Celebrated track announcer Tom Durkin was part of the soundtrack of many of horse racing's most famous races, serving as the voice of The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) from 1990-2014.
Durkin could be funny, as witnessed at Saratoga Race Course when he channeled Jack Sparrow to call home Arrrrr in proper pirate fashion to a claiming win on August 16, 2008, or by singing Doremifasollatido to victory in a maiden tilt on July 4, 2008, at Belmont Park.
However, he was also poignant and very much in the thick of the sport's best moments, having called all three Triple Crown races as the NBC announcer from 2001-10 as well as working as the Breeders' Cup on-air announcer from 1984-2005.
Durkin's call of the 2001 Breeders' Cup Classic came just weeks after the 9/11 tragedy amidst the first major sporting event to be held in New York City following the attacks. Sakhee, who had won the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe a few weeks earlier, had taken the lead but Tiznow, the reigning Horse of the Year, surged in the final yards as Durkin exclaimed, 'Tiznow wins it for America!'
Durkin recently published his memoir titled "A Life's Calling: The Voice Behind the World's Greatest Horse Races," in collaboration with turf writers Paul Volponi and Lenny Shulman.
"I never wanted to do it," Durkin said. "I play golf with Rich Cristiano of Adelphi Racing and after we'd go and have a beer and I'd end up telling stories. After every story, he'd say, 'You have to write a book.'
"The thing is, I'm afraid of introspection...of what I might actually find," he continued. "But out of the blue, Volponi and Shulman reached out and we went ahead and did it."
The book covers a lot of ground on Durkin's life and how he dealt with the day-to-day stress of a high-profile position at the top of the sport.
"It's a mixture of interviews with me and then with other people in my life - family, friends, racetrack people. And a lot of fun facts along the way," Durkin said. "I just enjoy telling the stories of what happened over the 43 years I called races from tiny little places to the Kentucky Derby."
During Durkin's tenure a total of eight horses went to the gate for the Belmont Stakes with a Triple Crown at stake [Silver Charm, 1997; Real Quiet, 1998; Charismatic, 1999; War Emblem, 2002; Funny Cide, 2003; Smarty Jones, 2004; Big Brown, 2008; and California Chrome, 2014], while a ninth, I'll Have Another in 2012, was scratched on the eve of the race with tendonitis.
American Pharoah would end the 37-year Triple Crown drought in 2015 just one year after Durkin's retirement with Larry Collmus doing the honors from the announcer's booth.
"I called a lot of Belmont Stakes - I guess they're like your kids and it's hard to have a favorite," stated Durkin. "I was particularly disappointed when Smarty Jones lost. I was a big Smarty Jones fan. Being an announcer you're supposed to be impartial but it's hard to get away from being a fan and there was certainly a disappointment in my voice when Smarty Jones lost to Birdstone. One of the New York Times writers said it was the most non-celebratory win call he'd ever heard."
Dan Loiselle, 'The Voice of Canadian Horse Racing,' called more than 55,000 races during a 29-year tenure at Woodbine Racetrack. He credits Durkin as a positive influence on his career in the booth.
"We became good friends over the years," Loiselle said. "Tom had a binder he updated regularly with phrases he could use during a race call. He got me doing it and when I called races, my binder was divided into four different sections - start, body of the race, the stretch and the finish.
"I'd update it regularly with things I'd heard on a sportscast or read in the newspaper," Loiselle continued. "When I felt myself getting stale over 160 days of racing in a year, I'd take a glance at this binder to find something I could use in the race if it presents itself."
Loiselle went to his Durkin-inspired binder to find the line he used to call Wando home a winner of the 2003 Queen's Plate, the first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown: 'It is all Wando! Sharp, strong, and a dominating winner of the Queen's Plate. Wando, simply spectacular!'
"I read a story by Steve Simmons once talking about the Leafs and he said they were, 'sharp, strong and dominant.' So, I wrote it down and put it in my book," recalled Loiselle. "When Wando was winning the Queen's Plate, I'd written it down the week before and I used it when he came to the wire. That was something Tom got me doing."
Durkin's binder was as much to do with his professionalism as it was to do with dealing with his own anxiety.
"There's a recurring theme in the book: fear of failure - which I believe is a great motivator and plain old nerves," Durkin said. "I battled nerves in those big races for a long time. To the point where I actually gave up the job calling the Triple Crown because I didn't want to deal with the stress anymore, but you have to put your health and well-being first.
"I learned how to deal with it through various means: psychologists, hypnotists, meditation and a betablocker which prevents you from hyperventilating and your hands from shaking - both of which are necessary when you call a horse race," he continued. "You need steady hands and to be able to breathe well."
