Durkin to call Belmont

[SharpCat]

Originally Posted by the little guy

He was toiling in the back of the pack. Tom wasn't wrong.

He was not toiling. Stymied or behind a wall of horses would have been more accurate.

[ScottJ]

Originally Posted by PaceAdvantage

He was good...his voice wasn't as strong...but his calls were good...

And those saying his Belmont was bad...how could you tell?

Most of the way down the stretch, the crowd noise was drowning him out...I couldn't hear him at all

Heard Tom's interview with Steve Byk this week and his best comment was along the lines of "anyone who thinks announcing is like riding a bike, you could not be more wrong". Turns out that Tom was calling races into his phone for the last three weeks in order to rehone those skills.

Although Tom wears life well, there had to be some nerves knowing that the world was listening and he could only hope to be the best announcer in the game yet again - an impossible task.

Time wears us all down, including our voices, but Tom's calls yesterday were akin to welcoming an old friend onto the living room sofa to watch a few races. It was quite the gift.

[affirmedny]

Originally Posted by PaceAdvantage

He was good...his voice wasn't as strong...but his calls were good...

And those saying his Belmont was bad...how could you tell?

Most of the way down the stretch, the crowd noise was drowning him out...I couldn't hear him at all

the crowd noise was too loud on every race shown on the main FOX channel

[v j stauffer]

Originally Posted by the little guy

He was toiling in the back of the pack. Tom wasn't wrong.

toil
verb
gerund or present participle: toiling
work extremely hard or incessantly.
"we toiled away"

move slowly and with difficulty.
"she began to toil up the cliff path"

For my money TOM can never be wrong

You on the other hand??

[Spalding No!]

Originally Posted by v j stauffer

toil
verb
gerund or present participle: toiling
work extremely hard or incessantly.
"we toiled away"

move slowly and with difficulty.
"she began to toil up the cliff path"

"Alvarado toiled away from the 5/8s to the 3/8s trying to get Cody's Wish out for a clear run."

"Cody's Wish began to toil looking for room when his early advance was stopped by a wall of horses."

Returning to Pace Advantage posting takes practice; it's not like riding a bike.

[ranchwest]

Originally Posted by v j stauffer

64

Such a young man!

[jimmyb]

I enjoyed hearing him.

[Inner Dirt]

I have to say, at an advanced age coming off a long lay-off he did a damn good job.

[Inner Dirt]

As for the toiling comment, no big deal, my pet peeve has always been improper over use of the phrase "takes command" . If a horse is ridden hard to get the lead and his rivals trailing him are under a stranglehold he is not "taking command." Taking command to me is when a horse goes to the front without being asked and his rivals are hard ridden to keep up.

[v j stauffer]

Originally Posted by Inner Dirt

As for the toiling comment, no big deal, my pet peeve has always been improper over use of the phrase "takes command" . If a horse is ridden hard to get the lead and his rivals trailing him are under a stranglehold he is not "taking command." Taking command to me is when a horse goes to the front without being asked and his rivals are hard ridden to keep up.

I've been guilty of this one. "makes a decisive move" well that move better "decide" something otherwise it can't be decisive. I was stung by that one more than once.

[v j stauffer]

Originally Posted by ranchwest

Such a young man!

I wish my right knee would agree with you. Total replacement looms!

[kyle r]

Durkin was a genius. And he never was appreciated for it in the wider world as he deserved. If the metric was “a long-time retiree off the bench,” he was fine. But the calls were not good. It was another stupid gimmick from the clueless who run, produce, and broadcast the game. And it did Durkin’s legacy no favors.

[PaceAdvantage]

I thought it was a brilliant idea and very much enjoyed getting a chance to hear Durkin call races again. But I'm actually a huge fan of his...I guess that's my problem.

[kyle r]

Race calling is incredibly difficult. The metric you use to judge will obviously influence your opinion and sentimentality soften your stance.

[castaway01]

Originally Posted by kyle r

Durkin was a genius. And he never was appreciated for it in the wider world as he deserved. If the metric was “a long-time retiree off the bench,” he was fine. But the calls were not good. It was another stupid gimmick from the clueless who run, produce, and broadcast the game. And it did Durkin’s legacy no favors.

Actually giving something to the long-time fans is the kind of gimmick they should be doing MORE of, not less. Durkin's 1000 famous race calls aren't vanishing because he wasn't great in the 2023 Belmont. Get a clue about how social media and reality work in 2023 before you post such idiocy.