Pet Peeves In Racing

[DanG]

Originally Posted by Bruddah

Race callers with British, Austrailian, South African, New Zealand et.al. accents. Those accents totally take away my ability to enjoy the call of the race, because I am always thinking "What the fu*k did he just say?". I am then thrown into catching up, as to what has happened in the race. Totally p*sses me off!! By the time I have figured it out, It's over.

Fortunately for the world typing in a “Mississippi” dialect is still acceptable. (Nothing derogatory meant by singling out the posters location and / or good people of Mississippi btw.) Just criticizing someone for an “accent” when we all have one is a concept I could never wrap my vocal chords around....he said in his best Jersey drawl.

[Bochall]

Hey Bruddah, Amen to that. If I hear another English/Australian/S African accent calling a race that isn't in one of those countries I am gonna hurl! Never been a fan of Denman (I'm a Durkin and Rodman guy). It seems Cali has gone Aussie!.....my other peeve is the lack of an interpretor when interviewing foreign jockeys. I heard a 4min interview with Leparoux (who mumbles) and didn't know a thing he said. Huh? Sacre wha? When Fernando Jara won the Belmont and Dubai WC I literally could not make out a word except for the occasional "horse" and "happy". Do the jocks justice by letting them express themselves in their native tongue. That way we will understand them and they won't come across as being dumb. Ya dig?

[Bruddah]

Originally Posted by DanG

Fortunately for the world typing in a “Mississippi” dialect is still acceptable. (Nothing derogatory meant by singling out the posters location and / or good people of Mississippi btw.) Just criticizing someone for an “accent” when we all have one is a concept I could never wrap my vocal chords around....he said in his best Jersey drawl.

Yeah, I'm sure your Joisy accent would be just as annoying as my Southern drawl if we were calling races. So what say we go to Euro world and call the Arc. Do you think we would annoy the Euro Punters? Eh what old Bean!

[Bruddah]

Originally Posted by Bochall

Hey Bruddah, Amen to that. If I hear another English/Australian/S African accent calling a race that isn't in one of those countries I am gonna hurl! Never been a fan of Denman (I'm a Durkin and Rodman guy). It seems Cali has gone Aussie!.....my other peeve is the lack of an interpretor when interviewing foreign jockeys. I heard a 4min interview with Leparoux (who mumbles) and didn't know a thing he said. Huh? Sacre wha? When Fernando Jara won the Belmont and Dubai WC I literally could not make out a word except for the occasional "horse" and "happy". Do the jocks justice by letting them express themselves in their native tongue. That way we will understand them and they won't come across as being dumb. Ya dig?

I agree, but at least the jockey is not on the public address system calling the race as it develops. Besides, I always like to be at the windows collecting when they interview the jockeys.

[DanG]

Originally Posted by Bruddah

Yeah, I'm sure your Joisy accent would be just as annoying as my Southern drawl if we were calling races. So what say we go to Euro world and call the Arc. Do you think we would annoy the Euro Punters? Eh what old Bean!

Point taken;

That’s the interesting parts of ‘accents’. I never knew I had one until a blind date in California and the girl guessed where I was from in minutes.

[joanied]

Mine....
I'd like American's calling American races!!
too many sprints
synthetic surfaces
having to pay to register just to see video replays or results ect. on too many sites...DRF ect.
interviews with trainers/jockeys that are impossible to understand
not enough paddock coverage
too tight of camera shots during a race...especially at during the stretch run
not enough (if any) advertising on TV via the networks and other popular venues such as Fox TV...one of the best ads they have is the photo finish compared to the buzzer shot ect...should be shown on network TV during primetime...all the good race ads are run on TVG/HRTV...preaching to the chior!
ESPN sucks
for the newbies...not enough info in plain terms they can understand

maybe that's enough...for now

[harcapper]

Originally Posted by TejanoRun

I get annoyed by the photo finish pictures - you see where "they" draw the line, but you don't see where the finish (pole, wire or line) actually emanates from; at some tracks, the mirror is a few feet before or after the actual finish line, but you don't see that in the picture either; sometimes the pic is a reverse image, sometimes not; sometimes the advertising hanging below under the inside rail is just gone from the picture and you ask yourself -at least I do - where did it go, or if it's a reverse, why aren't the letters backwards? Is this the true picture?

Today in the final race at DelMar, I still don't believe the #8 got in front of the #2 for the place.

