Johnson's Call of Secretariat's Belmont Reflects Era

While racing fans will always associate Secretariat's victory in the 1973 Belmont Stakes (G1) with Chic Anderson's call on CBS Television, Anderson was not the only announcer to cover the race. Ray Haight did a radio call, supposedly from a seat in a dining room at Belmont Park. Radio listeners in the tri-state New York area also may have heard a recreation of the race on WNBC Radio by Harvey Pack, a.k.a. "Pack At The Track." The 69,138 fans at Belmont Park and radio listeners in the Saratoga Springs, N.Y., area were treated to the voice of New York Racing Association track announcer Dave Johnson calling the legendary 31-length victory. Johnson, 82, is one of the sport's most famous announcers, best known for an award-winning career of more than 35 years in which he coined his trademark phrase "And down the stretch they come!" But on June 9, 1973, he was the 32-year-old track announcer for NYRA, and his call of Secretariat's Belmont has been a missing part of history. But through the courtesy and permission of NYRA and Johnson, BloodHorse is presenting the track video and his accompanying call. Watching and listening provides not only a great addition to the legend of Secretariat but also tells the story of how race callers of that era operated under far more restraint than today's more flamboyant and animated generation. "At the time in 1973 as a track announcer, you were paid to say what you see," Johnson said. "I had to shut my microphone off with about 70 yards left and I could not call the finish. We were told to keep going through the whole field and the only time you could call the finish was when it was on television or radio." Due to those restrictions, Johnson's call was much more straightforward than Anderson's. For instance, while Pvt. Smiles, who was never a factor and disappeared from Anderson's call after the first six furlongs, Johnson's duty to his on-track listeners required him to still mention the well-beaten 14-1 longshot in the stretch. Yet even with those shackles, Johnson still managed to capture the magnitude of what was happening as he spoke louder and quicker and with more emotion during the final stages. "In the stretch, Secretariat is all alone, in front by 20. Sixteenth of a mile to the finish, Secretariat, jockey Ron Turcotte, in front by 25. Secretariat under the wire by 25, an easy winner. He won by 25 lengths. Here's the rest of the field. Twice a Prince second, My Gallant third, Pvt. Smiles, and Sham fifth." At the time, Johnson knew he had witnessed a moment in time he would never forget. "The thought went through my mind he was the greatest horse I've ever seen," he said, "and if you brought any horse to Belmont Park that day, Secretariat would have beat him." To better understand the era, racing was concerned about losing handle to bookmakers. To crack down, fans were not allowed to make phone calls on-track during the races. The bank of telephones was locked before the first race and reopened after the last was declared official. Not calling the winner played into this effort. As this call also went out on radio, Johnson did call the finish. The mention of Turcotte in the call also went against the grain. In that era, Johnson was under orders to avoid mentioning the names of jockeys and trainers. "One day I said (Angel Cordero Jr.) was going for his fifth win," Johnson said, "and the next day my boss received a note from a board member saying 'Inform Mr. Johnson it's not jockey racing.' " As seen in the track video of the 1973 Belmont, cameramen were told that if a horse was a clear and a certain winner they should focus on the horses behind so that there would be tape for the stewards in case there was any bumping. That's why the video shows Twice a Prince and My Gallant crossing the wire, but not Secretariat. It was, after all, 50 years ago, when racing was different and there was one race when "And down the stretch they come" did not apply because of the word "they." As Dave Johnson noted, in the 1973 Belmont Stakes there was only one horse charging down the stretch. There was Secretariat and then everyone else.