Vic Staufer

Originally Posted by eurobounce

Does anyone else get a kick out of him like I do. This dude was cracking me up over the weekend on TVG. Not too crazy about his picks but he is one funny dude.

I love his dedication to our sport, but I think that he is one of the least talented race callers...my personal opinion....his calls are very average from a technical standpoint, and he offers to much post race analysis after the horses cross the wire....his strong suit is the excitement element he adds to the races - which might be the best in the country outside of Durkin, as far as getting you excited in the finish/stretch run of the race...also, I hate announcers who you can tell have premeditated adjectives in place for certain events that may take place, and Vic is bad about that...it ruins it for me when I hear something that you can tell he thought up the night before, like when Surf Cat won a few weeks ago and he sad "Cowabunga Dude!" at the sixteenth pole...horrible...his stretch call in the Whittingham Saturday was the best I've heard from him in a while because you could tell that he was original in describing Lava Man's performance and it just rolled off the tongue..I really enjoyed that call..he need to replicate those types of performances..

Vic has a good sense of humor and is quick-witted, which is helpful for him when on camera, but other than that he is a fairly bad TV personality/commentator....he is too overly opinionated and is a horrible handicapper - and then makes excuses when he loses most of the time....

Best callers: (IMO)

Technical: Trevor Denman - easily the best at this..he calls moves before they happen...great understanding of horses and jockey body language, pace, class, track-play, etc. from gate to wire...

Excitement Component: Tom Durkin - his voice exudes class and prestige, and his stretch calls are so powerful that they emotionally attach you to the race...(although he is not as good as he used to be IMO)..

Most Underated/Unknown: Frank Mirahmadi - This guy is the most talented race caller IMO...he possesses it all...he uses an intelligent vocabulary to describe what is transpiring on the track without over doing it, and his level of excitement with timely adjectives and a raised tone in the stretch is powerful and compelling...On top of that, he is also a very good technical caller, which is far more important to serious horse players than the average racing fan may think.