Stauffer's call of the 6th tonight.

[Kasept]

Originally Posted by v j stauffer

Interesting take.

Here's mine.

BITE ME

Vic,

Sorry... While everyone is entitled to the occasional outburst or angry reply, this a very disappointing response from an industry professional given the measured tone of Pete's original post. You are in a slightly awkward position holding book and calling, and acknowledging that there is a race where you occasionally cross the line is only going to win you the understanding of viewers. The above is an Albert Belle-esque antic, and only demonstrates that you recognize you were overly cognizant of Rosario's spot in the race.

[Duvalier]

Sounds to me like Stonegossard had a few losing tickets on the 6th at Hollywood. Get over it...seriously whining about an announcer's race calls. How many threads do you need to start on the subject?

[Bigsmc]

Originally Posted by Kasept

Vic,

Sorry... While everyone is entitled to the occasional outburst or angry reply, this a very disappointing response from an industry professional given the measured tone of Pete's original post. You are in a slightly awkward position holding book and calling, and acknowledging that there is a race where you occasionally cross the line is only going to win you the understanding of viewers. The above is an Albert Belle-esque antic, and only demonstrates that you recognize you were overly cognizant of Rosario's spot in the race.

Really?

Am I the only one here that didn't take Vic's response seriously?

While the original post may have been "measured", it was completely over the top and put forth with the intent to elicit a response from Vic. He got one. I laughed. Apparently you, and others, don't see it that way.

Let's not forget where we are. Vic didn't say bite me in Bloodhorse or on TVG/HRTV, he said it on an internet message board.

I'd prefer to see honesty and emotion here from our "industry professionals", rather than the company line.

[Duvalier]

^^^^

What Bigs said.

[Hickory Hill Hoff]

Fireworks on the 3rd of July......I love it!

[the_fat_man]

Originally Posted by Kasept

Vic,

Sorry... While everyone is entitled to the occasional outburst or angry reply, this a very disappointing response from an industry professional given the measured tone of Pete's original post. You are in a slightly awkward position holding book and calling, and acknowledging that there is a race where you occasionally cross the line is only going to win you the understanding of viewers. The above is an Albert Belle-esque antic, and only demonstrates that you recognize you were overly cognizant of Rosario's spot in the race.

I don't think so. Especially the latter part. Did you watch the race? Rosario's horse is making a huge move and anyone who isn't blind can see it. Did you want him to wait until midstretch before mentioning the horse? Is it a conservative/generic call we're after or one which demonstrates some skill from the caller? What sets Vic ABOVE ALL the other race callers out there is he has a strong sense of setups and ANTICIPATES moves. The dude is uncanny at this.

And for all the times 'Pete' has done NOTHING but **** WITH PEOPLE because he's clueless as to even the basics of the game, here you choose to come to his defense? Very disappointing. Why don't you go back and compare his positive to his negative threads and see where we stand. How about we ENCOURAGE VIC to contribute MORE, since he's got more than a clue, and discourage some of the ****ers that have nothing to contribute but still feel the need to stir **** up?

Typed while in excruciating pain, and after having been up all night, after one of my crowns dislodged, exposing the nerve.

[pgiaco]

This is not the first time Vic has been accused of this. I'm sure it gets old quickly. I applaud his honest reaction.

[Sightseek]

Originally Posted by Bigsmc

Really?

Am I the only one here that didn't take Vic's response seriously?

While the original post may have been "measured", it was completely over the top and put forth with the intent to elicit a response from Vic. He got one. I laughed. Apparently you, and others, don't see it that way.

Let's not forget where we are. Vic didn't say bite me in Bloodhorse or on TVG/HRTV, he said it on an internet message board.

I'd prefer to see honesty and emotion here from our "industry professionals", rather than the company line.

It's one thing if you or I had that response, but I think those in the public eye have to be a bit more mindful of their actions. To me, his response said he didn't give a crap what I or you, the customer, think about the product.

[TheSpyder]

"What was by far the most biased call of a race occurred in the 6th tonight at Hollywood. I think Hollywood Park really needs to sit down with Vic S and say "either you are a jockey agent or our announcer....not both".

Steve, don't think this was a "measure tone". Vic has been trashed on this site pretty hard in the past. Given the history of posts towards Vic I think he has complete poetic justice to express himself as he likes. As other have said, it is an internet message board.

I think to say that the more connected you are to racing, the less artistic expression you are allowed, is an uneven balance that goes against the freedon of such a communication vehicle.

