Another distinctive voice of racing hangs up the binoculars
May 4th, 2009 at 05:00pm
Ian Craig is retiring. It was bound to happen eventually, but it is sad to see the various voices of racing disappearing.
AFTER 45 years entertaining the racing world with his dulcet tones and classic calling Ian Craig has announced his retirement.
Craig, the longest serving fulltime racecaller in Australia, said the decision to hang up his binoculars was quite an easy one.
“I have been planning to pull the pin for some time now,” Craig said.
[..]
“I have called 35 Golden Slippers and AJC Derbys and thought the time was right to hang up the 10-by-50s.”Craig, 67, started at 2UE in 1965 before moving to 2KY in 1968. He will call his final race meeting at Gosford on June 24.
He could not single out one performance as a career highlight but rates Kingston Town, Luskin Star, Sunline and Octagonal among the best thoroughbreds he has called.
One wonders who will fill Ian’s shoes for Sky Channel and 2KY. Regardless of who it is, I get the distinct feeling that the days of “personalities” calling races are all but over.
Samuel
Image courtesy Racing And Sports
Entry Filed under: Sport,TV/Radio/Media
3 Comments
1. legshagger | May 4th, 2009 at 10:40 pm
Hello, since we are now friends, I don’t want to be disparaging about this gentleman Ian Craig, who is no doubt a formidable talent, but I do question his association with the racing “industry”. Chopper Read was known to frequent the track, Robbie Waterhouse is banned for life, “Aussie Bob” Trimbole and George Freeman used to watch their fixed races and collect their cash from corrupt bookies and I don’t even want to start on the Fine Cotton affair.
I’ve never done any work for people in the racing “industry” that I’ve ever been paid for.
While I’m sure this man is a gentleman, or at least a “colourful racetrack identity”, I do question his long involvement in an “industry” which is suspect at best.
2. gawler | May 5th, 2009 at 8:37 pm
Sorry to see ole Ian retire,i reckon he is right about Kingston Town(yep i’m old enough to remember). Great site-mate,i came across it whilst looking for articles about Ian. That goose before me(legshaver)completely misses the story…it was about IAN CRAIG. That bloke just proves he watches ch9,who report that stuff,underbelt watcher as well!
3. legshagger | May 6th, 2009 at 11:27 am
gawler, I’m sure Ian is a very nice man, and a talented one, but I don’t see much merit in describing how drugged up horses with little men on their back run around in circles.
I think that if you got four of them, harnessed them to a chariot and then armed the riders, it would be far more interesting!