Stauffer's call of the 6th tonight.
 

What was by far the most biased call of a race occurred in the 6th tonight at Hollywood. I think Hollywood Park really needs to sit down with Vic S and say "either you are a jockey agent or our announcer....not both".

In the 6th race Approaching the far turn Ellie L (5 horse), ridden by Rosario was beginning to make a move, from that point on all Stauffer did was mention the 5 horse . You would have thought the horse was a 1-5 shot....not a 9-2 shot. But because it was his guy's horse, Stauffer went on and on as the horse moved. It's amazing in a big field that he would do something like that. Especially with a horse who was not going to win (as it turned out the horse on the lead jumped into the rail...so the 5 did get up).

It's really an embarassment to Hollywood Park that they would have a guy who is so biased towards his jock's mounts call the races there. Tonight's pandering to his guy's horse was beyond ridiculous. I guess because Hollywood is on it's way out they really don't care. Hopefully whatever track picks up the dates has an announcer who isn't also a jock's agent.

:rolleyes: Yes, cause no one could recognize she was making a move that would put her in the top two. :rolleyes:

lol, I thought it was funny "Ellie L ducks into the rail and it might of cost her the race"....ya think?

I watched the replay and think your imagining things. First of all, he said "the horse catches the eye" um yeah.... a horse that moves from last to 4th in an eighth of a mile tends to do that.

Second of all, most announcers if they see a horse is on the move, will keep an extra eye on that horse.

Third of all, having watched lots of Hollywood races, when Vic has seen a horse moving like that, no matter who the rider is, he will call that horse and pay extra close attention too it....why, because as the race caller he's telling you "the fan and horseplayer" that the horse has got a big shot.

fourth of all, I've never ragged on an announcer for a call of any kind when i had a winning ticket in my hand. So i'm guessing you weren't rooting for Ellie L.

Vic's the man, i think your just trying to pick a fight or have a bone to pick. just my observations

Interesting take.

Here's mine.

BITE ME

I've been listening for this, and I haven't heard any of it. Fact is that if you watch these animals 4 or 5 days a week, it's not that hard to see who has horse n' who doesn't. The races that seem tough to call would be races like the 5th race. Rosario n' Solis came to the wire together. I think it must be tough for him to seem like he doesn't care which one wins(when, obviously, he does care.) He's doing it really well though. Seems like he can somehow block it out. Even gave Strawberry Tart a big "YES" when she roared past Joel (on Jehan) in the Stakes tonite.

Priceless

Whoa whoa whoa. Looks like someone needs to grow some skin and "class up". Bite me?

I think the point made in the original post is quite valid. There is an obvious conflict of interest here.

The fact that you refuse to "Bigtime" the guy by ignoring or refusing to engage the guy who authored the thread speaks to your fairness and candor. Andy agrees with < 5% of the opinions here and nobody is telling him to be "more chalky corporate" if you want to stay employed with NYRA.

Having a take and not sucking with it, is more important than whether your making a few bucks in the game picking up mounts for a kid who is bright enough to hire you. You entertain me and better yet it's free and I thank you for the smiles you bring to the game which should focus more on entertaining and educating it's fanbase rather than soap boxing to sterilize ever last bit of clever color left in it.....thanks for hanging around here it's just another reason to read the site daily.

I think Jballs explanation and Vic's response were both spot on.

It seems some folks around here are trying to tweak Vic. I'm pretty sure his skin is thicker than most. He can handle himself in an internet exchange (I've witnessed some on other boards). He doesn't need my defending, but this whole bias thing is silly.

When you are a the top of your profession in your half of the country, people are always going to try to knock you down a peg. We have several other race callers on this board that never seem to get "critiqued" like Vic does here.

OK, watched it. I think it was a good catch of a horse making a nice move. He could have mentioned that 3-4 other horses were loosing ground and tiring but what's the point in that?

Objectively, if he had not said anything, objectively that is, we'd be complaining like the call on MTB in the Derby.

Move on....

I actually enjoy Vic's calls and I have defended his rider many times on here. And your points are well taken Bigs. But isnt the fact that there is room to question the relationship at all enough to say that there is a conflict of interest?

And no other announcer bets on races? Of course there's a conflict, but, it doesn't change the outcome of one race and anytime you have one person calling a race with more than one horse, you are bound to hear some biased if only based on how they take in the race.

.

I know it's the internet and all and we all get a little more brave - but would you speak to a customer at the track like that? I'd like to think that Hollywood expects a bit more professionalism.