[2Hot4TV]

Originally Posted by v j stauffer

Interesting take.

Here's mine.

BITE ME

TOO COOL! LOL.

[2Hot4TV]

Originally Posted by Sightseek

It's one thing if you or I had that response, but I think those in the public eye have to be a bit more mindful of their actions. To me, his response said he didn't give a crap what I or you, the customer, think about the product.

In this case I'm all right with that.

[tiznowthegreat]

This thread is ridiculous. The guy recognized the winner on the turn and called the race accordingly. It just happened to be his jock that was on this horse, but he has done it repeatedly with other horses. I watch nearly every race at Hollywood, and to suggest there is a bias is fairly ridiculous. He is over the top with almost every horse that makes a big move, regardless of jock, and his over the top calls is what makes him so good.

And to have issue with his response is probably more ridiculous. He didn't curse, he didn't personally attack anybody, he in a sense made what I think most people took as a joke. To piggyback on what somebody else said, this is an internet message board, he didn't make the comment in a more professional setting. At what point is he allowed to just be himself? If he can't say whatever he feels like on an internet message board, then that is pretty sad.

[Kasept]

Originally Posted by the_fat_man

I don't think so. Especially the latter part. Did you watch the race? Rosario's horse is making a huge move and anyone who isn't blind can see it. Did you want him to wait until midstretch before mentioning the horse? Is it a conservative/generic call we're after or one which demonstrates some skill from the caller? What sets Vic ABOVE ALL the other race callers out there is he has a strong sense of setups and ANTICIPATES moves. The dude is uncanny at this.

And for all the times 'Pete' has done NOTHING but **** WITH PEOPLE because he's clueless as to even the basics of the game, here you choose to come to his defense? Very disappointing. Why don't you go back and compare his positive to his negative threads and see where we stand. How about we ENCOURAGE VIC to contribute MORE, since he's got more than a clue, and discourage some of the ****ers that have nothing to contribute but still feel the need to stir **** up?

Typed while in excruciating pain, and after having been up all night, after one of my crowns dislodged, exposing the nerve.

I completely appreciate Vic's candor and irreverent nature and willingness to interact with race fans here or elsewhere. Whether the call was appropriate or tinged is a matter of perview and debate. But there were better ways to respond and even better ways to tell Pete to get bent.

[stonegossard]

Originally Posted by jballscalls

I watched the replay and think your imagining things. First of all, he said "the horse catches the eye" um yeah.... a horse that moves from last to 4th in an eighth of a mile tends to do that.

Second of all, most announcers if they see a horse is on the move, will keep an extra eye on that horse.

Third of all, having watched lots of Hollywood races, when Vic has seen a horse moving like that, no matter who the rider is, he will call that horse and pay extra close attention too it....why, because as the race caller he's telling you "the fan and horseplayer" that the horse has got a big shot.

fourth of all, I've never ragged on an announcer for a call of any kind when i had a winning ticket in my hand. So i'm guessing you weren't rooting for Ellie L.

Vic's the man, i think your just trying to pick a fight or have a bone to pick. just my observations

A few things:

1) I didn't bet the race so had no rooting interest.

2) It was a very good ride by Rosario, so before anyone starts the "I am anti-Rosario" thing, this isnt about him.


Stauffer has done this thing before. But last night's call was really bad. It's great that you watch a lot of Hollywood races and are a big fan of his, but if you listened objectively you would notice how ridiculous the call was.

[stonegossard]

Originally Posted by v j stauffer

Interesting take.

Here's mine.

BITE ME

Shocking reply Vic..really. You are a true professional. Obviously I hit a nerve and am correct. If I was way out of line then you would have come back with a more mature response and not act like a 6 year old.

It's too bad you can't handle criticism. Perhaps behavior like this is why Gulfstream got rid of you. I am not sure if Hollywood is running in the fall, but if they are hopefully they sit you down and get you to stop giving such biased calls. I believe you call another track during the Del Mar meet....some tiny fair which nobody pays attention to.....Rosario won't be there so maybe you can concentrate on the other horses in the race.

[JerseyJ]

I think the other big thing that people fail to see here, is that the horse who "won" the race, wasn't going to win the race, had the 3 not freaked out in the stretch. It was becoming clearer as they neared the finish line that the 3 was going to hold off Rosario's horse and they probably could have gone around again and the 3 would not have been passed. So Stauffer recognized a horse making a move on the turn, but back to the original point of the original poster, he made the horse sould like a 1/5 shot sweeping by everyone like Secretariat.

