First call
"First Call" is a bugle call with three distinct meanings.
U.S. military use
[edit]At a U.S. military installation it is a pre-reveille "courtesy" signal, sounded around 05:50, originally to assemble the trumpeters to deliver the reveille that would be forthcoming at 06:00. Some locations also sound it a few minutes before "Retreat" (lowering the flag at the end of the day). In other military contexts it may be used (e.g. 5 minutes) prior to sounding "Assembly" for any particular formation.
Navy use
[edit]On ships of the U.S. Navy, "First Call" is sounded at 07:55, five minutes ahead of "Morning Colors" (raising the national ensign), and 5 minutes before "Evening Colors" (lowering the national ensign). In the absence of a bugle, the word is passed, "First call, first call to colors." The same ceremony takes place on shore establishments but not on ships underway.[1]
Horse racing
[edit]At a horse race, "First call" is a signal that all mounts should be at the paddock exit in order to proceed to the track to begin the post parade. This started to be used at horse races before the 1860s.[2] The tune is usually sounded by a bugler five to ten minutes before the scheduled start time of the race. The call serves a similar purpose in dog racing. When "First call" is used for this purpose, it is usually referred to as the "Call to the Post".[3]
Japanese horse racing
[edit]In Japan, a "fanfare" is played or performed just before the actual race starts, rather than five to ten minutes before, in order to proceed to the gates.[4] The practice started in 1959, when the Japan Racing Association started playing Bahn Frei! by Eduard Strauss after Radio Nikkei started to use the song for their radio broadcast to signify listeners that the race was about to start.[5] The current fanfares adopted by the JRA were introduced in the late 1980s, with Koichi Sugiyama composing the fanfares used in Tokyo and Nakayama Racecourses.[6]
To date, the JRA uses 21 fanfares depending on the racecourse and the race grade that is about to start.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ "Naval traditions about flags". Retrieved 2 July 2016.
- ^ Ellis, Laura (4 May 2018). "Curious Derby: What's The Origin Of The Call To The Post?".
- ^ "A Last Hurrah for Hollywood Park". The New York Times. 15 December 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
- ^ "ファンファーレ（競馬用語辞典） JRA". Japan Racing Association (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-06-03.
- ^ "競馬中継60年～あの日、あの時、競馬場で【3】". Radio Nikkei (in Japanese). Radio Nikkei. 2016-04-26. Archived from the original on 2021-04-04. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
- ^ a b Yoshida, Tetsuya (2021-12-24). "【有馬記念 Ｇ１ファンファーレ物語２】レース直前に曲を流すのは日本特有の文化". UMATOKU (in Japanese). Sports Hochi. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
External multimedia
[edit]- MP3 file, RealMedia file, FAS.org