I can’t let New Year’s Eve 2023 go by without mention of a special anniversary. On this day exactly fifty years ago there were scenes of great emotion in the 2GB broadcast box high above Royal Randwick racecourse as the legendary Ken Howard called time on his extraordinary career.

There’s not a race caller on the planet who doesn’t feel some degree of stress before and during the broadcast of a horse race. He desperately wants to get it right for the punters large and small who collectively create huge betting pools.

While Darren Flindell was weaving his own brand of magic at Royal Randwick on Saturday, a race caller from the previous generation was celebrating a unique anniversary at Warren - a tiny hamlet of 1500 people some 536 kms from Sydney.

There were 78,500 people at Flemington on Melbourne Cup day 1976. Those still living, hold indelible memories of their visit to the historic course on the day mother nature threw a tantrum.

There were 78,500 people at Flemington on Melbourne Cup day 1976. Those still living, hold indelible memories of their visit to the historic course on the day mother nature threw a tantrum.

Most race callers are so intent on getting the job done accurately, they wouldn’t give a thought to throwing in a funny line. That kind of commentary wouldn’t have suited the late Bert Bryant, who died in 1991 following several years of indifferent health. Bert believed that punters having a bad day, needed some cheering up, and he set about developing an array of  “one liners” designed to take the pain out of losing your money.