Durkin Out as Breeders Cup Announcer
It looks like Tom Durkin's contract with NBC will prevent him from calling the Breeders Cup on ESPN this year. It will be the first Breeders Cup without Durkin. The day, of course, is about the racing but I don't think the BC will be quite the same. Durkin is one of the best announcers in all of sports and it's usually a joy to hear him call a day at the races.
Durkin does seem to get a bit bored for some of the lesser races (especially something along the lines of a late-November state-bred frightfest at my beloved Big A) but he is always on for big races. Durkin calls a race smartly without laying on the cliches or hyperbole. He's very good at calling or signalling moves before they become evident (especially if you're on track). And he is one of the few announcers that instinctively knows that more than a few race watchers also care about who finishes second and third in a race.
Some are suggesting that the ESPN job may go to Trevor Denman, the announcer at Santa Anita and Del Mar. I haven't heard Denman all that much but I haven't been that impressed. He seems to make mistakes. Any SoCal race followers or goers think differently or view this positively?
Blood-Horse: Durkin Out as TV Voice of Breeders' Cup
6 comments:
Man, are you serious? Denman is so much better than Durkin. Durkin sounds like he's doing a crossword puzzle while he's calling a race, and he's got no meter. Denman has style and picks up moves and action other callers would miss. It's like he's watching the race with 5 sets of eyes. Denman is poetry & Durkin is like a disinterested technician.
Durkin and Denman are at the top of their profession, and have been for a long time. I would hardly call Durkin disinterested during big races. With his accent and South Africa roots, Denman brings an international flavor to the event, and that's something ESPN and the BC might like.
A funny thing happened at the 1986 BC at Oak Tree/Santa Anita. Trevor called the first few races than announced that he was turning the mike over to Tom Durkin for the calling of the Breeders' Cup. Many in the Oak Tree crowd booed.
Brad: We'll have to agree to disagree on Durkin. I'm a big fan and think he's several, ahem, lengths ahead of the other announcers. I'll reserve further judgment on Denman, but he's officially "On Notice!"
And next year's Belmont could be interesting if ABC is looking for it's own signature voice and/or NBC decides it doesn't want Durkin on the ABC telecast. Durkin would be make the call ontrack as NYRA announcer but everyone at home would hear Denman (or whoever ABC hires).
I know this is probably a minority opinion but I think Trevor Denman is awful.
I love it when Larry Lederman does his imitation of Denman. Lederman is the announcer at Freehold Raceway. I never bet trotters but will listen to a Lederman call because he's head and shoulders over the rest of them. And he doesn't take himself too seriously.
Denman is ponderous. And he anticipates moves (usually by chalks) that never actually transpire.
Denman awful? You need to have your ears cleaned. I've been listening to Denman for years at Santa Anita. There have been so many times that he's called a horse before the crowd picks up on the move that I can't even count them. He's widely acknowleged among horseplayers as being the best at this. Durkin is a rank amateur compared to Denman.
After two years of Denman's tired cliches and miss-calls the Breeders Cup needs to find a new announcer. Denman is clearly not good enough for the assignment. He mispronounces well known horses names and flat out miscalls others. Durkin was confirmed the superior announcer by Denman's two Breeders Cup performances.
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