The Blood Horse reports today that Tom Durkin will no longer call the races for NBC, but will still remain active with the NYRA tracks through 2015. I thought I use my time today reflecting on some of the announcers I’ve been associated with over the years. Durkin of course is one of the best and hence that’s why he got a great gig on NBC. Of course, prior to him, when ABC had the Derby and Preakness, it was the famed calls of Dave Johnson whose “Down the Stretch they come” is iconic to our sport.
The magazine reports the leading contender for the job is Gulfstream’s and Monmouth’s announcer Larry Collmus. Like myself Larry is a Baltimore native and offers both a professional and entertaining racecall. In my early years working at Laurel, I personally created the first Video Handicapping Library (until then we lived and died by the accuracy of chartcallers). Though I had offered the idea to several others, it took the late genius Frank De Francis to implement the system for fans daily use. Larry, still a teenager was hired to man the booth for customers to watch replays of previous races to enhance their handicapping. Though it was last year’s crazy call of a couple of horses about the “two wives” that put him on the map.
As a kid, I grew up to the nasaly voice of Costy Caras at Charles Town for which I remember was adding the semi-word “ah” before basically every word. “Ah number 5, Ah, two pounds, ah overweight.” Since he was my first, I’ll always have a fond spot for him. Working at the tracks by age 11 in Maryland brought me Dick Wolley. Dick was as a clear as a voice as you will get. He was far from exciting and his catch phrase unfortunately was “a gap of two” or “a gap of three” for each horse. But he was a tireless promoter of Maryland racing and hosted numerous radio shows. He tried to remain loyal to his employers while trying to liven the business. A class act all the way.
In college while working at Delaware Park came Tony Bentley long known for his years at the Fair Grounds and on the steeplechase circuit. Another clear caller, Tony could have easily raced against horses as he was usually found running around the turf course after each racing day. One of the most interesting and fun voices of all time was Steve Ross whom I followed at Freestate Harness track in Laurel, Maryland. There was a pacer named “Come On Fred” who raced there who would virtually run dead last the first half mile. Steve would literally yell, “Commmmme Onnnnn Fred” as to urge him on…and like clockwork, Fred would steadily move up. By the top of the stretch, Fred would be rolling and Steve would be insane. If there was anything tha could draw new fans to racing, it was Steve and Come On Fred. A sidebar is when Fred would race out of state, he almost always finished last and most believe because he didn’t have Steve yelling for him.
I spent more than a decade with John Curran at Delaware Park. “It’s a good start for them all” is his call de nom and overall John is as good as they get. He magically merges clarity of the call with the right amount of excitement. And if anyone would let him implement all of his ideas about racing, there would not be a struggling track in America.
I also worked with the late Luke Kruytbosch at Turf Paradise, but who is best known for his time at Churchill Downs until his untimely passing. Luke had the Costy Caras nasal voice reminiscent of the famed Fred Cappasella of an era long gone. Luke was as much fun to work with as anyone. If you could ever let an announcer let his reins loose, Luke could have been the most famous announcer of all. However, you need to be politically correct and maintain a balance to remain professional and Luke was able to walk that fine line…oh well, too bad.
Another fun announcer is Larry Lederman. Larry routinely changed the names of horses to reflect current events or personalities. Probably Larry crossed the line a few too many times, but that’s what makes him so great. if I owned my own racetrack and I was committed to bringing in a new generation of customers, Larry would be on the top of my list.
By the way, speaking of Collmus who may get the call on the Derby and Luke who called the Derby for many years, the annnouncer we hear on national TV is never the announcer trackside. Most people missed out on Luke’s call because it was the network voice of Johnson or Durkin who you hear.
That’s my trip through memory lane…at least on the positive side. I’ll have to start a blog somewhere to give you the other side of the story. Best of luck on your racing day from all of us at IdaBet.