In his semi-retirement, Durkin now teaches public speaking to high-school students in Saratoga Springs
"Preparation is the main thing," Durkin said. "Sixty percent of people in America have a fear of public speaking. It's the number one phobia. But the number one antidote to that is preparation. So, to call races, I prepared, prepared and prepared. Part of the book is the process on how I did it."
Which brings Durkin back to the first book he ever wrote - one he didn't publish but instead borrowed from day after day to inject color, excitement and clarity to an estimated 80,000 races called over a 43-year career in the booth.
"I kept putting new entries in there. I had 80 different words for the word fast," Durkin said. "I thought fast was a dull word, so I'd use otherworldly, rocketing, bruising, brutal, savage, brisk, lively, unadulterated speed, there's all sorts of them.
"The last race I called I used the word 'splash-tastic' - it's not a word even, it's a neologism," Durkin continued. "That was in my section on things to say in the mud. On a muddy track day, I'd go to that section and refresh my subconscious. A couple weeks prior to that I used the word 'mud-nificent.'
Loiselle, who was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2015, said Durkin fit the parameters of what it takes to be an elite performer.
"I was told early on that you have to be an original. You grab bits and pieces when you're learning your craft but it's essential that you develop a style of your own," Loiselle said. "It isn't cover bands that get famous, it's the originals. I'm biased because he's a friend of mine, but Tom was the gold standard."
Durkin, succinct as ever, said he had a very specific goal as an announcer: "To describe each race accurately and appropriately.
"So, I'm not going to make the third at Aqueduct on February 4th sound like the Belmont Stakes and vice versa," he added. "I'm not saying these races are not exciting, people are betting and they're all exciting in their own way but there are different levels of importance. That's not to say I was always serious because horse racing is fun and if a call required a little fun then I'd throw it in there. If you don't sound interesting, people won't be interested, and they will tune you out."
And when it comes to knowing how to make a race call interesting, Durkin wrote the book.
Cankoura brings 'decisive turn-of-foot' to G1 New York
The Aga Khan homebred Cankoura seeks her day in the sun, both figuratively and literally, as the classic-placed daughter of Persian King ships over from Chantilly to Saratoga Race Course in search of firmer ground and another crack at top-level competition. Perhaps a bit overlooked in the deep ranks of France's most powerful yard, the gray 4-year-old has held her own against the best, while yet to truly get her proverbial flowers. In such, connections of the Francis-Henri Graffard charge have sent her stateside in hopes that she will be in full bloom in Friday's Grade 1, $750,000 New York.
Shipped over along with fellow homebred Mandanaba, a leading player in Saturday's Grade 1, $500,000 Just a Game presented by Resolute Racing, the four-time winner from nine starts was third in last June's Group 1 Prix de Diane [French Oaks], a race in which Graffard won with subsequent Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf winner Gezora [now in the care of Hall of Famer Bill Mott] and finished fourth with Mandanaba. Taking the lead from Mandanaba in mid-stretch, Cankoura was caught by Gezora and Coolmore's Bedtime Story in the final half-furlong, giving way begrudgingly. On Friday, she gets a chance for a little revenge against her old stablemate, as Gezora also heads to the New York.
"Francis loves racing in America and had such a great experience taking Gezora over there last year, so he's keen to take horses over there if they fit, which is why it makes sense for these Group 2 types who will like those conditions - more pace and faster ground - in America, especially when it falls so well in the calendar after their prep runs," said Nemone Routh, director and French racing manager for the Aga Khan Studs. "She's been kept in training to step up and run in Group 1s, like Mandanaba, so we thought it was worth taking the risk. The more Group 1 form we can get, the better."
Cankoura resurfaced with a deceptively strong fourth, beaten 1 1/2-lengths, in the Group 3 Prix Allez France around Saint-Cloud's left-handed course. Held up and a bit keen, she still finished strongly as the joint-favorite, a short neck and a head away from runner-up honors astern fellow joint-favorite Sunly. Unsurprisingly, Graffard's other two fillies in the race finished first and second [Tajlina].
Between the French Oaks and her first run this year, she was a smart winner of August's Group 3 Prix de Psyche before a disappointing season-ending seventh in the Group 1 Prix Jean Romanet--a race won by Graffard's subsequent Group 1 Hong Kong Cup-placed Quisisana and in which Group 1 Neom Turf Cup-placed Survie was second and 2024 Grade 1 Belmont Oaks winner Cinderella's Dream was fourth.
