Now he laments the fact there are few opportunities for what he describes as 'part-time callers' on the Mid North Coast.

"Sky Channel and Sky Racing Radio provide all the callers in NSW for TAB meetings,'' the general manager at Radio 2RE-MAX FM said.

"Taree only has one non-TABer - Tuncurry-Forster has one I think as does Wauchope, so there's not a lot around.''

Nelson answered an SOS from the Taree-Wingham club to fill the breach.

"The last time I called a race was around when the Winning Post Function Centre opened at the Bushland Drive track and that was in 2000,'' he said.

However, he said he wasn't at all apprehensive about the task.

"I spoke to Laura (Polson) from the Times about an hour before the first local race and I told her I was feeling calm at that stage. That didn't change,'' he said.

He admits the fact there were only five runners in the first helped.

"I only had to remember five horses - that's not too hard,'' he explained.

From there the day rolled along without any drama. There were five races on the local program.

He didn't spend too much time between events studying the fields, believing too much information can clutter the mind.

Nelson said he didn't make any blues.

"I stumbled a couple of times, but otherwise there were no problems,'' he assured.

In fact, he wishes there'd been a few more races.

"You know what it's like, I thought I was going okay and I was having a good time - I didn't want it to end.''

Nelson has been associated with racing virtually since he was weaned. Now 54, he started calling greyhound races for the Taree club when he was just 13.

"That was at the old track out where Taree Recreation Centre is - I think the old racecourse was still there at the time,'' he recalled.

Nelson followed the greyhounds to their present track at Kanangra Drive in 1979 but left the area the following year after completing his HSC. The possibility of calling races for a living was something he considered before he took a position at 2RE.

He's called a few meetings, either racing or the dogs since. He can still recall calling from the now closed Wingham race track.

"There was no OH&S back then,'' he smiled.

Negotiating the ladder to the caller's box was a task a mountain climber may have baulked at. And the box wasn't a safe haven either.

"Even a gentle breeze would feel like a hurricane up there,'' he said.

"The whole place shook. It was always good to get back on the ground.''

The Bushland Drive track was packed for Tuesday's meeting, however, it's a fair bet that interest in the local races was somewhat limited.

However, Nelson's performance impressed one regular attendee the Times spoke with.

"Brilliant - he didn't miss a beat,'' the punter said.

Taree-Wingham Race Club chairman Greg Coleman was another fan.

"He did a great job,'' he said.