Trevor no good

[v j stauffer]

Originally Posted by olddaddy

Vic, I noticed some comments about reffing. I know you ump but are you also reffing? The HS level?

I sure do and LOVE it. Yes, High School. Season is just about over now. I've done about 65 games with three more left next week. Hope to get a couple shots in the early rounds of the playoffs but being just a 3rd year man I don't hold out much hope. Many excellent ref's with seniority over me. On to Baseball now. Looking forward to that as well.

[olddaddy]

Originally Posted by v j stauffer

I sure do and LOVE it. Yes, High School. Season is just about over now. I've done about 65 games with three more left next week. Hope to get a couple shots in the early rounds of the playoffs but being just a 3rd year man I don't hold out much hope. Many excellent ref's with seniority over me. On to Baseball now. Looking forward to that as well.

It is a blast, I did girls H.S. for awhile, mainly j.v. games. Father time caught up with me, its for the young guys like you.

[v j stauffer]

Originally Posted by olddaddy

It is a blast, I did girls H.S. for awhile, mainly j.v. games. Father time caught up with me, its for the young guys like you.

He's hot on my heels.

[domino1891]

"Just wait 'till 'mcracehorsecaller' replaces Trevor"

[ubercapper]

Vic, you were always great on pronunciation, as are many other great callers. I know Kurt Becker asks the racing office or trainer if there's any doubt.

There was a horse last week at Santa Anita, filly race, named Alwazabridesmaid. Given it was a filly it was obvious (to me at least) the pronunciation was "Always A Bridesmaid."

In any event, for the entire race the horse was called "Al Was a Bridesmaid."

I know it's California and like many other states there are likely many Bridesmaid's named Al but just the same......

Just thought it was funny. Not trying to pick on Trevor.

BTW, Vic, I don't know if you remember but back in the mid-90's when you were calling Pleasanton and doing the pre-race seminars I did one or two with you and you were fun to work with.

[v j stauffer]

Originally Posted by ubercapper

Vic, you were always great on pronunciation, as are many other great callers. I know Kurt Becker asks the racing office or trainer if there's any doubt.

There was a horse last week at Santa Anita, filly race, named Alwazabridesmaid. Given it was a filly it was obvious (to me at least) the pronunciation was "Always A Bridesmaid."

In any event, for the entire race the horse was called "Al Was a Bridesmaid."

I know it's California and like many other states there are likely many Bridesmaid's named Al but just the same......

Just thought it was funny. Not trying to pick on Trevor.

BTW, Vic, I don't know if you remember but back in the mid-90's when you were calling Pleasanton and doing the pre-race seminars I did one or two with you and you were fun to work with.

Sure I do.

Working on the Fairs were some of the greatest times of my career. Big fun!

[dilanesp]

One thing I think everyone has to remember-- and this is not intended as any slight to Vic or Peter Berry or any other announcer who posts here, because it is a legitimately difficult job-- is that race calling isn't very important.

I am a fan of another sport besides horse racing where people just obsess about announcers-- track and field. My father was, for awhile, the go-to PA announcer in that sport. He announced national championship track meets and big invitational meets throughout the 1960's and 1970's-- he called most of Jim Ryun's famous races when he was the #1 miler in the world, for instance.

The thing is, if you go to any website where track and field is discussed, the fans spend huge amounts of time debating announcers. Here's the thing, though-- these people are knowledgeable fans. NONE of them need a PA announcer. All of them can go to a track meet and know exactly what to look at and when, know how fast the races are going and how far the shot put went, etc.

The same thing with everyone here. Give us a program and saddle cloth numbers and we can figure out what's going on in a horse race, live or on television. Maybe if there's a lousy picture transmission, an announcer will help. But in that situation, what we really need is simply an accurate call. All the flourishes, all the dramatizing, etc.-- none of us need it at all.

I think Vic did a great job calling the races all those years. I remember all the way back to the first time I heard him, calling Waquoit winning the Michigan Mile at the now-defunct Ladbroke DRC race track.

And I think Trevor is very very good. Some other announcers, I like more or less.

But the reality is, if they turned off the PA at the local tracks like Keeneland used to do, I'd still be able to figure things out. Indeed, many of the races I watch on simulcast, I watch without a race call anyway, because the track has the sound off. A Trakus display is much more useful to me than a race call.

I really don't understand why people care so much and obsess about this subject. It really doesn't matter one bit who is calling the races. It's not why any of us love the sport.

[elhelmete]

Originally Posted by dilanesp

I really don't understand why people care so much and obsess about this subject. It really doesn't matter one bit who is calling the races. It's not why any of us love the sport.

It's one reason I love the sport.

One of Vic's strengths, I feel, was he made a day at Hollywood Park feel 'hosted.' It wasn't just the race calls, it was his general demeanor and the way he gave out information woven into the whole day. IMHO it's like when Ernie Harwell or Vin Scully would sign on for a broadcast an hour before the game or whatever. From that time, til the end of the game/races, you were a guest.

When I attend SA in person I get there usually 60-90 minutes before post and I love when Trevor cracks the mic open with his welcome and the changes and the flag and all that, leading up to the calls themselves.

This is in contrast to, say, the movies or pro sports where I feel assaulted by noise and crappy music from minute one.

[jballscalls]

Originally Posted by dilanesp

I really don't understand why people care so much and obsess about this subject. It really doesn't matter one bit who is calling the races. It's not why any of us love the sport.