Its not the gambling aspect. Its business.

And, really, I didnt know anything biased about the call in the 6th race and I really don't notice much of one if at all ever. Thats not the point.

There is room and everyone is allowed to state their opinion. As a horseplayer trying to eek out a profit on a daily basis, that perceived conflict of interest does not affect me in any way.

If I am watching a race in a 3" x 5" box on my computer screen, I want a racecaller to tell me who that is making a move because I may or may not be able to make out the silks or saddle cloth in that tiny box. When I am at the track, I am not a binoculars guy, so I want the dude upstairs (shout out to Richard Grunder :tro: ) to help me out a bit when a horse is making a move 1/4 mile away from my failing naked eyes. The thought of who that jock's agent is or who the racecaller is representing never enters my mind, I just want to know what's going on in the race and I just want to cash tickets.

Exactly. Well put Sightseek.

Question. It may be a dumb question but it is what it is. Can/do jockeys hear the call of the announcer during the race?

Good question. I would think they would be concentrating on what they are doing and if they could hear the track announcer, it would be white noise in the background of what they are trying to accomplish.

They do love to sneak peeks at that big screen in the infield.

I thought the call was fine. Not only did the horse make a gigantic move, but he was the only one really making up any kind of ground. Maybe instead of taking him to task for the call maybe you should give Vic some credit for actually picking up a horse and acknowledging the move that was being made. These are the types of trips that Durkin & Denman have been crucified for missing (in very big races) and picking up way too late. I understand that this wasn't the Kentucky Derby, but it wasn't a 4 horse field either. Like I said, I thought it was a good call that would have been made whether Rosario was on the horse or not.

Vic,

Sorry... While everyone is entitled to the occasional outburst or angry reply, this a very disappointing response from an industry professional given the measured tone of Pete's original post. You are in a slightly awkward position holding book and calling, and acknowledging that there is a race where you occasionally cross the line is only going to win you the understanding of viewers. The above is an Albert Belle-esque antic, and only demonstrates that you recognize you were overly cognizant of Rosario's spot in the race.

Sounds to me like Stonegossard had a few losing tickets on the 6th at Hollywood. Get over it...seriously whining about an announcer's race calls. How many threads do you need to start on the subject?

Really?

Am I the only one here that didn't take Vic's response seriously?

While the original post may have been "measured", it was completely over the top and put forth with the intent to elicit a response from Vic. He got one. I laughed. Apparently you, and others, don't see it that way.

Let's not forget where we are. Vic didn't say bite me in Bloodhorse or on TVG/HRTV, he said it on an internet message board.

I'd prefer to see honesty and emotion here from our "industry professionals", rather than the company line.

^^^^

What Bigs said.

Fireworks on the 3rd of July......I love it! :p

I don't think so. Especially the latter part. Did you watch the race? Rosario's horse is making a huge move and anyone who isn't blind can see it. Did you want him to wait until midstretch before mentioning the horse? Is it a conservative/generic call we're after or one which demonstrates some skill from the caller? What sets Vic ABOVE ALL the other race callers out there is he has a strong sense of setups and ANTICIPATES moves. The dude is uncanny at this.

And for all the times 'Pete' has done NOTHING but **** WITH PEOPLE because he's clueless as to even the basics of the game, here you choose to come to his defense? Very disappointing. Why don't you go back and compare his positive to his negative threads and see where we stand. How about we ENCOURAGE VIC to contribute MORE, since he's got more than a clue, and discourage some of the ****ers that have nothing to contribute but still feel the need to stir **** up?

Typed while in excruciating pain, and after having been up all night, after one of my crowns dislodged, exposing the nerve.

This is not the first time Vic has been accused of this. I'm sure it gets old quickly. I applaud his honest reaction.

It's one thing if you or I had that response, but I think those in the public eye have to be a bit more mindful of their actions. To me, his response said he didn't give a crap what I or you, the customer, think about the product.

"What was by far the most biased call of a race occurred in the 6th tonight at Hollywood. I think Hollywood Park really needs to sit down with Vic S and say "either you are a jockey agent or our announcer....not both".

Steve, don't think this was a "measure tone". Vic has been trashed on this site pretty hard in the past. Given the history of posts towards Vic I think he has complete poetic justice to express himself as he likes. As other have said, it is an internet message board.

