Vic Staufer

Originally Posted by Seattleallstar

i think we are all in agreement that Battaglia sucks

No argument here...aside from his annoying voice and cadence, he is another horrible reactor...horses rally passed other horses to the front before he even mentions them....

Originally Posted by Cunningham Racing

I couldn't agree less, but that is your opinion and you're entitled to it..

..When I say technical, I am referring to everything except the glamorous voice and vivid adjectives or anything else that is cosmetic about the race call. A good technical race caller paints the best picture of how the race is unfolding...it takes great forecasting and handicapping ability and Denman is leaps and bounds better at it than Durkin....I've seen several races in New York where a jockey dropped his stick, or there was significant bumping, or a horse was closing from the clouds and Durkin never saw him....

..great example was this year's Wood Memorial..Durkin was so caught up on Keyed Entry and Bob and John walking home in that race that he didn't even mention ONE WORD about Jazil closing until after the wire he yelled "Jazil"...horrible...How can you miss a horse that closes from 20 lengths out of it?..I was hoping he would win to see how Durkin was going to wiggle out of it..LOL.

Denman understands the horses a lot more than Durkin and it shows in his race calls.....Howvere, I do prefer the class and power in Durkin's stretch calls.

As for the fractions, Denman will say them when he feels that they are relavent....Durkin thinks every first quarter is "blistering"..it's hilarious.

As a horse player, I guess I don't value a race caller telling me the fractions unless they matter...i.e. too fast or too slow...I have trained myself to get the fractions off the monitor because they are available to read a few seconds before Durkin says anything - thus he is being redundant half of the time he is saying the fractions anyway....I would rather an announcer be accurate with his call and be able to see things that are about to happen and communicate them fast - instead of reacting late like guys like Tom Durkin and Terry Wallace do most of the time....just my opinion...

Joel when Durkin came up full fledged simulcasting and in house tv screens were not in abundance. back then to accurately call a race for the majority of listeners you had to give fractions. And if you don't think working in fractions is a lot harder than saying "they're going every fast early" you are kidding yourself. I agree that with in house tv's everywhere and full fledged simulcasting all over the country that giving fractional times is not as important as it was, but Trevor has been calling here since the mid 80's and I can remember only getting the call and not the picture back then in college and screaming "why won't this foreign fruitcake give me the fractions?!! "

[Seattleallstar]

Durkin is the best, if anyone disputes this then I dont know anymore. He paints such a vivid picture and tells a story in his race calls, dont know anyone else who can do that.

Kent Desormeaux imploring Real Quiet
Rock of Gibraltar languishing in back
Jerry Bailey has St Liam In hand
War Emblem hes got another gear
Funny Cide the gutsy gelding

a picture is worth a thousand words, this photo is worth 5 million-- I mean whoa who else can come up with that

Originally Posted by Seattleallstar

Durkin is the best, if anyone disputes this then I dont know anymore. He paints such a vivid picture and tells a story in his race calls, dont know anyone else who can do that.

Kent Desormeaux imploring Real Quiet
Rock of Gibraltar languishing in back
Jerry Bailey has St Liam In hand
War Emblem hes got another gear
Funny Cide the gutsy gelding

a picture is worth a thousand words, this photo is worth 5 million-- I mean whoa who else can come up with that

Mike Smith asking Lure for everything he's got!!! AND HES GETTING IT!!!!
Chris McCarron IMMPLLOORRRING Deputy Commander for ONE MORE FURLONG!!!!
Unbridled!!! gets to the front!!! AND WINNNSSSS!!!!!

Compare that to that wing sprouting bull**** with an accent no less.

[Seattleallstar]

ya follow!

