announcers as good (or better) than THIS?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Em-PsEhVlLU

A clear exaggeration, IMO!

[Peter Berry]

TEN (or more?) American race announcers as good (or better) than THIS?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Em-PsEhVlLU

A clear exaggeration, IMO!

Probably not fair to throw Greg Miles into the mix. He's in a class by himself.

[thaskalos]

Probably not fair to throw Greg Miles into the mix. He's in a class by himself.
No doubt about it!

The entire field turning for home all bunched up...and no hesitation at all in his voice! :ThmbUp:

[andymays]

Michael Wrona is the best. I hope he gets a chance in the national spotlight. He's way better than Denman. Not even close.

As far as Johnson goes he's not inspiring in my opinion.

[MickJ26]

I happen to like Mr. Johnson. I enjoy his pre-race analysis and his excitement isn't contrived. Then again, I'm usually in the minority.

[Grits]

I happen to like Mr. Johnson. I enjoy his pre-race analysis and his excitement isn't contrived. Then again, I'm usually in the minority.

I like his work as well, think he's doing a fine job at Churchill. He's a good racecaller. I like him a lot.

[Marlin]

For all the complaints you guys have about this guy and his accent, his derby call was spot on and he didn't miss a beat.

I don't care what kind of accent you have. As long as you call all the proper horses at the proper time and can identify a horse taking the lead before they are 3 lengths in front, I'm happy.

I loved Durkin in his prime and some of the other great American race callers of the past. But I'm sorry guys the overseas race callers are far superior when it comes to calling a race with a big field.His call was decent. However after listening to both back to back, Larry's was clearly superior. It was by far more descriptive and at no time felt rushed. Mark tried to rush a tad and lost some for it. It has nothing to do with accents but Larry is far more polished. MJ's wasn't bad. JMHO

[point given]

I happen to like Mr. Johnson. I enjoy his pre-race analysis and his excitement isn't contrived. Then again, I'm usually in the minority.

I find that he is over the top in many of his race calls. Besides that I find him irritating in handicapping, and his prattle with a couple of minutes to post when i am still formulating and punching my bets in. I also don't care for a caller to name each horse going into the gate unless there is a problem. I prefer a caller like Durkin or Becker who are out of the way and not so egotistacleWhy dont race callers introduce the horses in the post parade anymore, just stakes races now thats when i want the audio cue to look up and see the horses not getting in the gate. I mute Johnson til the gates open and at times get shut out of bets at CD because of my dislike of Johnson.and the muting

[craigbraddick]

I find that he is over the top in many of his race calls. Besides that I find him irritating in handicapping, and his prattle with a couple of minutes to post when i am still formulating and punching my bets in. I also don't care for a caller to name each horse going into the gate unless there is a problem. I prefer a caller like Durkin or Becker who are out of the way and not so egotistacleWhy dont race callers introduce the horses in the post parade anymore, just stakes races now thats when i want the audio cue to look up and see the horses not getting in the gate. I mute Johnson til the gates open and at times get shut out of bets at CD because of my dislike of Johnson.and the muting


Hi Point Given:

I think doing the post parade is something some tracks dispensed with because they didn't want their horseplayers to be distracted when handicapping. On the other hand, some tracks like it because at least the owner, trainer and the horse get a mention and there are callers out there who DONT' get the through the field so it might be the only call the horse gets all day! :)

Also different tracks expect different things. Evidently CD is ok with Johnson talking as much as he does. I know at Arapahoe I could talk all I want but other tracks want the more understated style, including Yavapai.

But, I do not see a problem of talking the horses into the gates. I personally think we should call all the horses over the line as well but that is not something that seems to be popular in the USA.

Craig

[MickJ26]

Actually, in the Kentucky Oaks, Mark talked me into using St. John's River, who I hadn't planned on using and I hit the exacta. Sometimes they get them right, sometimes they don't. I also like the fact that he mentions the jocks names during his race calls. He's no Becker or Stauffer, certainly no Durkin, nonetheless I find his calls enjoyable. After listening to Denman and Wrona for twenty years, I don't mind the accent.