"In the Romanet, the jockey decided he wanted to lead and it just didn't' suit her," Routh reflected. "She had never led in a race before, was a little bit keen and I think it wasn't the right tactic, so I would ignore that run. She didn't run her race, so that's when we decided to pull up stumps with her. She's strengthened over the winter. If things fall right, she has the right fit and attitude to adapt to American racing. It's an exciting race and quite a big ask for them, going from our training tracks to what they'll encounter over there, but she's experienced and genuine.
"She's got a decisive turn-of-foot and if they're going fast enough, she'll drop the bit and sort of cruise," Routh continued. "It can go horribly wrong quite quickly in America at the break and that happened to us in the past, but Cankoura normally breaks very well."
The yard's second rider Clement Lecoeuvre, who was aboard for Cankoura's graduation at second asking in December 2024 and her third in the French Oaks, takes the reins once again on the daughter of dual Group 2-winning Dalakhani mare Candarliya.
"Our retained jockey, Mickael Barzalona, will be riding in the [Group 1] Coronation Cup on our superstar horse, Calandagan, at Epsom that same weekend, so we felt it important that he stayed back," Routh said. "Clement and Mickael do all the work for us in the mornings, so Clement knows our horses very well. We considered taking a local jockey who doesn't know our fillies, but knows the track and style of racing, but decided to stick with a rider who knows our fillies and knows how they are. He has ridden in America before, just not at Saratoga, and he's a very good jockey who completely fits with our style of training and he's very serious and will study the race. He has deputized quite a lot and quite often when taking the second ride has finished in front of the first."
Keeping their horses comfortable and focused has been a big part of both the operation's success, especially while shipping abroad. In such, keeping Cankoura and Mandanaba happy on their trip over was made all the easier by their own affection for one another.
"Funny enough, these two fillies are best friends and are next to each other in the stable and they even went off together at stud for a break," Routh concluded with a laugh. "They have now come back to training together and now they're coming to America together. On top of that, their two morning riders are best friends, as well, so it's kind of sweet that everyone is traveling together. Everyone is getting a chance to have their day out."
While it remains to be seen whether facilitating said solace will end up speaking volumes at Saratoga, it is surely worth noting that the Graffard operation that has won a Breeders' Cup, Japan Cup, Dubai Sheema Classic, Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes in the past year by doing just that.
Wathnan warrior Make Me King back for more in G1 Resorts World Casino Manhattan
It is difficult not to admire a horse like Wathnan Racing's 6-year-old Make Me King, who takes his racetrack with him on an international level and lays himself down properly in each race, no matter the class level. Trained by head Wathnan conditioner Hamad Al Jehani, the son of Dark Angel has ascended the ranks over the past few seasons and will start in his third consecutive Grade 1/Group 1 affair in Saturday's $1 million Resorts World Casino Manhattan.
"It's rare to see a horse like him who can compete at the high level at many different tracks and countries," Jehani said. "I think it's worth it to try one more time in America."
Exiting a 3 1/4-length clear second in the Grade 1 Turf Classic on Kentucky Derby day, becoming Jehani's second stateside runner in the process, the gray gelding held up the form of his previous run, a solid 3 1/4-length fourth in the Group 1 Dubai Turf on Dubai World Cup night behind Godolphin star Ombudsman.
The only horse to make up any significant ground on an uncontested front-running winner, Rhetorical, the seven-time victor from 29 starts added another bang-up effort to a frequent-flyer campaign that has seen him traverse from the UK to Qatar last fall, fly to the UAE twice to run a half-length third in Abu Dhabi's Listed HH The President Cup [in addition to his aforementioned run in the Dubai Turf] and win Doha's Listed Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Cup out of his own backyard.
A four-time stakes winner, including the Group 3 Prix Quincey in France in August 2024 and a trio of Listed races in as many countries, the hard-trying French-bred was acquired in the fall of 2023, his sophomore year, by the Wathnan operation of Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar. Originally in the care of Andre Fabre, he went to Jehani and has seen his rating rise from 104 to 112, while competing in no less than 17 stakes. In total, he has finished fifth or better in 10 graded/group stakes in five different countries, with Wathan clearly making the proverbial big days focal points.
"We like to be in more big races on these special days and we are very proud of our results all over the world so far," Jehani said. "The whole Wathnan team is doing great - the American, Middle East and European operations - so I think we are moving in the right way and hoping for more success and to add more Grade 1 success.
"It's not easy, but if you don't try, you will not reach your target," Jehani continued. "Racing and horses will always take you more forward. There's never just one target that you reach and finish; there's always more to accomplish. You have to look for the next.
