Dave "Smudger" Smith ex-commentator

maybe called the wrong result

Darrell Williams
Very sad. When I started work as a v/o at SIS Dave was forever offering advice and help.
I then got to work alongside him on the original Sky Sports Greyhound programme.
He was a master of his craft as a commentator, judge and presenter but also a genuinely good guy. RIP Smudger 

Bruce Millington
Sad news. Dave’s double act with Gary Wiltshire on the Sky dogs coverage was good value.

Either way Bruce being as genuine as a box or fake eye lashes ffs....what a muppet......Lrts hope he never gets tasked with writing someones eulogy.

"He was an alright bloke in truth, annoyed most but not me really"


Tard

* Google says it was 50 seconds and corrected days later

Greg Wood
Racing's bad news travels quickly but BHA took five days to put matters right after Kempton 'dead-heat'

The first thing that should be said about Dave Smith, who was relieved of his duties as a racecourse judge last week after 13 years in the job, is that at least 99% of the time, he was good at his job. The second is that in a position with the power to shift six- or even seven-figure sums from one pocket to another, even a 0.5% failure rate is unacceptable.

It took Smith 50 seconds to determine and then declare the result in a seven-furlong maiden at Kempton Park on 26 June, which went to a photo-finish between Extra Noble, the even-money favourite, and Fire Fighting, a 16-1 chance.

By Smith's well-established quick-fire standards, 50 seconds was nothing new, almost dragging his heels in fact. In this instance, though, the "result" was that the pair could not be separated. "That was very quick for a dead-heat," observed one of Racing UK's studio pundits as this was announced. "That was very quick," his colleague agreed. "Dave Smith's on tonight, isn't he?"

Five days later, the British Horseracing Authority announced that, having contacted Smith and asked him to reconsider, he had decided that in fact, Extra Noble had held on to first place by a nose. This was five days too late for favourite-backers who had already been paid out – or short-changed, to be more precise – on the original decision.

We all make mistakes, journalists included, so it may seem unfair to criticise Smith too harshly for doing the same. I've made some toe-curlers over the last 20-odd years, most of which, thanks either to a good subeditor or an alert lawyer, have failed to make it into print.

Smith did not have an equivalent safety net. But he did have more than 50 seconds to make a decision. No one would have cared if it had taken three or four minutes to announce the result, had it been the right one. Smith, though, always seemed to see it as a matter of honour that he could announce the result of a close finish – sometimes without even calling for a photo – faster than any judge in the business.

It is a little like pushing all-in at every possible opportunity in a game of poker: a tactic that works just fine, until it doesn't. The modern technology available to judges is impressive, and makes the job easier, and generally quicker, than in the past, which in turn helps to keep money turning over in the shops. But in a very tight finish it will never be sufficiently easy, or swift, to justify a 50-second turnaround for a dead-heat, even if it proves to be the correct decision.

Some bookmakers did pay out on both results, because it was worth it for the PR value, but others did not. Most of us have had the miserable experience of backing the "winner" on the wrong side of the track in a big sprint handicap, but backing an actual winner and still not being paid out in full is a good deal worse. Nothing annoys a punter more than getting it right and still feeling robbed.

I think there was one at Windsor where he called a 'winner' in about 5 seconds
I have a vague recollection of the race commentator 'next door' imploring him to have another look
He then corrected his mistake a minute or two later before the weigh in fortunately

Poppydog an ardent Thommo groupie by the sounds of it.?

probably just want to get the call right

dave would be sick at such a slow call

last gig was sky dogs, when that finished that's last I saw him in media

I have it in my head that they changed the process, and a second person now 'proofs' the original decision before it is announced. As a direct result of those previous errors.

Was that not due to an Emily Jones error Cider?

Whoever the judge was it was a good few years after Dave Smith left the judges box.

i think it was kempton and felix wheeler

Could well be, I had it in my mind that it should now be impossible to call the incorrect result, and the process was changed due to a judge calling the incorrect result.

There was a female judge, Stickels who got it wrong more than right and took an hour to do so


Aside from that, a mean-spirited fred about the departed imo. He was cruising for a fall alright but was not a bad sort

liked him on the dogs excellent interviewing owners etc. and nobody can ever say his good looks played a part over ability.

R I P  Dave Smith

His good looks trumped his ability