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09-09-2011, 05:02 PM
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#16
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Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2001
Posts: 6,128
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I like to hear the fractions if they are especially fast or slow. I like the philosophy of calling "expectations vs reality" -- expectations are apparent by the tote board and also the running styles. So I want to know what the favorite is doing even if he is losing. If a supposed front-runner is not in front, I want a comment about that, etc. In other words don't call the race in a vacuum, but call it with "the way it was supposed to go" in mind...
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09-09-2011, 05:48 PM
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#17
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Double Secret Probation
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Luxurious Orient Heights
Posts: 1,293
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sayings
i like when announcers have plenty of schtick. lots of cool sayings and alike. also when they use the hosses name in a punny or funny way. Catch phrases are awesome. i can yell. "now they're all in" at any track around if I need to talk to someone from Boston. This makes the memorable calls. Usually they're in the Big races, but sometimes other calls can stay with you. Red dOg and red neck, red neck and red dog, reed dog and red neck, red neck and red dog, and it's Red Neck !
or And its achenar and padonia, padonia and achenar, etc...
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09-09-2011, 10:56 PM
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#18
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Prefer to be called Dinny
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 221
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I would recommend you work on your accents. Try Australian. Everyone says "and they're off." It's very 1990s. Try yelling "Racing" at the start of the race.
Then it gets a little tricky, because the horses are actually moving. Shift into a bit of a southern drawl and say "for the lead," preferably a bit drawn out. Milk this for at least an eighth of a mile.
If it's a race that starts in front of the stands, mention that the field is "passing beneath the twin spires for the first time." Not every track has twin spires, so check the media guide.
If it's a sprint, tell them "there's a scramble on early." If it's a walkover, this becomes optional.
In the second furlong, fans are going to expect to hear names of horses, and this is where you start to earn your paycheck. Give them names, preferably of horses actually in the race and in their current positional order.
If that seems daunting at first, find the leader. If you can't tell through your binoculars, check the television! Mention facts like the name of the jockey and what colors he is wearing. For example, "Con Errico has Zippy Chippy, in the orange jumpsuit with the prison identification number, on an easy lead."
If you're comfortable with a South African accent, add "out here" whenever you feel like it, either before or after a sentence. This will not work with the southern drawl.
You may want to offer the opening fraction, which should be the first quarter of a mile. At some facilities, this is a crapshoot, but if it does get posted, by all means relay that information. If your track posts time in hundredths of a second, you must convert to fifths. An introductory math course at a local community college is a worthwhile investment to assist with this.
If you ever call harness races, you may feel obligated to actually break down the fractions by quarters. For example, if the first quarter was :28 2/5, and the half mile was :57 3/5, you would have to subtract :28 2/5 from :57 3/5. Only Rainman could actually do this, so just yell out that the second quarter went in anything from 27 to 29 seconds. It sounds better if you add x/5ths to it.
Another way to impress people is to calculate the distance from the last horse to the first horse. For example, "Forego is racing eighth" sounds a bit blah. Tell them that "Forego is eighth, 19 3/4 lengths off the lead." If you are pretty sure the horse is off the camera, don't waste time guessing accurately. Realistically, they aren't paying you enough to do that.
The stretch run is your bread and butter. Rhyming is fun. Try something like "there's a quarter to go at Pimlico," but it's more effective if you insert the name of the track you're actually at. That information is usually located on the front of the program.
Other stretch run catch phrases you might try are things like "and down the stretch they come" or "here they come into the short stretch of the mile run." Don't be shy...combine them! Feel free to use, "Down the short stretch of the mile run they come!" You'll sound like a seasoned professional in no time.
Be original. If a horse has a big lead, say he's moving like a tremendous machine. Why not pretend there's an earthquake in the middle of a call? This can really spice up a blah Wednesday afternoon. Keep people guessing. At the half mile pole of a dirt sprint, throw in something like "they're at the fifth of 12 fences." It keeps the fans on their toes, and makes thing more interesting for you.
