Roger Huston To Depart The Meadows

Hall of Famer Roger Huston, the 'Voice' of the Meadows racetrack since 1976, has resigned his position as announcer and TV host of Meadows Racing. His last day of announcing at The Meadows will be Saturday, Nov. 2.

Huston, 77, said, “I am not retiring, just cutting back on the day-to-day announcing. So I have decided to resign my position at The Meadows Race Track and Casino as announcer and TV host of Meadows Racing.”

Huston was a seasoned race announcer when he joined The Meadows, having worked at Ohio fairs, Lebanon Raceway, the Red Mile, Pompano Park, and the Delaware (Ohio) County Fair, where he began calling the Little Brown Jug in 1968. The Meadows allowed him to keep his association with the Jug and other county fairs, and keep his family in one town.

It didn’t take Huston long to make his mark on the Pittsburgh area sports scene, where he became an icon to anyone that ever watched a race at The Meadows. He called the historic 1984 Breeders Crown when the locally-based colt Dragons Lair defeated Nihilator, and then the following year was of course in the stand when Nihilator was unexpectedly beaten in the Adios.

Scores of great racing moments at The Meadows, from other editions of the Breeders Crown, to the Adios, and the historic record-breaking drives by Dave Palone, were brought to life by Huston.

“My first Roger call that I remember was when Armbro Ranger and Keystone Ore were battling in the Adios (1976). It might have got me hooked on harness racing,” said Palone.

“He’s been there for all of my milestones,” Palone continued. “It won’t be the same here without him. He’s going to be missed, not just announcing but in the backstretch community here at The Meadows. He’s like a member of everyone’s family.

“And Roger may be the most passionate person ever about harness racing,” he added. “He still counts every statistic and lives and breathes harness racing. We’ve been fortunate that he’s been in the sport.”

Huston became more than just a race announcer when the simulcasting era hit harness racing in the early 1980s. Huston took a step into television when The Meadows launched Call-A-Bet. In 1983 Huston began broadcasting from a studio before the race cards to give fans analysis, racing news and anecdotes. He became not only a household voice, but a familiar face as well. At one point during the Ladbroke ownership era, Huston’s Ladbroke Racing Network show reached as many as a million-plus viewers.

In a full-page story in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette newspaper in 2000, sportswriter Pohla Smith described Huston as, “On the air, an oddball combination of consummate sportscasting professionalism and unabashed ham.”

Smith was correct as Huston not only delivered straight analysis on races, but added trivia and handicapping contests to the mix.

Huston has been a statistician for not only Palone, other drivers, trainers and horses, but also himself. He has meticulously kept track of his work and by his calculation he has called 188,495 races in his career. That is, through the Wednesday, Oct. 23, card at The Meadows.

A native of Ohio, Huston said he plans to continue calling races at the Delaware County Fair each fall, and traveling to other tracks to make cameo appearances, which has evolved into a sort of ambassadorship for Huston.

“Del Miller told me before his passing, `Harness racing has been good to you. You be good to harness racing.’ I have tried my best to do just that and will continue in the future. Be there!”

(harnessracing.com)

It has since been announced that Huston will be joining the Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association as a brand ambassador. For complete information, click here.