[v j stauffer]

Larry Collmus

Tom Durkin

Frank Mirahmadi

Kurt Becker ! (he could call a 50 horse field) amazing memorization skills

John Dooley

Bill Downes

Michael Chamberlain

Travis Stone

Dave Rodman

Moi

[duncan04]

Larry Collmus

Tom Durkin

Frank Mirahmadi

Kurt Becker ! (he could call a 50 horse field) amazing memorization skills

John Dooley

Bill Downes

Michael Chamberlain

Travis Stone

Dave Rodman

Moi


Great list!! All great announcers!! :ThmbUp:

[Peter Berry]

Larry Collmus

Tom Durkin

Frank Mirahmadi

Kurt Becker ! (he could call a 50 horse field) amazing memorization skills

John Dooley

Bill Downes

Michael Chamberlain

Travis Stone

Dave Rodman

Moi

Top-notch list. I'd add a couple of others, come to think of it. For the life of me I don't understand why there are no U.S. race callers working in foreign countries.

[v j stauffer]

Top-notch list. I'd add a couple of others, come to think of it. For the life of me I don't understand why there are no U.S. race callers working in foreign countries.

I would love to try it. I briefly explored shopping myself in Australia. Thought a North American style call might play there not unlike European calls are embraced here. Never really followed up because that was about the time I started working for Rosario.

[Stillriledup]

Larry Collmus

Tom Durkin

Michael Wrona

Frank Mirahmadi

Kurt Becker ! (he could call a 50 horse field) amazing memorization skills

John Dooley

Bill Downes

Michael Chamberlain

Travis Stone

Dave Rodman

Moi


Fixed that for ya! :ThmbUp:

[v j stauffer]

Fixed that for ya! :ThmbUp:

Riles. We were listing American racecallers that I felt could do a great job calling the huge fields in Europe.

I didn't list Wrona, Peter Berry, Trevor Denman, Craig Braddick, Mark Johnson or Robert Geller, all terrific callers, because their roots are overseas.

Quit messin with my lists ;)

[davefulche]

Dave Rodman doesn't get many accolades but I think does a great job. I think part of it is what you are raised on as well.... I am from eastern PA and I enjoy Keith Jones, John Bogar and John Curran.

[v j stauffer]

Dave Rodman doesn't get many accolades but I think does a great job. I think part of it is what you are raised on as well.... I am from eastern PA and I enjoy Keith Jones, John Bogar and John Curran.

I'm a big Keith Jones fan. Terrific caller. Even nicer man. You know Keith's start as a race caller was quite interesting. Chance really. I was the back up announcer at the new Garden State Park in 1985. Ralph Siraco was the announcer. About 6 weeks into the meet I was offered and accepted the announcer's job at Detroit Race Course. Business wasn't too hot at Garden State so they had no intention of spending the $$ to hire a new backup. They posted the opening in the employee lunch room. Keith was the matrix board operator and had never thought of being a race caller. His friends encouraged him to give it a try because of his great pipes. He did and the rest is history.

[RXB]

I'm a big Keith Jones fan. Terrific caller. Even nicer man. You know Keith's start as a race caller was quite interesting. Chance really. I was the back up announcer at the new Garden State Park in 1985. Ralph Siraco was the announcer. About 6 weeks into the meet I was offered and accepted the announcer's job at Detroit Race Course. Business wasn't too hot at Garden State so they had no intention of spending the $$ to hire a new backup. They posted the opening in the employee lunch room. Keith was the matrix board operator and had never thought of being a race caller. His friends encouraged him to give it a try because of his great pipes. He did and the rest is history.

Cool story. I agree that Keith Jones is a very good announcer and I like his understated style.

PS, you were two lengths off on that winning margin in the 2nd race. You're fired.

[Humph]

I happen to like Mr. Johnson. I enjoy his pre-race analysis and his excitement isn't contrived. Then again, I'm usually in the minority.

Compared to other English callers , Mark's style is a tad Americanised ,imo , which probably explains why some people here like him - his style isn't in the dour English tradition ; more colour , without being over-the-top , which some American callers can be , at least to English ears.

I first heard Mark a few years back when he guest-called a race at Suffolk and thought immediately about what the reaction would have been in reverse , an American caller covering races in England. I think the crowd was largely indifferent to Mark , at least I didn't hear anyone cursing him , which I'm sure wouldn't have been the case with an American caller on an English track.

[dkithore]

Thasklos,

That was a wonderful link you provided. I am impressed with the quality of racing in Australia, Melbourne Cup. A great event and the announcer, a class act.

Thank you.