I think it's a fair issue about having a conflict of interest. Certainly you might be more willing to factor in one role when talking about another. It's a little like NCAA Football Coaches voting in their season ending poll. While not truly the same, USA Today reveals online, the final polls of various NCAA Division I coaches, and the common thing in them is how each coach generally favors and ranks his team higher than they should be ranked showing favoritism to their team, just as Stauffer does at times with Rosario. We get it, of course he's your rider and of course you stand to gain when he wins, but in the matter of professionalism, don't let the two jobs interfere with each other. Keep em separate.

[freddymo]

Originally Posted by the_fat_man

I don't think so. Especially the latter part. Did you watch the race? Rosario's horse is making a huge move and anyone who isn't blind can see it. Did you want him to wait until midstretch before mentioning the horse? Is it a conservative/generic call we're after or one which demonstrates some skill from the caller? What sets Vic ABOVE ALL the other race callers out there is he has a strong sense of setups and ANTICIPATES moves. The dude is uncanny at this.

And for all the times 'Pete' has done NOTHING but **** WITH PEOPLE because he's clueless as to even the basics of the game, here you choose to come to his defense? Very disappointing. Why don't you go back and compare his positive to his negative threads and see where we stand. How about we ENCOURAGE VIC to contribute MORE, since he's got more than a clue, and discourage some of the ****ers that have nothing to contribute but still feel the need to stir **** up?

Typed while in excruciating pain, and after having been up all night, after one of my crowns dislodged, exposing the nerve.

First of all Pete is hardly clueless and perhaps everybit as sharp as you are when it comes to handicapping. Secondly, his comments were fair enough and were hardly inflamatory if Vic had elected to deal with them professionally.
Vic is in a precarious position. I am not aware of any business that would allow such a obviously conflict to continue. Instead of embracing constructive critism,"FATBURGER",Vic choose the juvy approach which is disheartening since he could have used this as an opportunity to tell us all about what his next career will entail when Hollywood gets bulldozed. Perhaps Vic doesn't give a dam as he knows the light at the end of the tunnel isn't shining on him in the cat birds seat calling racings in 2010?

I have always enjoyed Vic as an announcer and think he does a terrific job.

[stonegossard]

Originally Posted by Bigsmc

I think Jballs explanation and Vic's response were both spot on.

It seems some folks around here are trying to tweak Vic. I'm pretty sure his skin is thicker than most. He can handle himself in an internet exchange (I've witnessed some on other boards). He doesn't need my defending, but this whole bias thing is silly.

When you are a the top of your profession in your half of the country, people are always going to try to knock you down a peg. We have several other race callers on this board that never seem to get "critiqued" like Vic does here.

How many other race callers are jockey agents at the track they call ? I am sorry you didnt get the point of my post, I thought I was clear about why I thought the call was biased. This isn't about who is a better announcer. All announcers have their good and bad days. Denman's call when Street Sense won The BC, Durkin's Derby call this year....were less than stellar.

Trust me...if Travis Stone becomes a jock's agent down at La Downs and does the same thing I will post about it as well.

As far as Stauffer having thick skin, read his response to me. The guy has no class and obviously can't handle criticism.

[Duvalier]

Originally Posted by stonegossard

Shocking reply Vic..really. You are a true professional. Obviously I hit a nerve and am correct. If I was way out of line then you would have come back with a more mature response and not act like a 6 year old.

It's too bad you can't handle criticism. Perhaps behavior like this is why Gulfstream got rid of you. I am not sure if Hollywood is running in the fall, but if they are hopefully they sit you down and get you to stop giving such biased calls. I believe you call another track during the Del Mar meet....some tiny fair which nobody pays attention to.....Rosario won't be there so maybe you can concentrate on the other horses in the race.

Get over it and stop whining...you sound like a real goober.

[stonegossard]

Originally Posted by Kasept

Vic,

Sorry... While everyone is entitled to the occasional outburst or angry reply, this a very disappointing response from an industry professional given the measured tone of Pete's original post. You are in a slightly awkward position holding book and calling, and acknowledging that there is a race where you occasionally cross the line is only going to win you the understanding of viewers. The above is an Albert Belle-esque antic, and only demonstrates that you recognize you were overly cognizant of Rosario's spot in the race.

Thanks Steve. I didn't think I was attacking him. It's too bad a guy in his position calling for a major track can't handle criticism. I was kind of shocked with his response. I would have thought that a guy who is out in the public calling races for a big meet could handle a race fan's criticism/view on the race. Guess not.....