"This will be his last race before a break," Jehani concluded. "It depends on his results, to be honest, but we most likely will give him a break and prepare him again for the Middle East season."
Top-level racing in the GCC region kicks off at the end of October. The first major meeting with pattern fixtures in the region is mid-November's Bahrain International Trophy, followed by Abu Dhabi's HH The President Cup on the first weekend in December.
Wathnan will also be represented on Saturday at Saratoga by Commandment in the Grade 1, $2 million Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets, as well as Double Act in the nightcap [Race 14] turf allowance. A win by Make Me King would be Jehani's second Grade 1 in North America, having taken last fall's Canadian International with Silawi.
Vitruvian Man races with new bit in G1 Belmont Stakes pres. by NYRA Bets
When Grade 1-placed Vitruvian Man demonstrated a propensity for bearing in during his races, veteran trainer Doug O'Neill tinkered with a few equipment changes in hopes of correcting the issue, eventually settling on an Australian ring bit. The son of Vino Rosso has worn it in his daily exercise in recent weeks, and will race with it for the first time in the Grade 1, $2 million Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets on Saturday at Saratoga Race Course.
O'Neill said Vitruvian Man has become more manageable in the mornings thanks to the new bit, as well as the dedication of jockey Antonio Fresu, who rode him to a third-place finish in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby in April and has the mount in the Belmont from the inside post. He guided him through a six-furlong breeze from the gate in 1:13.60 on May 20 at Sanita Anita Park, and over the same surface and distance on May 31 in 1:13.80.
"He went through a couple steering issues where he was kind of wanting to go right down to the rail," O'Neill said. "It's a lot of trial and error, so through trying out different equipment, we landed on a good one. Antonio worked him the other day and tried to keep him in lane three or four, and it worked out perfect. You never know until you see it [in a race], but in the mornings, what we're seeing right now is he's a lot more steerable and if he can use that energy to relax and move forward and have a good stretch run, we'll have a chance."
Campaigned by breeder Glenn Sorgenstein WC Racing with Run Fast Racing, Vitruvian Man's lone start this year came in the nine-furlong Santa Anita Derby, landing third behind next-out Kentucky Derby starters So Happy [9th] and Potente [12th]. The bay colt graduated at third asking in October at Keeneland, and hit the board in his subsequent three starts.
Out of the O'Neill-trained Bernardini mare Caradini, a half-sister to graded stakes-winning millionaire Something Awesome, Vitruvian Man is a half-brother to Grade 3-placed Miss Lizzy.
O'Neill said Vitruvian Man seems like the type who will relish the Belmont's 10-furlong distance this year.
"The biggest key for a race like the Derby or the Belmont is that mile and a quarter distance, and he got that in him for sure," said O'Neill, who will attempt to win his first Belmont Stakes.
Dutrow, Jr. on impressive Mike Lee winner Sculcos Folly: 'It's just good stuff'
Four straight wins, three of them in stakes, have the connections of 3-year-old New York-bred colt Sculcos Folly excited about what's next, even if they haven't quite sorted that out just yet.
With regular rider Jaime Rodriguez aboard, Michael Dubb's Sculcos Folly turned in an eye-catching 5 1/2-length victory in Wednesday's $200,000 Mike Lee for state-bred sophomores. He improved to 6-for-8 lifetime with a front-running score, dueling 4-5 favorite Bravaro into submission before pulling away through the stretch. The winning effort earned a career-best 94 Beyer Speed Figure.
"I was very happy. It's just good stuff," trainer Rick Dutrow, Jr. said. "He keeps impressing. It's been a lot of fun for us."
During his streak, the Triple Crown-nominated Sculcos Folly has won by 29 1/2 combined lengths. He was under consideration for Saturday's Grade 1, $500,000 Woody Stephens presented by Mohegan Sun, also sprinting seven furlongs, before ultimately landing in the Mike Lee.
"We're happy with what happened yesterday, so the whole trick is to try to see if he can do it again. We've got to point him in right direction. We'll see what's up with him next. We're excited to see what that is," Dutrow, Jr. said. "I really haven't looked up yet. I'm sure Dubb's all over it. Hopefully whatever it is, it works out for him and if it works out for him, it's going to work out for us."
Sculcos Folly launched his career last summer at Saratoga, finishing last-of-eight in a 5 1/2-furlong restricted maiden special weight. He was dropped in for a $25,000 tag for his next start three weeks later at Monmouth Park, graduating by 2 1/2 lengths, then went unclaimed again for $20,000 in a five-length romp at Laurel Park to cap his 2-year-old season.
