Iconic Race Caller to Retire to the Paddock
23 November, 2016
Thoroughbred
Legendary race caller Greg Miles has announced that he will be standing down from his post before June of 2017. The record breaking caller was the voice of a generation of racing fans with a hefty 37 years behind the microphone.
Miles told TABradio’s The Sports Daily that “we’ve been tossing it around for a few years in fact.”
“At 57 I don’t think I’m going to get any better, it is difficult to walk away from a job that you love no doubt about that. I love going to the races and I love calling,” Miles said.
With 36 Spring Carnivals under his belt, the stress of calling has not diminished. He told TABradio’s The Sports Daily, “to me the Spring Carnival is such a difficult task and it’s grown, grown and grown throughout my career to such an extent that it’s almost crushing the pressure that you feel.”
That pressure boiled over during the 2015 Caulfield Cup for Miles who was battling an illness at the time. A minor slip of the tongue saw the perfectionist call Mongolian Khan, Mognolia Khan leaving him to feel the wrath of social media.
“I am my own harshest critic, I don’t need to be kicked around like that, I felt terribly low for a long time and I can’t tell you how difficult it was to get up,” told TABradio’s The Sports Daily.
Miles said that he still loves “the thrill of being involved when these really great horses come through.” Horses such as Northerly, Makybe Diva and Black Caviar all played a vital part of his career.
Miles’ thriving career featured nail biting calls for Lonhro’s 2004 Australian Cup, Redoute’s Choice’s 1999 Caulfield Guineas and Makybe Diva’s third Melbourne Cup in 2005 who are very memorable for many racing fans.
Miles who was planning to continue calling until he reached 60 will be taking a key role in finding his successor, although finding someone to fill his shoes could be considered somewhat impossible.
It will be the end of an era when Greg Miles finally leaves his binoculars behinds and steps down from the tower for the last time.
Rebecca Shanks