POV: Less Is More (Johnny Dineen)

In our DAILY column POV – Racing ace Johnny Dineen on what makes a great commentator….

---

They always say that the sign of a good referee is that when the game is over, you cannot remember who he was and it’s very similar when it comes to racing callers as the very best of them have that knack of plying their trade accurately without even raising any attention to themselves and even more importantly not grating so much that they force you to watch every meeting that they are employed at in complete silence.

Maybe it comes with advancing years, but my tolerance levels nowadays force me to reach for the mute button more often than not when races are about to commence. Having spent a generation listening to the dulcet tones of Dessie Scahill and the O Hehir brothers, all of which were never overly dramatic but were unerringly professional when behind the microphone, we now have a situation when the bulk of the current crop of commentators are either totally inept, or feel the need to show how clever they are.

Others seemed to reach orgasmic levels when a raging hot favourite has met their demise, totally oblivious to the fact that there will be plenty of punters who are feeling real pain and will be downbeat enough without getting a good riling from the man up in the box. Personally, I just want a no frills accurate description of the event, and I don’t care whether it’s the 45th running of the Easter Stakes, nor do I care if my horse won a point to point in Loughbrickland 3 years ago, or indeed if he’s owned by Sir William Wallace VI, as in the heat of battle these things matter not.

They are just needless displays by the men with the mike of useless pieces of information, which in my opinion are voiced to make it appear that their levels of research and professionalism are superior to your average caller. Another nauseous development is the requirement to bring ridiculous puns into the final stages of an event, and there is no real need for excessive shouting during a race.

All I look for is a person who delivers his piece in a simplistic manner and is mindful of the fact that not everyone is on the winner. Quite simply the commentator should only be a bit player in a race but quite often you get the feeling that some of them in particular don’t see themselves as having a minor role, and not only do they want to race call, they like to give their opinions pre-race and some will like to call photo finish results when it’s patently obvious that they are impossible to decipher. Maybe I’m in the minority in thinking this way, and call me old fashioned but in this instance, my overriding feeling is that very often less is more.

---

Views of authors do not necessarily represent views of Star Sports Bookmakers.

Have a point of view? Email us at content@starsportsbet.co.uk!

---

STAR PROMOTIONS