Citing his wishes to spend more time with his family, Vic Stauffer has decided to retire from calling races.
Veteran announcer Stauffer last year accepted the race caller position at Turf Paradise. He will step down from that role and return to his home in Hot Springs, Ark., where he has plans to become a jockey agent at Oaklawn Park.
"I sincerely loved working with all the great people at Turf Paradise," Stauffer said. "However, I truly love my wife, Tina, and my amazing home here in Hot Springs, Ark. At age 67, that has now become more important. Turf Paradise is going to be a great success story. I'm very much looking forward to watching that happen."
Stauffer said it will be good to work closer to home, and said he's had some encouraging talks with several riders he could represent.
"As they say, no one ever fully retires from racing," Stauffer said.
Before taking on the Turf Paradise role last year, Stauffer had called some 40,000 races at tracks such as Gulfstream Park, Oaklawn Park, and Hollywood Park, where he called the final race at that facility. He also has been honored with a pair of Eclipse Awards for his work in radio and had worked as part of the TVG broadcast team.
He said because it was his first major race, the call that stands out with him is the 2000 Florida Derby (G1) where Hal's Hope held off High Yield to prevail by a head at Gulfstream Park.
"That was my call-up to the majors," Stauffer said. "Then the last Florida Derby I called was Barbaro's win in 2006. I owe so much to Zenyatta, an amazing horse, just to call her races and, of course, there was the earthquake call."
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Turf Paradise thanked Stauffer for his time as track announcer and wished him well as he retires from race calling.
"We greatly enjoyed having Vic in the announcer's booth at Turf Paradise," the track said in a release. "His experience and enthusiasm added to the excitement of our live racing meet, and we are thankful for the time he spent with us. While we will miss hearing him behind the microphone, we understand and respect his decision. Vic has chosen to put his wife, Tina, and their life together in Hot Springs first, and we wish them the best in this next chapter!"