TR,

To answer your question, you will not see the finish pole wire or line because the photo print is taken from a borderless slide that was produced at the finish. What you are actually viewing when you view a photo are all of the horses at the wire. From nose to tail the entire image is being produced as the horses cross the finish point.

Har

[brdman12]

Mine is watching the odds drop on my horse as it rounds the turn for home...

[v j stauffer]

Mine is whenever you have an argument/discussion with a guy. Especially when they are complaining about something. You always get thier racetrack resume.

" I've been coming to the track for FORTY years"

Really?

You'd think by now you might have learned something.

2nd favorite is the same guy that's been playing forty years and knows the races are fixed.

Really?

You know you're being cheated and have continued to come back?

[OTM Al]

Originally Posted by v j stauffer

Mine is whenever you have an argument/discussion with a guy. Especially when they are complaining about something. You always get thier racetrack resume.

" I've been coming to the track for FORTY years"

Really?

You'd think by now you might have learned something.

2nd favorite is the same guy that's been playing forty years and knows the races are fixed.

Really?

You know you're being cheated and have continued to come back?

Amen. Nothing is more stupifying than a guy who is constantly complaining how everything sucks and everything is fixed and yet he's there day after day sending his money in. There are problems, yes, but the constant drumbeat of negativity get really old

[46zilzal]

Management treating patrons like dirt simply TOLERATING their being there.

I was once using a hand held tape recorder as the previous days races were running making some trip notes on three races. Some Bo-HUNK comes up and tells me "You can't record the races." I explained to him what I ws doing and even played back what I had recorded and then he threatened to kick me out.

I went to the racing office got the rules of racing and then asked him on what page did it say I couldn't make notes in my own tape recorder?

He had no answer.

I used to trade totes with people all over the world and at GGF would go to the clubhouse to find old $100.00 tickets as they were good to trade. I was told that this "trash" belonged to the racing association and I could be kicked out for picking it up. After writing and received notice from the CHRB that just the opposite was true, this idiot had to back down.

The disdain to customers is palpable at times

[46zilzal]

Originally Posted by v j stauffer

Mine is whenever you have an argument/discussion with a guy. Especially when they are complaining about something. You always get thier racetrack resume.

" I've been coming to the track for FORTY years"

Really?

I always respond to that hinting that they never learned a thing past the basics in commenting: "No you came to the track ONE year and just repeated it 39 times."

[46zilzal]

Originally Posted by TejanoRun

I get annoyed by the photo finish pictures - you see where "they" draw the line, but you don't see where the finish (pole, wire or line) actually emanates from; at some tracks, the mirror is a few feet before or after the actual finish line, but you don't see that in the picture either; sometimes the pic is a reverse image, sometimes not; sometimes the advertising hanging below under the inside rail is just gone from the picture and you ask yourself -at least I do - where did it go, or if it's a reverse, why aren't the letters backwards? Is this the true picture?

.

As I have worked two years as a photo finish photographer, that "line" is on the computer screen in the software from the scanning digital photo taken of the entire group of horses. The camera is RIGHT on the line scanning a narrow range continuously as long as one depresses the exposure (much akin to the reverse of the green lighted bar in a xerox machine as it moves across a page as the horses move against a STABLE recording point) You can look up the camera as it is called Finish Lynx and it is standard for horse races, Olympics and other uses

There are targets, PERPENDICULAR to one another on the inner and outer rail. EACH day before the first race goes, we have to run a test shot and those ORANGE TARGETS have to be evenly displayed on the top and bottom of the screen or someone has to go down and recalibrate them.

I have shown many a disgruntled owner the shots and never have had a dispute that could not be verified.

[Bruddah]

Originally Posted by DanG

Point taken;

That’s the interesting parts of ‘accents’. I never knew I had one until a blind date in California and the girl guessed where I was from in minutes.

Yeah, I've heard some blind people say their hearing was much more sensitive because of their condition.

[harcapper]

Originally Posted by v j stauffer

Mine is whenever you have an argument/discussion with a guy. Especially when they are complaining about something. You always get thier racetrack resume.

" I've been coming to the track for FORTY years"

Really?

You'd think by now you might have learned something.

2nd favorite is the same guy that's been playing forty years and knows the races are fixed.

Really?

You know you're being cheated and have continued to come back?

Vic,

It's usually the same guy who tells you that the're fixed right after bragging about his longevity. It's the natural reaction for someone who has not learned enough to build or even retain a bankroll.