"Ace Blue will watch those two run away" - Vic Staufer

Originally Posted by SCUDSBROTHER

Trevor(who I don't think even bets.)

This is a false statement...

Also, Vic does show more enthusiasm for the sport than most do and I appreciate that, BUT I here he may be just as much of a prima dona as the rest of them...most of those guys are like jockeys...they are extraordinarily well paid (I believe they are overpaid) and most of them that I know are a little prima dona-ish....I like them, but they do make a lot of money for coming in to work late and never having to do any administrative type work or anything really sophisticated or brain-crunching...just my opinion

Originally Posted by Cunningham Racing

This is a false statement...

Also, Vic does show more enthusiasm for the sport than most do and I appreciate that, BUT I here he may be just as much of a prima dona as the rest of them...most of those guys are like jockeys...they are extraordinarily well paid (I believe they are overpaid) and most of them that I know are a little prima dona-ish....I like them, but they do make a lot of money for coming in to work late and never having to do any administrative type work or anything really sophisticated or brain-crunching...just my opinion

This is interesting. I did not think they would be paid much. I really like Vic. He is good for the sport as a whole. He captivates people that dont know the sport unlike the others. And that can only be good. He may be wrong, and way overdo it, but he is damn exciting.

They all have a gift though. That is not an easy job. Just listen to some of the guys at other tracks like LOne Star. OMG. They are horrible.

[SCUDSBROTHER]

Well,I am just telling ya what Trevor said one time(that he doesn't bet.)I thought it was odd,but that's what he said.

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by SCUDSBROTHER

Well,I am just telling ya what Trevor said one time(that he doesn't bet.)I thought it was odd,but that's what he said.

I don't think he was disputing that part of your statement. I believe you are correct about Trevor not betting. I think he was disputing that Vic would work for very little money.
Speaking of track announcers, they did a feature on Luke Kruytbosch the other day. It's funny how when you see what these announcers look like, they don't look anything like what you would expect. Luke is a big, fat guy and his speaking voice is nothing like his announcing voice. He also seemed like a little kid. He was very animated. They showed him preparing to call a race and he used crayons to color in the silks to help himself remember what colors each jockey had. His personality was like Tom Hank's in the movie "Big". He was like a little kid. His voice is not nearly as low as the voice he uses when he calls races.

[ArlJim78]

Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin

I don't think he was disputing that part of your statement. I believe you are correct about Trevor not betting. I think he was disputing that Vic would work for very little money.
Speaking of track announcers, they did a feature on Luke Kruytbosch the other day. It's funny how when you see what these announcers look like, they don't look anything like what you would expect. Luke is a big, fat guy and his speaking voice is nothing like his announcing voice. He also seemed like a little kid. He was very animated and he used crayons to color in the silks to help himself remember what colors each horse has. His personality was also like Tom Hank's in the movie "Big". He was like a little kid. His voice is not nearly as low as the voice he uses when he calls races.

Where did you see this feature? I would have liked to see what he was like.
I had a feeling that it was nothing like what was in my mind.

[ateamstupid]

Denman sucks.

He might be accurate, but he mispronounces WAY too many names to be calling races nationally.

I'm still trying to figure out who MedagliO d'Oro and Geeacomo are.

Imagine him calling this year's Derby..

"And Barbayro is running away from them! It's Barbayro in the Kentucky Derby!"

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by ArlJim78

Where did you see this feature? I would have liked to see what he was like.
I had a feeling that it was nothing like what was in my mind.

The feature was on TVG the other night. It must be realtively new because this was the first time I had ever seen it. Luke does some great impersonations. He does a great Marv Albert. I didn't know that Luke did impersonations. I knew that Frank Mirahmadi did several impersonations but I did not know that Luke did them too.

Ok OK I just couldnt resist: ARE YOU PEOPLE INSANE?


