Maybe you don't think the guy who actually calls the races, for NBC, is a real announcer. That would, of course, be denying the truth.

"Larry Collmus ‏@larrycollmus
There may not be a triple crown on the line but it's still the #Belmont Stakes and we're going to have fun tomorrow! @NBCSN"

While it's obviously rare for a Derby-Preakness to not attempt the Triple Crown, it's fairly common in recent years for both the Derby and Preakness winners to fail to show up for the final leg (2000, 2006, 2010, 2012)).

Union Rags or Dullahan would be fine additions to the list of winners based on prior accomplishments.

I know Larry is not only a real announcer. I know he's a great announcer.

He'll do a fantastic job I'm sure.

Listen comrade. If you wanna eat spackle it's your choice.

It's a free country.

Well yours is.

YUCK:p

Vic, what do you make of this Bonde first turfer taking all the money in the 3rd? :)

Ok, so then you are admitting your previous remark, that you no of know "real announcers" who your previous comment, was false.

Have a great night.

Elvis. Sorry I wish I could help. Since becoming a steward I've completely taken off my handicapping shoes.

However since we're pals I asked our PR director Bob Miserski. Excellent handicapper. He thinks the bigger angle is that he's a first time gelding but questions his fight when confornted by other speed types.

Hope that helps.

Ok, so then you are admitting your previous remark, that you no of know "real announcers" who fit your previous comment, was false.

Have a great night.

No. I do not believe that to be false. I stand by my previous comments 100%.

Have a great night. Right back at ya:)

You're the man, Vic - don't let the haters get ya down - awesome job as always this evening :tro:

Is Bob on Twitter?! ;)

No twitter for Bob. Says he posts on facebook though.

i think vic is starting to enjoy this banter.



at least durkin will not have to say something like this...

it's coming down to the wire.....




it's going to be close....









and Paynter wins the Belmont Stakes!!!!

I will attempt to give my understanding of what Vic is saying.

When you reach the upper echelon of any profession you hope that you have the opportunity to do something different than your fellow professionals. Who doesn't want to be remembered for something they did; in this case to a large group of people.

In the US the most watched races seem to be the TC races and the Breeders Cup. In this case it was an opportunity where a horse could win the first TC in 34 years. The chance to say the words forever associated with you and a TC winner. Immortality maybe a stretch but is it really.

You finally settle on a what you will say. This will forever be part of history, viewed a gazillion times on you tube, and surely to be talked about for generations. Do you really remember the call with BB or Barbaro? Will you in 10 more years? I will always remember "a tremendous machine."

Suddenly that potential TC winner is scratched. It is the Belmont, a race always remembered as the one I'll Have Another could have won, but also now easily forgotten.

Professionally you will still call the race and attempt to show emotion, however you also feel that this call will probably be forgotten. You almost touched greatness but instead you are relegated back to reality.

I am off my soap box.

Aloha/Geoff

Tough one, but I think you have to suck it up and you owe it to the fans to go out there and give one helluva call. I'll have another has the perfect name, too. Probably would have said something like, and we'll finally have another triple crown winner. What a huge bummer, the show must go on.

Having been in the grandstand, which was full, experiencing the thrill, and the call...

Vic - you are so wrong and have no idea how wrong you are. Hope others here could share the experience.

I understand why you think I'm wrong. However I think you're losing focus as to the origin of your original shot at me.

As a fan I would TRULY love to have had the opportunity to be part of the cheering 85,000. I so glad you enjoyed that.

What I was speaking to and still am is the extreme sense of deflation I think Tom and Larry must have felt when IHA scratched.

Of course I can only speculate about that. But I sure know how I would have felt if it was me preparing to call potential history.

I would have felt like I had been kicked in the gut.

The race would have changed "for me" from a be all end all opportunity to just another important Grade 1 race. While I would give it my all to do a professional job I'd have had to rally my resolve and pep talk myself to get through the disapointment and produce quality work.

I don't understand why you can't seem to grasp this.

