R
ace calling has traditionally been a male dominated occupation since its inception in 1922. Today, Victoria Shaw is the first and only woman in Australia to actively work as a race caller on television and radio networks. Fascinatingly, Arabian horse racing has helped pave the way for Victoria’s remarkable career choice.
Victoria Shaw Race Caller Extraordinaire By Sharon Meyers
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Versatile Arabian Horse
Victoria’s initial interest in horses began in the early eighties when her father helped her purchase a former racehorse and soon after, an Anglo Arabian – they went on to be great paddock mates. Victoria’s father spent a lot of time trying to re-register their Thoroughbred with the Australian Stud Book for breeding purposes, but it always struck her that the Anglo Arabian ‘was not only easier to handle for a novice rider like me, but her great character and emotional intelligence was over and above what our Thoroughbred displayed.’ Throughout her teens, Victoria’s interests and career focus centred around media with a desire to work in radio. As a Gen X’er, the late eighties saw great transition in broadcast media particularly with the arrival of FM radio in Australia and pay or cable TV. Upon leaving school she had the opportunity to dabble in radio and TV, but her love of live broadcasting came together with her newfound interest of the ‘punt’ thanks to her former voice coach and ex 3XY broadcaster Bob Taylor. Bob was very amused by her tales of Saturdays spent at tracks like Caulfield and after recording a radio commercial one day, he asked Victoria if she had ever considered race calling?