Hoiles or Holt

My complaint about current commentaries is they seem to have gone back to the old Extel days of naming every single horse in the field rather than telling us what is happening at the sharp end.

I prefer Holt, but Hoiles is fine too.

my favourite is the excitable irishman though....he is great....lol

I'm old school. I'm for Holt. Hoiles is smart, intelligent and a great analyser of data; Holt is more horsey specific and pragmatic.

I'm happy with them both.

I'm too 'strontium'.

Holt still concentrating on the 'favourite' every race?

Does Mr Hoiles still post on here?

"Crossing Wilson Avenoo"

Ramruma, another irritation ("Barty" is the main offender) is not only naming each horse but also detailing their colours. I swear that in a sprint race they are at the 3f pole before "Barty" has finished his first run through.

just stop hoiles

Bartlett can name all the colours he wants if he'd just stop naming what won best turned out as its getting down to business. (And a helium balloon might improve that gravelly posh boy intonation).

100 per cent

Hoiles was it in the first ITV race at Newbury - they had gone half a furlong and he was predicting what was going to happen instead of telling us what was happening.

Yes, I'm not a fan of Barty. I assume the running through the colours thing is part of his memory process. I also don't like Mark Johnston's habit of listing the running order down to 20th+ as they reach the 2 f pole.

Flapper spot on. And sometimes he's talking so much in a bunch finish you can't hear the result. Agree with earlier post he's a good judge and informed but sometimes sounds like a radio commentator - Richard we can SEE, so don't state the obvious.

Holt all day long pour moi

I also like both but Simon Holt is my favourite caller, especially @ Plumpton of course.

I think Holt has gone at the game.
So many mistakes now.

I agree Brandy, he was my favourite but age is catching up with him. Too many errors

hoiles i think has a problem, that he wants to be perfect and his over analysus of racingand his comm to imo is horrible to listen .  Ireally do miss the great commentaries and the bbc for horse racing, for me the best itv had was Goode until he started the puns

OMG elis - GOODE?? That voice just dripped "smug self-satisfied" and when the puns became a signature trope, it was just a manifestation of the impression he was already radiating.

i did like him tbh, but until the puns started , bbc mcgrath i enjoyed , and for me the irish one now is the best, bur oh so for Sir PETER

Aug 18, 2026 -- 5:59PM, strontium wrote:

Yes, I'm not a fan of Barty. I assume the running through the colours thing is part of his memory process. I also don't like Mark Johnston's habit of listing the running order down to 20th+ as they reach the 2 f pole.

...in the 436th running of the Upmybarlocks Stakes

...reefing and pulling for his head

Holt every day and twice on a Sunday, hoiles is plain annoying

I didn't like Aussie McGrath - it was commentary by cliche (scraping paint, travelling kindly, ....., ad nauseam).

Sir Peter is legendary, but his style is outmoded now - people expect more analysis and race reading than simple description. You couldn't now get away with just saying "it's Monksfield for Ireland and Night Nurse for England" over and over again, nor telling us how old Mr Jim Joel is.

both been top commentators, possibly had their day now

been some great calls especially late 90s and into the 2000s especially over jumps
istabraq 3rd champion, best mate 3rd CGC, kauto's 4th KG, frankel's guineas...prob up to then when he peaked

some of the later years been less enjoyable, sprinter sacre the impossible dream coming true is a cringe commentary imo

there is nobody now that stands out as having a unique quality that elevates them above the rest, but for just accurate plain language, free from hyperbole and irritating "tics", Alan Howes is the man. Like a good referee in football, when they do the job well, you don't really notice them.

Howes the best imop. Rarely mentions the betting, doesn't try to predict what will happen, and just tells what's happening.

Talking of irritating tics, I was watching a live stream on here from Wolves the other night where Shouty was on duty. Free from Sky ads, watching on BF you get the race caller chuntering a bit before the off. In the middle of his musings, there was a pause and he then just blurted out his signature, "nnntherinergate", for absolutely no reason. The horses were quietly circling behind the stalls, nowhere near loaded. If that's not the very definition of a verbal tic I don't know what is. At least there were no Italian or French sounding names for him to show off his gargling, faux authentic rhotic pronunciation.