Dkithore

[castaway01]

I'm a big Keith Jones fan. Terrific caller. Even nicer man. You know Keith's start as a race caller was quite interesting. Chance really. I was the back up announcer at the new Garden State Park in 1985. Ralph Siraco was the announcer. About 6 weeks into the meet I was offered and accepted the announcer's job at Detroit Race Course. Business wasn't too hot at Garden State so they had no intention of spending the $$ to hire a new backup. They posted the opening in the employee lunch room. Keith was the matrix board operator and had never thought of being a race caller. His friends encouraged him to give it a try because of his great pipes. He did and the rest is history.

Interesting story about Keith Jones, and definitely agree he's an excellent announcer.

[thaskalos]

Thasklos,

That was a wonderful link you provided. I am impressed with the quality of racing in Australia, Melbourne Cup. A great event and the announcer, a class act.

Thank you.

Dkithore
I don't deserve the credit...another member of this site brought it to my attention a while back...and it has been my favorite ever since.

Listening to Greg Miles call the Melbourne Cup fills me with wonder...

[Black Ruby]

Ils sont partis!

[Stillriledup]

Saviano made a 3 wide move approaching the top of the lane at Churchill in today's finale and the announcer saddled him with the 'travelling powerfully' call.

Saviano was beaten by double digits while being the most uncompetitive horse in the history of horse racing who got a 'powerfully' call at the top of the lane.
:D

The split second the guy said powerfully, the horse came to a complete halt.

:bang:

[v j stauffer]

Saviano made a 3 wide move approaching the top of the lane at Churchill in today's finale and the announcer saddled him with the 'travelling powerfully' call.

Saviano was beaten by double digits while being the most uncompetitive horse in the history of horse racing who got a 'powerfully' call at the top of the lane.
:D

The split second the guy said powerfully, the horse came to a complete halt.

:bang:

I did that yesterday with Marrymeonemoretime. Happens.

[toetoe]

Larry Collmus

Tom Durkin

Frank Mirahmadi

Kurt Becker ! (he could call a 50 horse field) amazing memorization skills

John Dooley

Bill Downes

Michael Chamberlain

Travis Stone

Dave Rodman

Moi



Don't forget Dick Riley.

[toetoe]

I can stand MJ now --- I guess I'm getting accustomed to him. I think it has nothing to do with the accent; maybe just the barking-rich overenthusiasm ... :confused:



Larry did a better job calling the KD, although I don't see why one guy can't do both feeds. Larry picked up the winner sooner, and as part of a smooth progression. Mark called him noticeably later, as I recall. Denman would be all over the winner from the turn, as that's his "bias."

[Stillriledup]

I did that yesterday with Marrymeonemoretime. Happens.

I dont think your call was all that bad, the horse got a great trip, was 5-2 and angled out and loomed. I don't think anyone's gonna want to marry her after that performance, god, that was bad. She just quit in the lane. Hopefully she's 5-2 again next time.

I'm just busting on MJ, the horse did look full of run under a hold, anyone could have messed that one up. I'll bet he won't toss the 'powerfully' word around with cheap claimers anymore, at least not in the near future, that horse made him look bad.

[GARY Z]

Can't believe no one mentioned Vic Stauffer! :jump: :jump:


Clear crisp and most importangtly precise in his race call,inho he
is "neck and neck" with Mr. Durkin.

Maybe I'm losing my hearing but Larry's call didn't genrate
the excitement generated by the above named announcers, which
can produce new fans especially when they are alive
with a potential winner throughout the race.

[Bruddah]

Top-notch list. I'd add a couple of others, come to think of it. For the life of me I don't understand why there are no U.S. race callers working in foreign countries.

Because the Brits and Europeans can't understand the American accent and don't find a need to be "politically correct".

We in the United States will be politically correct in an attempt to enlarge the audience of the Breeder's Cup. I correct myself, the World's Championships. In other words Globalization. :bang:

[cj]

Can't believe no one mentioned Vic Stauffer! :jump: :jump:


Vic did.

[Grognard]

I remember when Collmus did a short stint as the caller at Bay Meadows. He was an unknown back then, of course, may even have been his first gig. I thought he was terrific -- remember having arguments with other regulars who couldn't recognize his talent.

Near the end of that Bay Meadows meet, he had a day when he impersonated a different caller for each of the day's races. This was before the days of simulcasting so I only recognized a few of them, but he nailed the few I did know. I don't follow GP or Mth regularly --- anyone know if he still does this?

[ArlJim78]

I thought it was Mirahmadi who did the impersonations.