I think to say that the more connected you are to racing, the less artistic expression you are allowed, is an uneven balance that goes against the freedon of such a communication vehicle.

TOO COOL! LOL.:D :D :D :D

In this case I'm all right with that.

This thread is ridiculous. The guy recognized the winner on the turn and called the race accordingly. It just happened to be his jock that was on this horse, but he has done it repeatedly with other horses. I watch nearly every race at Hollywood, and to suggest there is a bias is fairly ridiculous. He is over the top with almost every horse that makes a big move, regardless of jock, and his over the top calls is what makes him so good.

And to have issue with his response is probably more ridiculous. He didn't curse, he didn't personally attack anybody, he in a sense made what I think most people took as a joke. To piggyback on what somebody else said, this is an internet message board, he didn't make the comment in a more professional setting. At what point is he allowed to just be himself? If he can't say whatever he feels like on an internet message board, then that is pretty sad.

I completely appreciate Vic's candor and irreverent nature and willingness to interact with race fans here or elsewhere. Whether the call was appropriate or tinged is a matter of perview and debate. But there were better ways to respond and even better ways to tell Pete to get bent.

A few things:

1) I didn't bet the race so had no rooting interest.

2) It was a very good ride by Rosario, so before anyone starts the "I am anti-Rosario" thing, this isnt about him.


Stauffer has done this thing before. But last night's call was really bad. It's great that you watch a lot of Hollywood races and are a big fan of his, but if you listened objectively you would notice how ridiculous the call was.

Shocking reply Vic..really. You are a true professional. Obviously I hit a nerve and am correct. If I was way out of line then you would have come back with a more mature response and not act like a 6 year old.

It's too bad you can't handle criticism. Perhaps behavior like this is why Gulfstream got rid of you. I am not sure if Hollywood is running in the fall, but if they are hopefully they sit you down and get you to stop giving such biased calls. I believe you call another track during the Del Mar meet....some tiny fair which nobody pays attention to.....Rosario won't be there so maybe you can concentrate on the other horses in the race.

I think the other big thing that people fail to see here, is that the horse who "won" the race, wasn't going to win the race, had the 3 not freaked out in the stretch. It was becoming clearer as they neared the finish line that the 3 was going to hold off Rosario's horse and they probably could have gone around again and the 3 would not have been passed. So Stauffer recognized a horse making a move on the turn, but back to the original point of the original poster, he made the horse sould like a 1/5 shot sweeping by everyone like Secretariat.

I think it's a fair issue about having a conflict of interest. Certainly you might be more willing to factor in one role when talking about another. It's a little like NCAA Football Coaches voting in their season ending poll. While not truly the same, USA Today reveals online, the final polls of various NCAA Division I coaches, and the common thing in them is how each coach generally favors and ranks his team higher than they should be ranked showing favoritism to their team, just as Stauffer does at times with Rosario. We get it, of course he's your rider and of course you stand to gain when he wins, but in the matter of professionalism, don't let the two jobs interfere with each other. Keep em separate.

First of all Pete is hardly clueless and perhaps everybit as sharp as you are when it comes to handicapping. Secondly, his comments were fair enough and were hardly inflamatory if Vic had elected to deal with them professionally.
Vic is in a precarious position. I am not aware of any business that would allow such a obviously conflict to continue. Instead of embracing constructive critism,"FATBURGER",Vic choose the juvy approach which is disheartening since he could have used this as an opportunity to tell us all about what his next career will entail when Hollywood gets bulldozed. Perhaps Vic doesn't give a dam as he knows the light at the end of the tunnel isn't shining on him in the cat birds seat calling racings in 2010?

I have always enjoyed Vic as an announcer and think he does a terrific job.

How many other race callers are jockey agents at the track they call ? I am sorry you didnt get the point of my post, I thought I was clear about why I thought the call was biased. This isn't about who is a better announcer. All announcers have their good and bad days. Denman's call when Street Sense won The BC, Durkin's Derby call this year....were less than stellar.

Trust me...if Travis Stone becomes a jock's agent down at La Downs and does the same thing I will post about it as well.

As far as Stauffer having thick skin, read his response to me. The guy has no class and obviously can't handle criticism.

Get over it and stop whining...you sound like a real goober.

Thanks Steve. I didn't think I was attacking him. It's too bad a guy in his position calling for a major track can't handle criticism. I was kind of shocked with his response. I would have thought that a guy who is out in the public calling races for a big meet could handle a race fan's criticism/view on the race. Guess not.....