njcurveball |
07-17-2008 09:46 AM |
A good announcer arrives at least an hour before the first race. Most arrive even sooner.
They handicap the card and make notes on who will take the lead, how they think a race will be run, etc.
Around 30 minutes to first post they make note of all the changes and announce them to the crowd. Then they get started on the first race. From about 25 minutes to post to the post parade they practice the call, mark up the program with different colors. Memorize the names and the different silks. Red hat, blue silks, blue hat, red silks, etc.
In between, they have constant interruptions with changes, corrections, stewards asking questions, management calling, promotions needing to be announced, etc.
When the horses hit the track, they start "eyeballing" them. #1 has red and white stripes, #2 has a blue cross. Remember, you cannot call numbers, you need to call names. Relating #1 to Joe's Barbecue and #2 to Joe's Tire Shop is not easy.
As the horses go in the gate they put their "game face" on and practice for the last time. They call the race, announce the prices, and go back on the same schedule for the next race.
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