Stauffer's call of the 6th tonight.

[Rupert Pupkin]

I think people should always try to be polite, even on a message board. Yet I still can't fault Vic in the least bit for his orginal response. I think the first post of this thread was way out of line and very mean spirited. I think Vic's response of "Bite me" was actually a tame response to a very personal attack.

I think it would have been fine if the original post was something to the effect of, "If you listen to Vic's calls very closely, you may be able to pick up that he is paying slightly more attention to Rosario's horses." That would have been fine. It wouldn't have been rude and it wouldn't have been a personal attack. It would have just been an observation. But that wasn't what happened. It was a personal attack and I don't blame Vic for responding, "Bite me."

I think Vic would have responded in a more respectful way if the criticism was given in a respectful way.

Vic is not "thin-skinned" in the least bit. He takes criticism extremely well and he is the first one to poke fun at himself.

Vic is one of the premiere racecallers in the country and Hollywood Park is lucky to have him. I don't care if he has a rooting interest in each race. As others have said, many racecallers are bettors so that means they have a rooting interest in races too. That's just reality. I think that all the racecallers I have heard do a very good job of staying objective in their calls. I think it is only on rare occasions when an announcer tips his hand as to who he is rooting for. Announcers are human. They try to stay objective but they are human. It's the same with newscasters. They try to stay objective but at times you can figure out what political party a newsman is affiliated with. That doesn't mean the newsman is not a great newsman.

By the way, I think the only reason that some people even think they notice a bias in Vic's calls is because they know that Vic is Rosario's agent and they are looking for a bias in his calls. If these people didn't know that Vic was Rosario's agent, I doubt they would notice any bias.

Anyway, I think Vic is doing a great job and it doesn't bother me in the least bit that he is wearing two hats. Vic is a true professional. Even though he doesn't take himself seriously, he takes his work extremely seriously and that is why he is so good at it. He bends over backwards to stay objective in his racecalls and I think he's doing a great job.

Keep up the great work Vic!

[SCUDSBROTHER]

Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin

I think people should always try to be polite, even on a message board. Yet I still can't fault Vic in the least bit for his orginal response. I think the first post of this thread was way out of line and very mean spirited.

It wasn't written with the aforementioned measured tone?

[CSC]

I'm sorry I couldn't read through all 167 posts in this thread needless to say I got the jist of the discussion...what I can only add to this discussion is, I believe Vic is trying to be impartial when calling races that Joel's partakes in and perhaps he is; however as a fan who is watching the races it is hard for me to separate the thought that one of the riders he represents is one he calls regularily in races. To me this has much more to do with what may be perceived rather than what is said, to me I'm not sure even King Soloman would escape this type of microscope and that in itself hinders the watching of the race.

[horseofcourse]

I had zero clue Vic Stauffer was the agent for Joel Rosario until last night when I saw the poll questions on this board. I've watched quite a few HP races this season. Honest to God, I had no clue he was Rosario's agent. I don't watch HP every day, but I have probably listened to over 50 of his calls this season and had no idea of this fact of him being connected to Rosario. Take that for what it's worth. I did have a 100 percent clue that Jeff Van Gundy was Stan Van Gundy's brother. I honestly did not care he did commentary on the NBA finals despite the obvious and complete conflict of interest. It bothered me not at all. Everything you do in life is a freaking conflict of interest. Everything. Every stinking decision you make in life is a conflict of interest if you really look closely into any aspect of your life. End of story. Period. Cool thread. OF course my opinion is meaningless. It does go without saying, that whatever answer Coach Pants gave on this thread is the correct answer. So just refer to that.

[docicu3]

I can't wait for Vic's last call at Hollywood Park only then will we likely see how creative this guy can really be.......

[MaTH716]

Originally Posted by docicu3

I can't wait for Vic's last call at Hollywood Park only then will we likely see how creative this guy can really be.......

Hopefully that doesn't happen for a very long time.

[Chalky]

Whenever I bet Rosario at Hollywood Park, which I do quite often, I damn sure know where my horse stands throughout the race.

Vic is probably human and does concentrate a bit more on Rosario than others, and how could he not? He does have a vested interest in the success of one horse over the others, and like anyone in that situation, you tend to keep an eye on that horse and the trip he's getting.

If people are noticing this, and I believe those who watch Hollywood everyday are, then Hollywood has to make a decision whether or not this is a significant problem. The problem not being Vic, but the problem allowing announcers to be jock's agents.

Others on this forum have rightly alluded to announcers wagering on a race and thereby having a conflict as well. While I agree, it would seem much easier for them to "mask" this conflict, as there allegiance changes from race to race, and is not focused on one jockey (or trainer, for that matter).

And announcers do have lots of friends at the track, especially announcers such as Vic.

So I guess individual tracks have to decide on their own what to do with each of these "conflicts", keeping in mind that many (such as gambling on the races) are not enforceable (the announcer would just have a friend make the wager like jockeys do).

For me, I would not allow the announcer to be a jocks agent as well. I think I would be setting the track, and my announcer, up to criticism. Our sport has enough perceived conflicts surrounding it with the general public.....

[freddymo]

Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin

I think people should always try to be polite, even on a message board. Yet I still can't fault Vic in the least bit for his orginal response. I think the first post of this thread was way out of line and very mean spirited. I think Vic's response of "Bite me" was actually a tame response to a very personal attack.

I think it would have been fine if the original post was something to the effect of, "If you listen to Vic's calls very closely, you may be able to pick up that he is paying slightly more attention to Rosario's horses." That would have been fine. It wouldn't have been rude and it wouldn't have been a personal attack. It would have just been an observation. But that wasn't what happened. It was a personal attack and I don't blame Vic for responding, "Bite me."

I think Vic would have responded in a more respectful way if the criticism was given in a respectful way.

Vic is not "thin-skinned" in the least bit. He takes criticism extremely well and he is the first one to poke fun at himself.

Vic is one of the premiere racecallers in the country and Hollywood Park is lucky to have him. I don't care if he has a rooting interest in each race. As others have said, many racecallers are bettors so that means they have a rooting interest in races too. That's just reality. I think that all the racecallers I have heard do a very good job of staying objective in their calls. I think it is only on rare occasions when an announcer tips his hand as to who he is rooting for. Announcers are human. They try to stay objective but they are human. It's the same with newscasters. They try to stay objective but at times you can figure out what political party a newsman is affiliated with. That doesn't mean the newsman is not a great newsman.

By the way, I think the only reason that some people even think they notice a bias in Vic's calls is because they know that Vic is Rosario's agent and they are looking for a bias in his calls. If these people didn't know that Vic was Rosario's agent, I doubt they would notice any bias.

Anyway, I think Vic is doing a great job and it doesn't bother me in the least bit that he is wearing two hats. Vic is a true professional. Even though he doesn't take himself seriously, he takes his work extremely seriously and that is why he is so good at it. He bends over backwards to stay objective in his racecalls and I think he's doing a great job.

Keep up the great work Vic!

Vic when you get a chance get this guy an autographed picture of you strolling thru the barn area at 5:20 AM with horse KaKa on your shoes. Pupkin will treasure it forever maybe even use it to start the Church of Stauffer. lol

[Bobby Fischer]

Originally Posted by freddymo

Vic when you get a chance get this guy an autographed picture of you strolling thru the barn area at 5:20 AM with horse KaKa on your shoes. Pupkin will treasure it forever maybe even use it to start the Church of Stauffer. lol

lol