Larry Collmus has accomplished just about everything a horse-race caller can accomplish. He has called the Kentucky Derby as the Churchill Downs track announcer. He has been the voice of four major tracks — Monmouth Park, Churchill Downs, Gulfstream Park and Belmont Park. He called the first Triple Crown in 37 years as the national voice of NBC’s racing coverage.
But there is one thing he hasn’t done, and for Collmus, that may be the cherry on top.
Starting this Friday, Collmus will become the track announcer at Saratoga Race Course, the country’s oldest sporting venue.
“To me, it’s the best race meet in the world,” Collmus said. “I’ve been going as a fan for years, ever since I got an announcing job in Boston and moved back to the East Coast back in 1992. I think I’ve been there every year since at least for a visit, and every time, you get this feeling you’re in such a special place. I’ve always thought the day might come when Tom [Durkin] decided to retire, I could be the lucky guy. And for it to come true is pretty cool.”
Collmus got the chance to be that lucky guy last year when Durkin, the longtime voice of the New York Racing Association, announced his retirement after 24 years on the job. Durkin’s final call came at Saratoga last Aug. 31 for the Grade 1 Spinaway. The final call was followed by an emotional ceremony in the winner’s circle, where the fans chanted Durkin’s name.
Collmus watched the ceremony from afar, but its impact on him and other race callers around the country was far reaching.
“Sometimes you get the feeling that nobody is listening, you’re taken for granted in this job,” said Collmus, who began his time at NYRA during the Acqueduct meet this spring. “And when you see something like that, you realize, whoa, that’s cool. That day, I talked to a bunch of other announcers, and we all said the same thing: ‘Wow, that’s as good as it gets for us.’ It was fun to see, and I’m looking forward to meeting some of those [fans].”
Fans who participate in ceremonies like Durkin’s farewell are just part of what makes calling the Saratoga meet unique. The track itself is much smaller than the vast Belmont Park. The grandstand is made of mostly wood, and the jockeys walk through the crowd as they make their way back to the jockey’s room after a race.
The feeling of intimacy at the track extends to the announcer’s booth. Durkin, who lives in Saratoga and plans to enjoy this year’s meet as a fan, enjoyed the ability to interact with the crowd during his time as the voice of Saratoga.
“I could open the door to my booth at Saratoga and listen to the crowd,” Durkin said. “It’s a bit more like being a stage actor than a movie actor. When you’re in the theater, it’s a visceral relationship between you and the audience. You can hear them, you can see them and you can react to certain things that you say that they react to.
“Sometimes when I was calling a race, I would hear an, ‘ooh’ or something like that. I knew that my binoculars might not be on something in particular, but there was something that made that crowd react so I could find out what was going on.”
That interaction between Durkin and the crowd led to an opening day tradition at Saratoga. More than a decade ago, Durkin decided to allow the crowd to participate in the call of the first race of the meet by saying, “And they’re off at Saratoga,” in unison.
Collmus, the new voice of the old track, plans to keep up the tradition of his predecessor.
“I’m really looking forward to the first race, it’s something that is so exciting,” Collmus said. “The time has come, and I’m actually going to be doing this job that I’ve been dreaming of for so long. … So many people have told me how much they like [Tom’s tradition] and I realize it was Tom’s thing, but I don’t think he’ll mind. I think it’s a great tradition and I’ll certainly give him all the credit for it.”
