:tro: Winning!

...... i hated having to listen to him when i had a wager......" its easy goer, sunday silence......sunday silence, easy goer.......its......alysheba by a half length"

Yeah!

I like to bring him up 1-2 times a year to see if anyone else found his calls as hilariously bad as I did.

He was interviewed on All things Considered today and threw out his bet, $50 on Shakelford to win

Tom Durkin largely defined what race calling has become. Dave Johnson started to turn the corner, and Durkin just took the idea and ran with it.

The lines he's delivered over the years are not by accident, they are the result of hours of hard work and preparation, just like any sportscaster prepares for a big game.

If you look back at the last 25 years of horse racing, we've had some awesome races, and nothing will ever take away from what happens on the track. But when you took Durkin at his best, and piled his way with words, drama and excitement on top of it, it was awesome. And hopefully will still be for years to come in NY.

Nothing lasts forever though... Larry gave me my start -- he let me call two races at Suffolk Downs in January 2005 -- and since we've been good friends. We became even better friends after I spent the winter at Gulfstream Park last year. He's a pro, he'll do an awesome job and I'm really excited for him!

Yea, i grew up in So Cal and listened to his show on KIEV. I remember he use to say,"under hand, boot and whip" all the time..

Obviously there is no need for it from the standpoint of having the most accurate Triple Crown racecalls. What I am suggesting is merely to make the Triple Crown races more interesting to the average TV viewer who likely has minimal knowledge of racing and probably would enjoy some live explanation about what is happening during the race. The networks already cater to the non-racing fans during their Triple Crown telecasts by departing from the normal track pan shots for the entire race and using different camera angles, such as a blimp shot on the backstretch, much to the annoyance of many serious fans.

I doubt that watching a Belmont on TV would become less enjoyable for the masses if, during the long run down the backstretch, a color commentator opined about how the pace was affecting the race favorite and what should be expected during the remainder of the race.

My Durkin fav:

"This is the greatest comeback since Lazurus!!"

It sounds better and better every time I go to the Horse Park and see DaHoss. :D

And Collmus will do a fine job with the Triple Crown. Congrats to him!

Great article. Reminded me of this interview back in 2009.
http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-raci...A-A519F2F4A034