Calling races: the legends & laughs
September 24th 2008 05:48
Australia has always been spoilt by a wealth of high quality racecallers. I grew up listening to the incredibly talented Bill Collins - who not only was a great a racecaller - but also a variety show host and all-round entertainer. Renowned as “The Accurate One” he was awarded an Order of Australia Medal for his services to racing.
(photo: the age)
At this same time Melbourne was also blessed with Bert Bryant who had a following (and fan base) equally as great. In a very close finish I would switch from radio 3DB (Collins) to 3UZ (Bryant) to make sure they both agreed on a result. And if they did there was little need to worry - even if the margin was to be a nose. They got it right time after time. Some of Bert Bryant's famous lines include: “hanging like a granny’s tooth”, “a wing on every foot”, “he’ll need a lantern to find the way home” and “covering more territory than Burke and Wills”.
And when changing from Melbourne to Sydney races we could hear the theatrics of the great Ken Howard - and he was so sure of a result that he offered ‘London to a brick on”.
And recently the competence and accuracy of Bryan Martin who retired in 2007 after working with both Bill Collins and Bert Bryant as a junior caller, before taking over the primary role in 1988.
Some older and (very) colourful characters such as the perennial Jack Styring are still continuing to call (in his own unique singsong manner and word pictures: “here he comes with his molars bared to the breeze”) trials and minor meetings - and Jack Styring is included in the Guiness Book Of Records as being the racecaller with the longest sequence of race calls. Already 56 Gunbower Cups - and at only 79 years old likely a few more to come.
But let’s not be too parochial. Sometimes even an Australian caller will get it wrong. It’s no easy task - we have all had difficulty enough just keeping our eye on one or two in a race - let alone remembering a field of 20. And sometimes the weather conditions make it impossible; or the name of the horse brings out the actor in the caller; or we just can’t seem to remember...whatshisname??
Here is an absolute meltdown from Warwick in Queensland in 2007:
And here is another call from the legendary Tom Durkin in the US - who is never (easily) defeated by the elements:
and horse racing (as serious as it can be) can sometimes be hilarious:
Jack Styring - Guinness Book Of Records racecaller
(photo: the age)
At this same time Melbourne was also blessed with Bert Bryant who had a following (and fan base) equally as great. In a very close finish I would switch from radio 3DB (Collins) to 3UZ (Bryant) to make sure they both agreed on a result. And if they did there was little need to worry - even if the margin was to be a nose. They got it right time after time. Some of Bert Bryant's famous lines include: “hanging like a granny’s tooth”, “a wing on every foot”, “he’ll need a lantern to find the way home” and “covering more territory than Burke and Wills”.
And when changing from Melbourne to Sydney races we could hear the theatrics of the great Ken Howard - and he was so sure of a result that he offered ‘London to a brick on”.
And recently the competence and accuracy of Bryan Martin who retired in 2007 after working with both Bill Collins and Bert Bryant as a junior caller, before taking over the primary role in 1988.
Some older and (very) colourful characters such as the perennial Jack Styring are still continuing to call (in his own unique singsong manner and word pictures: “here he comes with his molars bared to the breeze”) trials and minor meetings - and Jack Styring is included in the Guiness Book Of Records as being the racecaller with the longest sequence of race calls. Already 56 Gunbower Cups - and at only 79 years old likely a few more to come.
But let’s not be too parochial. Sometimes even an Australian caller will get it wrong. It’s no easy task - we have all had difficulty enough just keeping our eye on one or two in a race - let alone remembering a field of 20. And sometimes the weather conditions make it impossible; or the name of the horse brings out the actor in the caller; or we just can’t seem to remember...whatshisname??
Here is an absolute meltdown from Warwick in Queensland in 2007:
And here is another call from the legendary Tom Durkin in the US - who is never (easily) defeated by the elements:
and horse racing (as serious as it can be) can sometimes be hilarious:
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