Straight talk with Matt Hill

“It’s the rawest form of broadcasting… it’s just you.”

Alone in the commentary box, every decision, every word, and every call rests squarely on the race caller’s shoulders.

Hill began calling professionally at just 19, long before he became a defining soundtrack of Australian racing. The role demands more than passion; it requires speed, precision and an extraordinary memory. Recognising horses at full gallop comes down to one critical skill: colours.

“The more you do it and the more you train your brain to learn the colours is very much the most important thing for being a race caller." 

His preparation is meticulous, relying on repetition and a highly tuned photographic memory.

At Flemington, where the track’s scale and famous straight present unique challenges, Hill constantly recalibrates his perspective. Angles, distance and movement all influence the call. “You have to see them before you call them,” he says, emphasising the visual precision required to track a field surging at top speed.

Few races test those skills quite like the Newmarket Handicap – a 70-second Group 1 sprint that unfolds at blistering pace. For Hill, clarity early is crucial. “You want to name every horse in the first 400 or 500 metres to give the punter an idea of where their horse settles,” he says. With fields sometimes splitting across the famous straight, accuracy becomes paramount as he judges which side holds the advantage.

For the voice guiding millions through the chaos of the finish, preparation meets adrenaline in one perfect moment, when the call lands exactly as the winner hits the line.