It's the final weekend for NYRA racetrack announcer Tom Durkin. Sunday
will be his final day calling races at Saratoga
This summer at the Spa I was pleasantly surprised at the amount
of people I spoke to who were aware that Tom Durkin is retiring. The fact that
so many fans know who Tom Durkin is and are aware he is retiring says something
about Durkin. There are many adjectives you can use for Mr. Durkin and one of
the best is memorable.
You know the sound of his voice, you know what he looks like, and
you know his familiar phrases. Heck, I named this blog "They're in the
Gate" after the phrase Mr. Durkin uses every time the last horse enters
into the gate before a race. Listen this final weekend to how he says:
"They're in the Gate"
The way he says it has the just the right mixture of enthusiasm
and succinctness. I love it and it will long echo in my head.
And of course, there are the race calls himself. We have the internet so Durkin's calls will
not go away.
What I liked most about Durkin was his humor and sense of
entertainment. Have you ever watched
other race calls on TVG, or your local OTB simulcast and been bored to tears by
the calls. Of course you have. Durkin is smart enough to know that he is in the
information business but also in the entertainment business. He could be very
serious in his race calls, but when the moment called for a little fun, he knew
it.
He also knew when a big
moment was here and called for a memorable call. A perfect example of this is
Durkin's call of the Rachel Alexandra win in the Woodward Stakes at Saratoga
Simply the Best, enjoy your next venture Tom.
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