Anyway. Glad you had a great time. I'm jealous. Wish I could have been there. Woulda bought ya a cold one.

Have a good night.

There is no issue in suggesting that it's disappointing there wouldn't be a Triple Crown winner, and that everyone impacted, including the announcers, shared in the disappointment the opportunity wouldn't be present. It just seems so disingenuous to suggest it would be difficult to do your job when your job is to call one of the most prestigious races in the country, with one of the largest audiences of the year. They had a thrilling race, an energetic crowd, and a great result.

And forgetable. I think that is the point. We will all forget the call of this race.

Aloha/Geoff

Disingenuous means that I was not being truthful when I shared my feelings.

I know what MY feelings would have been. I actually felt them without being involved. Why would I share anything that wasn't coming from the heart?

All kinds of things can make some days more difficult than others. A spat with your wife. A kid that's totally underachieving in school. Just feeling lousy.

A professional, which I consider myself, sets that all aside and does his very best especially on super important days like today.

That still doesn't take away the sting of losing a chance at getting to chronicle history.

I wish I had a better way of explaining that to you because you're still not getting what I'm trying to share.

Look you're an announcer and a very good one I might add. Every racecaller has a bucket list of races he'd like to call. What's your number one? Let's say for you it might be the Pennsylvania Derby or maybe the Dubai World Cup. You've known for 3 weeks you're going to have that opportunity then 48 hours before you get the bad news. You're out. You can still call one on the undercard but not the one you've waiting and preparing for. Constantly thinking about. Human nature dictates that you'll have to rally emotionally, stay focused and pep talk yourself into doing the best possible job.

I've called 250 Grade 1 races. While none the stature of the Belmont I've been privlidged to call some greats. There have now been 102 3yo Classics run since the last Triple Crown winner. Of those, 11 horses had a chance to achieve immortality. Those 11 calls were much more important than the other 23 Belmonts. To get the chance to have the 12th be the first in 34 years only to have it ripped away two days before. Would for me, in this context only, make just a regular Belmont seem relatively insignificant as crazy as that might sound. I'd be calling one of the most important races of my life with remorse in my heart.

I hope you and the 85,000 there had a great time. Not one of you. Not one walked out without thinking and probably saying, Yeah but, what if.

This Belmont was terrific. I'm sure the day was great fun. In 50 years it will mean nothing more than another non triple crown alive chance. In 50 and even a 100 years this race will be remembered first and foremost for a horse that didn't run. Sucks I know. But that's the way it is.

I think nobody cares any more about the Grade One's they call than me. I put my heart and soul into them all. It wouldn't have been totally there on this one. Part of my heart would have been in I'll Have Another's stall.
Part of my soul would have been wondering at age 53 would I ever get the chance again.

As a racecaller yourself I cannot fathom how you don't get that.

Good debate. Appreciate your thoughts.

I present to you the original Rags To Riches...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQcGAJhC3wg

The original poster said he'd feel bad for the horse that wins. I disagree with him and you. Union Rags is now going to be listed as a classic winner and in each race he runs, we'll be referred to as the Belmont winner. A lot of people will look at that as something special. I won't be one of them. In my opinion, the Belmont is not much more than a unique event because there aren't other races like it in this country but that doesn't make it a special race. It used to have a lot more meaning when there were other races in the fall that were run at 12f and even further that were considered the championship races. Then the Belmont was what I would call the separation race, the one to see which of the 3yos was capable of running at the distances the top older horses were running at. Now, the race is a shadow of it's former self and it's only really a big event when history is on the line in the form of a TC sweep. All one has to do is compare the ratings and attendance figures of the years when a sweep is at hand and when it's not to see the dramatic difference. But that won't stop marketers from featuring Union Rags in their add campaigns for future races. Instead of feeling like it's unfair, he's actually getting a boost because all of us know that he's still no better than the third best member of his crop (if even that) and that he took advantage of both of the better two not being here to win.