I can offer you more advice, but some things you need to learn via experience. Hopefully this gives you a good start. All the best with your career!
Last edited by devilsbag; 09-09-2011 at 10:59 PM.
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09-09-2011, 11:57 PM
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#19
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Track Announcer
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 521
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Brilliant stuff!!!!!
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09-10-2011, 12:05 AM
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#20
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Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Bird Rock
Posts: 16,697
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by devilsbag
Other stretch run catch phrases you might try are things like "and down the stretch they come" or "here they come into the short stretch of the mile run." Don't be shy...combine them! Feel free to use, "Down the short stretch of the mile run they come!" You'll sound like a seasoned professional in no time.
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Nice piece. 
Throw in "let's see..."
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09-10-2011, 12:10 AM
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#21
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Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: florida
Posts: 257
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Excellent ideas and comments. Thank you to all of you who were kind enough to offer a helping hand. I am going to study tapes and try and work on my flow and vocabulary..All of your ideas were great, and I think alittle bit of professionalism and some fun thrown in the mix will do just fine for me 
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09-10-2011, 03:58 AM
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#22
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Veteran
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 2,072
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by thespaah
Then don't read it...Jeez!
You are not the only person on here. This is not a monolithic forum.
'Nuff said to you. No response required.
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Humor.
Get some.
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09-11-2011, 03:56 AM
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#23
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PA Steward
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Del Boca Vista
Posts: 88,933
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Cardus
Humor.
Get some.
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Wait...you were trying to be funny?
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09-11-2011, 03:58 AM
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#24
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Veteran
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 2,072
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by PaceAdvantage
Wait...you were trying to be funny?
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Crazy, ain't it?
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09-11-2011, 08:54 PM
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#25
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 4,670
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by GameTheory
call it "the way it was supposed to go"
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Trevor, is that you?
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09-12-2011, 01:27 AM
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#26
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Registered User
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 667
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Don't get excited unless there is something to get excited about. The call loses its impact when the announcer is screaming as soon as the gate opens. I think a lot of the callers overseas start slow and pick up the pace and really get the adrenalin flowing when they come down the stretch. Of course, if there isn't a close finish, there's no sense carrying on like there is. Each race will have its only tale worth telling. The way you tell the story will keep us interested, be it the race, the horse, the jockey, trainer or owner. The good ones keep us involved and entertained even when our horse is up the track.
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09-12-2011, 02:38 AM
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#27
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clean money
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Maryland
Posts: 23,569
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just a thought
a lot of entertainers, public speakers, comedians, radio men etc...
look to their idols within the field or the masters and they imitate them for practice.
not to copy a style, but some of these guys are good
and then you build your own style
__________________
Preparation. Discipline. Patience. Decisiveness.
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09-12-2011, 11:00 PM
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#28
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Double Secret Probation
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Luxurious Orient Heights
Posts: 1,293
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they've got a lonnnnnggggggg way to go
they should really require the announcers to bet heavily with their own money, and then call the race paying careful attention to whom they bet. Then give a big enthusiastic call if they bet on the winner.....And you can put a ring around Settoncourse....
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09-13-2011, 01:15 AM
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#29
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Registered User
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 4,284
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by eastie
they should really require the announcers to bet heavily with their own money, and then call the race paying careful attention to whom they bet. Then give a big enthusiastic call if they bet on the winner.....And you can put a ring around Settoncourse....
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I did all of that. Except the "bet on the winner" part.
__________________
"Just because she's a hitter and a thief doesn't mean she's not a good woman in all the other places" Mayrose Prizzi
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09-13-2011, 01:20 AM
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#30
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Veteran
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 11,435
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by turninforhome10
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You did not just serve up Craig Ingram as an exemplary racecaller ... didja ?
If he's gonna take announcing lessons, he ...
better get busy !!!
Hakuna matata. It means "no offers."
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