By Meg Kennedy<\/p>\n
Although the Spring Racing Carnival may be over for 2018, horse racing is a year-round gig for a Ballan local race caller and author Adam Crettenden.
\nWhat began as a Year 11 English project has turned into a decades-long career for Mr Crettenden, who currently works for Racing.com and can be seen, and heard at local country race meets around the state.
\n\u201cI grew up in Essendon and lived between Moonee Valley and Flemington [racecourses], and I wanted to do something that was a bit different to most of the other kids at school, so I did one my project on horse racing, and that was my introduction to the industry,\u201d Mr Crettenden said.
\nMr Crettenden frequents the Ballarat, Warrnambool and Ararat race days, and says that country racing is a \u201cgood lifestyle choice\u201d compared to the big days of Melbourne racing.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s not a regular office 9-5 job, I don\u2019t think I\u2019d go too well at that, so going to a different place and seeing different people all the time and the spontaneity of calling races, you don\u2019t know what\u2019s about to happen, I like that side of things,\u201d he said.
\nOn his highlights for this year\u2019s Spring Racing Carnival, Mr Crettenden says that Winx is the \u201cobvious\u201d choice, but also notes the domination of international horses at this year\u2019s Melbourne Cup.
\n\u201cI think [international horses] filled the top five spots. The first Australian horse was Youngstar, which finished in 6th place, so they\u2019re probably the two things that jump out straight away to me,\u201d he said.
\n \u201cThen of course you\u2019ve got your connection with this area with Darren Weir, and how he went in the last couple of days in the carnival there, so there\u2019s obviously a bit of interest around this area with him and how he goes during the big days. He seemed to have a pretty good carnival.\u201d
\nAs well as race calling, another passion for Mr Crettenden is writing. He\u2019s published a biography of legendary Melbourne Cup winner Subzero and Sam Junior\u2019s Day, a children\u2019s book based on the life of his family\u2019s border collie. He is currently pitching a new racing book on Manikato, a sprinter that raced in the late seventies to early eighties.
\n\u201cThere\u2019s a good story behind the scenes with how the horse was managed\u2026it sort of makes good content for a book I thought\u2026so hopefully I\u2019ll know within the next couple of months whether [Penguin] want to publish it.\u201d
\nSubzero is available to purchase on Booktopia, and Sam Junior\u2019s Day at http:\/\/au.blurb.com\/b\/7467295-sam-junior-s-day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Meg Kennedy Although the Spring Racing Carnival may be over for 2018, horse racing is a year-round gig for a Ballan local race caller and author Adam Crettenden. What began as a Year 11 English project has turned into a decades-long career for Mr Crettenden, who currently works for Racing.com and can be seen, […]<\/p>\n