After returning to Laurel to run second in his season opener January 9, Sculcos Folly reeled off three consecutive wins at Aqueduct including the one-mile Gander against state-breds and 6 1/2-furong Mind Your Biscuits division of the New York Stallion Stakes Series for eligible state-sired 3-year-olds.
"He was just born to do it. [There's] nothing special happening around him, just I guess a very slow beginner," Dutrow, Jr. said. "It took him a while to get things in gear but once he got it all together, I do believe that he's rounding into form the right way. I do believe that. He's becoming more of a racehorse now. It's all good stuff. We love being around him. He's a cool little guy.
"All you have to do is look at his career early on, because we could never get him to breeze past 52 [seconds]. We were just like, 'Let's take what's coming' and were trying to put him in where he could earn," he added. "He's gotten it together. It seems like he's continuing to do it."
Quick savoring Commentator success with consistent gelding Alan Turing
On a warm and bright June afternoon at Saratoga Race Course, trainer Pat Quick watched with delight as Gallagher's Stud's homebred gelding Alan Turing charged up the rail to take over from the gritty pacesetter Dr. Kraft and land his first stakes win in the $200,000 Commentator. The nine-furlong route for 3-year-olds and up was part of the New York Showcase card to open the five-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival.
"Yesterday was just perfect, and a great opportunity for the New York-breds and New York breeders," Quick said. "You can't say anything except it was just fabulous."
Alan Turing, a son of Omaha Beach, has been a model of consistency, hitting the board in nine of his last 10 outings on both turf and dirt. This year, he has raced exclusively on dirt and entered the Commentator from a runner-up finish to the streaking Commuted in an open-company allowance going a one-turn mile on April 25 at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Quick had considered entering the 4-year-old bay in the 1 1/16-mile Kingston over turf on the New York Showcase card but instead made the correct decision to target the Commentator, where Alan Turing stalked the pace on the inside and rallied up the rail under Junior Alvarado to land the half-length victory in his stakes debut. He equaled a career-best 88 Beyer Speed Figure in victory.
"It couldn't have been better, and kudos to Dr. Kraft, too. He really held in there," Quick said. "It was a great race."
On hand to celebrate the win alongside Quick was owner and breeder Marlene Brody, who purchased Gallagher's Stud - initially a Black Angus cattle farm - with her late husband Jerry, in Ghent, New York in 1976. They began their thoroughbred operation in 1978. Alan Turing is out of the stakes-placed Sadler's Wells mare Honoria, making him a half-brother to multiple graded stakes-placed Maximova.
"He certainly deserved an opportunity to try in stakes company, and Mrs. Brody does own the mare, so it's always good to get some black type for the mares," Quick said. "We were choosing between the grass and the dirt race because he runs well on both, and we thought the horses going into the dirt race haven't run in six months or ran a clunker their last race, so we tried the dirt race, and it ended up being the right decision. It was a great day."
Quick and Brody have had considerable success together, andQuick's top-three lifetime earners - Olympic Dreams, Sweet Mystery and now Alan Turing - are all Gallagher's Stud homebreds. Olympic Dreams banked over $400,000 and finished second in the 2023 Commentator for Quick, while Sweet Mystery banked north of $360,000 via 15 on-the-board efforts - including three wins - from 23 outings.
While Gallagher's Stud's tenure with Quick began with a handful of transferred horses, their relationship has developed into a fruitful partnership with well-bred, honest runners.
"I would get their off-casts for a few years because I had raced a horse they bred named Borrowing Base and they came to the races, so I met them that way. The relationship has developed since then, and they sell most of their babies, but the ones that maybe don't reach their reserve, they keep to race, and that's certainly good for me," Quick said, with a laugh. "They're such wonderful people and they are really just a blessing to have in my life."
Quick said it is exciting to have Alan Turing in the barn, and that he will carefully evaluate upcoming options for the hard-trying gelding.
"We'll just see what comes up and how he comes out of this one and go from there," the trainer said. "Now that he's won a stakes race, maybe he'll just have to stay in them. Open-company allowance races are just as difficult, so we'll see how things go. In the meantime, we'll enjoy this for a few days."
The New York Showcase card featured six state-bred stakes worth $200,000. The day's other stakes winners included Bernietakescharge [82 Beyer] in the Critical Eye, Mi Bago [96] in the Kingston, Being Betty [83] in the Mount Vernon, Sculcos Folly [94] in the Mike Lee and Venetta [82] in the Bouwerie.
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