It's why I love the sport.

I disagree with much of what you're saying but I'm obviously extremely biased. I think a good announcer adds a lot of atmosphere and color to the days events and the broadcast. Just as a bad announcer can take away from that.

I don't like watching races at all in silence. Just doesn't give me the same experience. Never has, even before I was an announcer.

I think the outpouring of love and affection Tom Durkin got during his farewells illustrates just how important his voice was to a generation of racing fans.

[098poi]

The call of the race is an integral part of what makes the sport so exciting. The reality is you don't need the announcer and you don't need to see the race. Just make your bet on Twinspires and wait a few minutes to see if you won or lost. Great sport that would be.

[dilanesp]

Originally Posted by jballscalls

It's why I love the sport.

I disagree with much of what you're saying but I'm obviously extremely biased. I think a good announcer adds a lot of atmosphere and color to the days events and the broadcast. Just as a bad announcer can take away from that.

I don't like watching races at all in silence. Just doesn't give me the same experience. Never has, even before I was an announcer.

I think the outpouring of love and affection Tom Durkin got during his farewells illustrates just how important his voice was to a generation of racing fans.

I don't think Durkin proves what you think it proves. Indeed, Durkin and Denman's heydays coincided with the decline and destruction of the sport.

When the sport was most popular, there were either no calls at all or very basic race callers like Joe Hernandez, Hal Moore, Harry Henson, Fred Capossella, and Jack Drees at most tracks.

I'm not saying Durkin or Denman made the sport less popular, but they clearly didn't make it more popular or arrest its decline.

Somehow in the sport's glory years, it didn't need an announcer to add "atmosphere". (Perhaps similar to baseball's and boxing's glory years where there was a lot less noise at baseball games and boxing matches too.)

[jballscalls]

Originally Posted by dilanesp

I don't think Durkin proves what you think it proves. Indeed, Durkin and Denman's heydays coincided with the decline and destruction of the sport.

When the sport was most popular, there were either no calls at all or very basic race callers like Joe Hernandez, Hal Moore, Harry Henson, Fred Capossella, and Jack Drees at most tracks.

I'm not saying Durkin or Denman made the sport less popular, but they clearly didn't make it more popular or arrest its decline.

Somehow in the sport's glory years, it didn't need an announcer to add "atmosphere". (Perhaps similar to baseball's and boxing's glory years where there was a lot less noise at baseball games and boxing matches too.)

I think you're way off base with these comparisons. expanded gaming and about 3,000 other reasons are to blame for the decline in popularity. You're also comparing times when there wasn't many other options for gaming/sport and there was no internet. Essentially it was a whole different world.

to me it sounds like you just don't like announcers, which is fine, that's your opinion and that's fine. I'd be interested to do a poll amongst horseplayers and race fans on whether they'd prefer an announcer or no announcer.

[EMD4ME]

Originally Posted by jballscalls

It's why I love the sport.

I disagree with much of what you're saying but I'm obviously extremely biased. I think a good announcer adds a lot of atmosphere and color to the days events and the broadcast. Just as a bad announcer can take away from that.

I don't like watching races at all in silence. Just doesn't give me the same experience. Never has, even before I was an announcer.

I think the outpouring of love and affection Tom Durkin got during his farewells illustrates just how important his voice was to a generation of racing fans.

If you bring your girlfriend to the track or a date or a wife or a friend, it is vital that the announcer make things exciting.

Even without those scenarios, it is imperative that an announcer make the place ALIVE. I agree.

[EMD4ME]

Originally Posted by dilanesp

I don't think Durkin proves what you think it proves. Indeed, Durkin and Denman's heydays coincided with the decline and destruction of the sport.

When the sport was most popular, there were either no calls at all or very basic race callers like Joe Hernandez, Hal Moore, Harry Henson, Fred Capossella, and Jack Drees at most tracks.

I'm not saying Durkin or Denman made the sport less popular, but they clearly didn't make it more popular or arrest its decline.

Somehow in the sport's glory years, it didn't need an announcer to add "atmosphere". (Perhaps similar to baseball's and boxing's glory years where there was a lot less noise at baseball games and boxing matches too.)

Oh yeah.... Tom Durkin had zero impact on 'Victory Gallop, a FINAL surge, it's going to be desperately close.....IT's TOOO CLOSE TOOOOO CALLLLL'

yeah, he added nothing to that race.

Could you imagine "name another Joe Shmo' announcer making that call?

It would DEFINATELY take away from the moment

[MJC922]

Announcers are such a personal preference if there ever was one. Certain callers ruin the experience for me, and yet you'll find other folks who actually prefer some of the ones that I mute. To me it's a big deal for some reason, if I don't like the announcer's calls then I wouldn't choose that as a track to follow closely on a daily basis. Vic does a good job, easy to listen to. I'm ok with Collmus. I'm fine with Neuman at Calder, workmanlike. Grew up hearing Ross Morton so I have to mention him as one that I miss. If I'm leaving out names take no offense, some I just can't bear to hear, others aren't coming to mind but then again it's personal preferences anyway. Imbriale NYRA, I'm ok with too. I could listen to Durkin, expert at the job, he just wasn't necessarily a true favorite of mine. Trevor was my absolute favorite years back, seems to get shrill sometimes now though, like that call the other day with Shared belief I backed way off on the volume there. All-time favorite, Jim McGrath.