That's why this game is great...we all have opinions and we are all right...some like announcers for certain reasons and some like announcers for other reasons...I come from the new school of horse players and I prefer better technical race callers, and I will say this - the struggle of our industry right now is that we haven't been able to adapt and lure in the new school horse players of tomorrow...the NTRA and tracks have struggled miserably with marketing to the next generation of horse players, WHOM EMBRACE TECHNOLOGY.....we don't care about Durkin wasting time telling us fractions because we know that we can read them off the monitor 3 seconds before Durkin announces them....we just wish that Durkin wouldn't misslead people into thinking horses are running a "blistering" pace all of the time when they really are not...when Bishop Court Hill won the Carter wire-to-wire earlier this year, Durkin yelled "and he ran the first quarter in a blistering 22 and 1" and I was thinking to myself "What the hell is he talking about...this pace is VERY moderate for these kind of horses"...and sure enough, he drew away to win gate to wire....horrible call and it is because he doesn't understand racing as well as the likes of Denman, etc.....just my opinion..

Well you have to admit that the wing sprouting nonsense that Trevor uses is as bad as anything in racing. The guy who calls Finger lakes has more dignity than to use a horrible line like that!!!

[Seattleallstar]

damn technology, I care about the quality and detail of a race call. If 22.1 isnt a blistering pace, then I dunno..lol 22.1 in Ny is blistering my friend

Originally Posted by Seattleallstar

Durkin is the best, if anyone disputes this then I dont know anymore. He paints such a vivid picture and tells a story in his race calls, dont know anyone else who can do that.

Kent Desormeaux imploring Real Quiet
Rock of Gibraltar languishing in back
Jerry Bailey has St Liam In hand
War Emblem hes got another gear
Funny Cide the gutsy gelding

a picture is worth a thousand words, this photo is worth 5 million-- I mean whoa who else can come up with that

He is the most exciting...I'm not arguing that point...his adjectives and overall prestige are great and that is why he deserves to call the big races...he adds a very solid, sort-of human interest element..

[Gander]

Lets face it, Durkin use to be a lot better. He is missing horses like Jazil closing in the Wood and he refuses to call photos anymore. In fact he calls that there is a photo finish before the horses even hit the line, in races where there is a clear winner. He did that the other day in a race. The race was won by almost a half length.

He doesnt have the balls to make an assumption on races where any nitwit can see who won. Stoffer and Denman almost always do unless the race is a blanket headbob finish.

I have to agree, I like Durkin's voice better than Denmans, but I agree Denman is a far more astute caller of the game. Maybe its time for Tom to retire and leave his best calls behind them, thats clearly where they are.

As far as Battaglia goes, that guy just simply needs help. Hes an utter mess.

Originally Posted by oracle80

Well you have to admit that the wing sprouting nonsense that Trevor uses is as bad as anything in racing. The guy who calls Finger lakes has more dignity than to use a horrible line like that!!!

Yeah, I'm not a fan of his showboating in the stretch either...plus, I'm not crazy about foreign voices, either...I know Wrona very well from working at FG and while I like Michael a lot, the foriegn voice just has never done it for me..Again, I think the new age horse player and horse racing fan likes guys who are good technical callers and are contemperary with their vocabulary...that is why Frank Mirahmadi is my personal favorite....I don't listen to the rest of them other than Denman because he is precise with his calls from the gate to the stretch..

[Gander]

And "the gutsy gelding" isnt as cheesy as that pizza I just downed? Pleeeasse. Horrible line and so overused and beaten to death.

Originally Posted by Seattleallstar

damn technology, I care about the quality and detail of a race call. If 22.1 isnt a blistering pace, then I dunno..lol 22.1 in Ny is blistering my friend

Not that day on a sealed track for Grade I horses...comon, you know better than that...Anew just went 22 flat this past weekend in the True North and finished like a gorilla in the stretch...Grade I or II sprinters can go 21 seconds all day long...

[Gander]

Thats because he had a bunch of sea monkeys chasing him. Tiger is an utter mess and only won his last race due to a dream set up trip. Even his trainer admitted that 4/5 on his horse was one of the most weird odds hes ever seen on one of his own horses.