As for the issue of the race call, I absolutely agree with you. There is no way in the world that it could be anything other than a letdown. In any event, when you are expecting to see something great or historical and then you don't get the chance to see it, there is a letdown. Everyone is looking forward to seeing LeBron James vs. Kevin Durant for the NBA title. If James goes down with an ankle injury in the first game and misses the rest of the series, yes, it's still the NBA finals and Durant still would get his trophy for winning but it wouldn't be the same. If both went down, ratings might sink to their lowest levels ever. Even as a player, you let up in that situation. While some might say that you should put your whole heart and best effort into it, I feel that try as you may, it's impossible.

i bet the callers felt some letdown, but once the belmont was on, i bet all those feelings went away.

It's like expecting a 10 speed schwinn varsity for Christmas and getting a banana seat Murray with the front forks assembled backwards.:o

So Vic claims to know EXACTLY how Tom Durkin and Larry Collmus felt about calling the Belmont after the scratch of I'll Have Another? It sure sounded like they approached it like just another race, right?

I think Vic has become a little overzealous in stating the disappointment of I'll Have Another's scratch and moved to saying it was approached as "just another race" instead of "not the same race." To say that it was just another race is to say that it meant no more to Larry or Tom or required no more preparation or thought than the 12th at Belmont yesterday or the 5th at Monmouth today. Saying that is arrogant and presumptuous.

For you to then personally insult another poster, when he never did that to you, while having no knowledge whatsoever of what he is doing in racing is idiotic, even for you. The inane comparison that you made to Pat Cummings potentially calling the Pennsylvania Derby is laughable. Instead of diminishing his work, you should prepare for today's Hollywood card and spare us of the endless pauses within your calls.

I thought the cali bred winning the big race at Hollywood was a far more memorable race. 3 in a row, guys!!! What a spechul horse!! Donald Warren come on down a googily gee!!

I'm waiting for helicopter to tell me that Durkin had a better racecall than Colmus did. :rolleyes:

Interestingly enough though, they both called Union Rags to be 4th in the stretch when he clearly passed the retreating Unstoppable U.

I read the first post on this thread and realized it was Business as usual. Vic being Vic making everything about Vic. He really isnt a bad race caller but he is clearly the second best out of 2 in his circut and I think that eats him up. If I were to diagnose I would say he has NPD.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001930/

I said how "I" would have felt if faced with the situation. I also clearly stated that I could only speculate how "they" might feel. I said nothing about the 12th or the 5th anywhere.

I said absolutely ZERO diminishing Pat's work. In fact I praised him. If I'm not mistaken Pat calls or did call at Parx and I know he does excellent work blogging from from Meydan. That's the reason for the Pennslyvania Derby and Dubai World Cup references.

Just unbelievable. I try to share my thoughts and you use is as just another avenue to knock. There are hundreds of other type threads for that. If you don't like any of those. Simply start a new one.

Hopefully I'll be prepared for todays card and do a good job. I'll do my best.

Curious. How can a "pause" be endless?

Of course it was all about him...everything is.

Saying he isn't a real announcer is not praise. No matter how you try and spin it...it isn't.

He's not. He's a guy that does MANY things in the industry and does them very well. His sole focus is not racecalling. If it was I think he might feel differently.

I was speaking from the perspective of a person that's called major racing in major venues for many years.

You're the one spinning. You can always find a way to say I'm any number of awful things.

That's not my intention. For years I've explained that I won't be swayed by that. I very much believe that the vast majority of people on this site are true, unconditional racing fans and I'm willing to weather your storms to continue interacting with them.

Being 2nd best to Trevor is something I agree with and am comfortable with any day of the week and three times on Sunday.

So you've gone from being a race caller to a "drifter" like Pat too. According to your logic...

What a hero.

I very much believe you're a disingenuous panderer and apparently I am not alone.

That's like being second best to Carmelo Anthony.

I don't care what you think of me. Never have.

What's wrong with that?

Hopefully he has time to answer this...should be interesting.

Nothing. Especially if Carmelo tweets in two weeks that the Thunder aren't true champions cause Bosh and Wade were hurt.

Its actually quite hilarious.