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Hong Kong announcer answers new calling Geller to be voice of Emerald By Dan Raley SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER s jockeys cling to their horses amid chunks of flying dirt, the sport will look the same as before. Its smell hasn't changed much either, with certain aspects still quite repugnant. But the sound of thoroughbred racing as it returns to Western Washington will be unrecognizable at first. Unless you have chased this exercise in wagering to the Far East. Emerald Downs will introduce Robert Geller as its race caller, with the rich, accented tones of this Australian by way of Hong Kong replacing the staccato yet familiar oval offerings of Gary Henson, the former Longacres announcer. Geller, 36, is part of an industry trend that calls for a more descriptive commentary highlighted by an Old English delivery in sizing up the action on the track. Ron Crockett, Emerald Downs president, was visiting Bay Meadows Park in California when Geller's voice came over a television monitor. Crockett was instantly smitten. "I heard the voice of Robert Geller from Hong Kong and I came home and said, `We want that guy,' " Crockett recalls. "A lot of people in the industry were surprised we were able to get this fellow. He brings a fresh voice." Geller was picked over several candidates, including the 51-year-old Henson, Longacres' voice from 1973 to 1992. In the nearly four-year absence of Longacres, Henson had turned to Yakima Meadows and Turf Paradise in Phoenix to call races. "It was basically a style change," said Joe Withee, another Emerald Downs official. "Robert is extremely inventive. He never stops talking. He says intelligent things." Geller worked for the past 6-1/2 years as an English announcer for Hong Kong's two thoroughbred tracks, Happy Valley and Sha Tin, teaming with another person who called the races in Cantonese. He had seen the tracks prosper, as well as his career. He was ready to move on. "I could have stayed on in Hong Kong, but I felt it was time for a change," he said. "I was interested in working in the States." Geller grew up in Australia, the son of a women's clothing manufacturer. A family outing was a day at the horse races. As a child, he followed the sport closely and was so captured by it he started calling make-believe races at home. He worked as a speech therapist for the disabled before slowly finding his niche as a full-time race announcer in Australia, eventually landing in Hong Kong. Unmarried, Geller describes himself as a city person who will live halfway between the track and Seattle. Residing in Hong Kong, he didn't drive a car and will have to reacquaint himself with that talent, already reminding himself that people here drive on the other side of the road. Among his interests are foreign languages; he speaks some French, Hebrew and, of course, Cantonese. His race-calling style comes very highly regarded. Yet Geller admittedly says he lacks something that is very American. "I don't have a signature call," he said. "I would like to think it will just develop. I know everyone in the States pretty much has one. But I don't consciously know what I do." Send comments to webmaster@seattle-pi.com © 1996 Seattle Post-Intelligencer The Hearst Corporation All Rights Reserved