Father, son commentators raring to go

INLSA

The voices of the July father and son horse racing commentator team, Sheldon, left, and Craig Peters, say theyre the best in the business and July day is the highlight of their year. Picture: Colleen Dardagan

This father and son duo say they are the best race commentating team in the country as they prepare their lines for the 2012 Durban July at Durban’s Greyville race course this weekend.

“We shouldn’t be boastful,” laughs father Craig Peters, while his son, 33-year-old Sheldon chuckles and nods.

“This is our eighth Durban July commentating together. Sheldon does on-track commentary while I do the SABC commentary,” says Craig.

The pair rate former Durban-based commentator and Craig’s mentor, the locally noted Trevor Denman – who now lives and works in the US – and the late Bill Collins, an Australian commentator, as two of the best in the world. Craig says it is a dying profession as there are now only six other commentators in SA.

“We study the form across the country all the time. We follow the breeding of each horse, the position they run from. We know the handicapping system. There are 12 races on Saturday and we have to know everything about every horse in every race.

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In this job your memory has to be sharp… We study each horse every morning the week before when our minds are fresh,” says Craig.

Greyville and Scottsville are probably the two most difficult race courses in the country to call from.

“It’s because the horses disappear from view so you then have to look to the TV to see what is going on. But when you are enjoying something as much as we enjoy this, you train your brain,” they say.

As a child, Craig sat in the parking lot at Joburg’s Turffontein racecourse with his parents because children were not allowed on the stands.

“I really became interested in the sport. Sandy Christie, CEO of Turffontein at that time, sent me to Bloemfontein to call the cards. I was 15. I worked in Joburg for 35 years before coming to KZN in 1982. In 1984 I called my first July. Sheldon joined me in 2001.”

Sheldon called his first race in 1994 at the age of 16 when he won the Gold Circle amateur commentators competition at Greyville. He says he always keeps in mind the crowd, informing and entertaining them while he is commentating.

“The crowd is with you, so that’s what makes on-track commentating so exciting.”

While the duo say breathing and voice rhythm are probably the great secrets of their trade, having an eye for every detail in the action is critical.

“You’ve got to keep with the action all the time,” they say.

“The most exciting race to call is the July because you get into this atmosphere… The July is special.”

And while both say the favourite Jackson will be the first to the tape on Saturday, they disagree on who will follow. “I think it will be Jackson, Ilha Bela, Vettel and Gorongosa,” says Craig, while Sheldon will back Castlethorpe, English Garden and Pierre Jourdan.

But, no matter the result – and the two agree – they are the most important participants on the day.

“We make all the difference… Forty countries including the whole of South Africa listen to us, there’s a lot of money riding on what we say, so we take our responsibilities, especially on July day, very seriously.” - The Mercury