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Old 04-05-2021, 10:09 AM   #16
v j stauffer
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By the way, since I know the guy takes a beating on accuracy (and I think accuracy is important!), let me say something nice about Grunder. He truly has a unique voice. It's not cookie cutter. There used to be more announcers who had really unique vocal tones and were associated with specific tracks or circuits- think Harry Henson, or Phil Georgeff, or Trevor Denman.

In the music business, they would say that Grunder was "blessed with a unique instrument". You heard that voice coming out of a speaker anywhere and, love him or hate him, you knew that it was a race at Tampa Bay Downs.

In that sense, Grunder will be hard to replace.
Excellent post. Richard's voice and style allowed us to immediately know it was Tampa Bay Downs. That kind of branding IMO is very important in the very competitive world of race track signals.

I've had the pleasure of knowing Richard for many years. What I've always admired most about him is consistency of character.

Even if it had been years between conversations you'd immediately feel like you were talking every day with him.

A truly unconditionally nice man.

TB has some VERY big shoes to fill. The racing there will never be the same.

I hope he does come back to Oaklawn so I can personally congratulate him on an exemplary career.

Maybe I can get him to call one?
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Old 04-05-2021, 10:24 AM   #17
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That would be awesome...but please, a 12-horse field for the full Grunder effect!

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I hope he does come back to Oaklawn so I can personally congratulate him on an exemplary career.

Maybe I can get him to call one?
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Old 04-05-2021, 11:24 AM   #18
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Only in horse racing would someone that was not very good at his job be lauded. I'll give him credit for being able to keep the job for 37 years with his skillset, must be one hell of a people person.
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Old 04-05-2021, 12:06 PM   #19
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Only in horse racing would someone that was not very good at his job be lauded. I'll give him credit for being able to keep the job for 37 years with his skillset, must be one hell of a people person.
Yeah, I’ve never seen that around here before😂😂
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Old 04-05-2021, 12:39 PM   #20
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Grunder is basically the John Sterling (that's the longtime Yankees radio announcer, for those unaware) of horse racing.

Both have very distinctive voices, held their jobs into old age, are either loved or hated, and often call the race/game as if they forgot to wear their glasses that day.

And of course they've both had 100-year careers, so good for them.
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Old 04-05-2021, 04:32 PM   #21
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Only in horse racing would someone that was not very good at his job be lauded. I'll give him credit for being able to keep the job for 37 years with his skillset, must be one hell of a people person.
CJ -

Don't know if you remember him, but we had Dick Riley on the California Fair circuit for forever...Dick was absolutely the worst race caller in the history of race calling, and he was clueless as to why people were critical of him.

Dick did everything CARF asked of him, morning line, announcing, fan events and he really was one of the nicest guys you would ever meet and maybe Everett Nevin (long-time CARF head) just never had the heart to replace him.

There really isn't any one guy doing the fairs now but back in the day when you heard Riley calling in "deep, deep stretch" you know it was the CA Fair circuit.

Like Grunder, I think after awhile they kind of grow on you...
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Old 04-05-2021, 05:52 PM   #22
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Who is going to be the new guy? Is a long term announcer in place??
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Old 04-05-2021, 06:22 PM   #23
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I'll miss Grunder, I like that classic old-school announcer's voice.
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Old 04-05-2021, 06:27 PM   #24
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CJ -

Don't know if you remember him, but we had Dick Riley on the California Fair circuit for forever...Dick was absolutely the worst race caller in the history of race calling, and he was clueless as to why people were critical of him.

Dick did everything CARF asked of him, morning line, announcing, fan events and he really was one of the nicest guys you would ever meet and maybe Everett Nevin (long-time CARF head) just never had the heart to replace him.

There really isn't any one guy doing the fairs now but back in the day when you heard Riley calling in "deep, deep stretch" you know it was the CA Fair circuit.

Like Grunder, I think after awhile they kind of grow on you...
The one fair Riley didn't call was Ferndale- and Gunnar Friones, the announcer there, made Riley sound like Dave Johnson by comparison.
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Old 04-05-2021, 11:36 PM   #25
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CJ -

Don't know if you remember him, but we had Dick Riley on the California Fair circuit for forever...Dick was absolutely the worst race caller in the history of race calling, and he was clueless as to why people were critical of him.

Dick did everything CARF asked of him, morning line, announcing, fan events and he really was one of the nicest guys you would ever meet and maybe Everett Nevin (long-time CARF head) just never had the heart to replace him.

There really isn't any one guy doing the fairs now but back in the day when you heard Riley calling in "deep, deep stretch" you know it was the CA Fair circuit.

Like Grunder, I think after awhile they kind of grow on you...
That is before my time for sure. I would never hold a fair track to that level, guys are mostly part time, seasonal employees.
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Old 04-05-2021, 11:45 PM   #26
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That is before my time for sure. I would never hold a fair track to that level, guys are mostly part time, seasonal employees.
Also worth remembering that in Dick Riley's day, the races at the California fairs were not being simulcast. Riley was announcing over the loudspeakers to relatively small crowds of people who were there with their families eating cotton candy and barely cared about the races they were seeing.

I don't think anyone really cared whether the announcer was any good. Certainly Tom Durkin style histrionics would have been completely silly in that situation.
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Old 04-05-2021, 11:49 PM   #27
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Certainly Tom Durkin style histrionics would have been completely silly in that situation.
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Old 04-05-2021, 11:50 PM   #28
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Also worth remembering that in Dick Riley's day, the races at the California fairs were not being simulcast. Riley was announcing over the loudspeakers to relatively small crowds of people who were there with their families eating cotton candy and barely cared about the races they were seeing.

I don't think anyone really cared whether the announcer was any good. Certainly Tom Durkin style histrionics would have been completely silly in that situation.
Even at bigger tracks you couldn't really hear the announcers on track very well that I remember. It wasn't until simulcasting that their importance grew. Even in the beginning of that era, many races were run with the sound down so you couldn't hear the feed. We've come a long way.
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Old 04-06-2021, 12:04 AM   #29
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It is a real talent to do race calling which also requires studying the entries/names and concentration during the course of the race. Only a select few have the talent to do it. Personally, I am not critical of race callers, but I do like a voice that resonates kindly to my ears. With that said, I just love to hear Kurt Becker of Keeneland. Just my opinion.
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Old 04-06-2021, 02:14 PM   #30
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Even at bigger tracks you couldn't really hear the announcers on track very well that I remember. It wasn't until simulcasting that their importance grew. Even in the beginning of that era, many races were run with the sound down so you couldn't hear the feed. We've come a long way.
My recollection was that you could hear the announcer in the early stages in the race, but not after the horses turned for home and the crowd started roaring. So you could argue that an announcer who was accurate in the early stages in the race added some value; dramatic stretch calls, on the other hand, were unnecessary in that era (and if you listen to recordings of old announcers like Joe Hernandez and Fred Capossela, they rarely did them).
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