Originally Posted by Gander

Thats because he had a bunch of sea monkeys chasing him. Tiger is an utter mess and only won his last race due to a dream set up trip. Even his trainer admitted that 4/5 on his horse was one of the most weird odds hes ever seen on one of his own horses.

I hate to break it to you but 22 and change is not a blistering half mile for top class sprinters and I think I'm in the majority with most analysts when I state that....if I bet a graded stakes horse who carves out the first quarter os a race in 22 and change on a clear lead, I'm doing back flips I'm so happy...

[Suffolk Shippers]

Originally Posted by Seattleallstar

i think we are all in agreement that Battaglia sucks

every race starts with "fooooooooooor the leaaaaaaaaaaad"

[ArlJim78]

Originally Posted by Suffolk Shippers

I think Vic is a great race caller, only behind John Dooley in my eyes. He is sometimes comical on TVG, but when he hosted 58 flat last week, he fell 58 flat on his face. I dont hold it against him though, not his style.

Wow Suffolk you've really got Dooley up there! Above Stauffer? I agree with what some others have said about him personally, he is a great guy, very nice.

But I've got to tell you that for me he is not that far above Battaglia and a few others as a caller. It's not that he doesn't call a fairly accurate race, he does. It's just the corny expressions, the mechanical ennunciation and his nasally voice that really grate on me.

"Earlie Fires partners number 5 Brittle Shins next into the gate"
"The milers meet up with the main track"
"Bronco Billy! is being produced down the center of the track"
so and so is "holding favoritism" at two to one.
plus all of the this's and that's.

Like I said he annoys me but seems like a very genuine and nice guy.

[Suffolk Shippers]

Originally Posted by Gander

And "the gutsy gelding" isnt as cheesy as that pizza I just downed? Pleeeasse. Horrible line and so overused and beaten to death.

might be over used now that Funny Cide has raced 20 times since he used it at the Derby. However, at the time it fit perfectly. Funny Cide toughened up and passed a stubborn Peace Rules AND held off the favorite Empire Maker, a "gutsy" effort for a 12-1 shot, and just adding the point he was a gelding.

Certainly better than Stauffer's "Cowabunga Dude" for Surf Cat three weeks ago, which made little relevant sense to the race and was just plain lame.
And I like Vic, think he is a good caller.

Also, as mentioned before, Larry Collmus who does Monmouth, Suffolk and Aqueduct is very under rated.

[Suffolk Shippers]

Originally Posted by ArlJim78

Wow Suffolk you've really got Dooley up there! Above Stauffer? I agree with what some others have said about him personally, he is a great guy, very nice.

But I've got to tell you that for me he is not that far above Battaglia and a few others as a caller. It's not that he doesn't call a fairly accurate race, he does. It's just the corny expressions, the mechanical ennunciation and his nasally voice that really grate on me.

"Earlie Fires partners number 5 Brittle Shins next into the gate"
"The milers meet up with the main track"
"Bronco Billy! is being produced down the center of the track"
so and so is "holding favoritism" at two to one.
plus all of the this's and that's.

Like I said he annoys me but seems like a very genuine and nice guy.

I guess we just disagree on this one . I will concede he does use some corny expressions and earlier in the thread I did mention his hench for always nothing "and SO and SO WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINS the one o'clock opener".

I must say everyone of the expressions you note above are DEAD ON hahaha and I'm laughing about it. But you forgot, "CD Player HOLDS THE LINE on the front end BUT HERE COMES Saratoga Paperclip rallying on the grandstand side!!!!"

All this Dooley stuff has me laughing now

[Suffolk Shippers]

Originally Posted by Cunningham Racing

No argument here...aside from his annoying voice and cadence, he is another horrible reactor...horses rally passed other horses to the front before he even mentions them....

this isnt accurate. horses put others away by 7 or 8 lengths before Battaglia even mentions that the one doing the passing is rallying or "launching a bid" as Durkin would say