28 August 2021
When Fred Hastings steps behind the microphone at TABCORP Park Menangle this evening, it will be the culmination of days of acute preparation and a lifetime of meticulous planning.
“My normal race day starts when I’m finalising the form,” he said.
“I’ll go back and I’ll have a look at replays of their last one or two runs.”
It’s time consuming. But more passion project than chore. You know the saying. You never work a day in your life if you’re doing something you love. Fred personifies the cliché.
“There always was an interest. My Father would regale me with stories of his trips to Harold Park on a Friday night through the ‘60’s. In fact I think he took Mum on their first date to Harold Park,” Fred recalls.
A courtship built on nights at the track. You could say harness racing was in the gene pool.
Add in an ownership licence among extended family and the ever present childhood soundtrack of race calls on the wireless, and it’s fair to say Fred was hooked. He reckons he was nine years old when he decided this race calling caper was for him.
“I floored them when I said I wanted to be a race caller because I was pretty good at school and they thought I’d be a doctor or a lawyer or something but that wasn’t to be. I was quite happy to go down the path of being a race caller,” he said.
He plucked up the courage to make his name and intentions known at the age of 15 and visited the Penrith track where he saw the legendary caller Ray Conroy in action first-hand. That confirmed things for Fred. The career path was locked and loaded. So he set about chasing it and making it happen.
The dream and the reality are often very different things though and in this week’s episode of Pacesetters with Paul Cochrane, Fred discusses how he went about pursuing his hopes and dreams.
YOU CAN WATCH FRED’S PACESETTERS INTERVIEW HERE
It gives an insight into the preparation and finesse Fred will be putting into his call when the eight race program is run at Menangle tonight.
“From the time the studio crosses I have a job to do and that’s to be as descriptive, as accurate, as entertaining and try and meld it all into one so that those that are either listening or watching can try and paint a picture in their minds,” he said.
All part of what makes Fred Hastings the best in the business!