First off I challenge any of you to memorize 12 horses and there silks , then once you have done that , mix them up every 5 seconds and speak to 10,s of thousands of people. Ok well thats what a track announcer does, I might only announce harness which is 8 horses and the same silks all the time (drivers) but lets put it this way if you never tried it dont critizize . I despise most of durkins calls these days and can say that from a stance that i do what he does and can do what he does but hey take it easy these guys and myslef are doing the best we can and if it aint good enough i offer anyone out there the chance to step up to the mic any night just ask.

[Dunbar]

Originally Posted by Cunningham Racing

Also, Vic does show more enthusiasm for the sport than most do and I appreciate that, BUT I here he may be just as much of a prima dona as the rest of them...most of those guys are like jockeys...they are extraordinarily well paid (I believe they are overpaid) and most of them that I know are a little prima dona-ish....I like them, but they do make a lot of money for coming in to work late and never having to do any administrative type work or anything really sophisticated or brain-crunching...just my opinion

I've always felt the job took incredible skill. Getting a handle on 8-12 horse names in a single race and putting each name with the proper silks would be hard enough, but doing it 9-10 times a day seems extremely difficult to me. Of course, I can't remember the name of a person I met 30 seconds ago, so...

How much is "extraordinarily well paid"?

--Dunbar

[1st_Saturday_in_May]

Reminds me a lot of "Funny Cide has dropped out of it" (or something to that effect) from the 04 JCGC. I was watching the race and just thought to myself, what's this guy talking about, Santos hasnt asked Funny Cide for anything yet. I do appreciate Durkins short lines from big races such as "and Rock Hard Ten begins uncoiling that massive stride of his" and such...

[SCUDSBROTHER]

As far as the statement of "Ace Blue will watch those two run away" goes,I have heard Vic say many times that Lavaman is the best horse around etc.,and so a little "personal expectation" or "bias" towards that horse would probably be a factor.

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by SCUDSBROTHER

As far as the statement of "Ace Blue will watch those two run away" goes,I have heard Vic say many times that Lavaman is the best horse around etc.,and so a little "personal expectation" or "bias" towards that horse would probably be a factor.

I don't think it had much to do with personal expectation. Lava Man blew by Ace Blue at the 3/8 pole. I doubt there was anyone watching the race that thought Ace Blue would come back on after being blown by. I bet even Jerrry Hollendorfer thought the horse was done.
With regard to favorite track announcers, for me it's no contest. My two favorites by far are Vic and Durkin.

[miraja2]

Originally Posted by 1st_Saturday_in_May

I do appreciate Durkins short lines from big races such as "and Rock Hard Ten begins uncoiling that massive stride of his" and such...

Ah yes, from the '04 Preakness. Durkin was great in the entire Triple Crown that year.
"And Smarty Jones is ROUSED TO THE LEAD under journeyman jockey Stewart Elliot!"
"and Birdstone is going to make him it earn it today"

Durkin can be WAY over the top spmetimes (see "Invasor is AWESOME!!") but I'll take him over Vic any day. I guess it really just boils down to personal preference though.

[SentToStud]

Originally Posted by miraja2

Ah yes, from the '04 Preakness. Durkin was great in the entire Triple Crown that year.
"And Smarty Jones is ROUSED TO THE LEAD under journeyman jockey Stewart Elliot!"
"and Birdstone is going to make him it earn it today"

Durkin can be WAY over the top spmetimes (see "Invasor is AWESOME!!") but I'll take him over Vic any day. I guess it really just boils down to personal preference though.

I'd say the California guys are both overrated but also have it harder in some ways.

It's got to be far easier calling 5 and 6 horse fields than fields of 10-12. Stauffer's call was not good, but he was probably trying to come up with something to say in the short field. A better judge of talent, I think, is to compare announcers calling a 12 horse field race.

In any event, I really never listen to an announcer when I am on-track. At home, it is different, because I'm limited in what I can see. So, to me, the most important part of an announcers job, aside from quickly and accurately calling the start, is to let those watching on TV/Internet know what , if anythng, important is happening outside of camera range.

John dooley , Jim dooley , yeah ok if thats it , You know whom I speak of

[Gander]

Hey Tao: What are some of your favorite lines you have used while calling a race?