Durkin Back In The Booth

Legendary announcer Tom Durkin recently returned to his Standardbred roots and came out of retirement for his first harness racing call in 33 years.

Without skipping a beat, Durkin made a special appearance behind the mic for the annual spring matinee showcase held this past Sunday in front of a large crowd at the half-mile Pinehurst Training Center in North Carolina. The popular event featured non-wagering schooling races exclusive to two-year-olds in jog carts.

Durkin, who resides in Saratoga Springs and spends his winters in North Carolina, picked up the mic for the first time since retiring nine years ago to fill in for announcer Earl Lennox and call the first race of the day.

Lost Highway (Captaintreacherous-Square Dancer) and driver Alonzo Spencer wore down the pacesetter to win the opener in 2:21 with the So Surreal filly Color Me Sweet holding on for second over the Stay Hungry miss Skinny Legend. The winning colt is trained by Gordon Corey for Threelyons Racing.

The first race was sponsored by Durkin's own trotting stallion Coraggioso. He continues to own horses and currently has two Ohio-bred trotters, both trained by Chris Beaver.

Durkin enjoyed a career as a horse racing announcer spanning more than four decades, starting in 1971 and ending in 2014 at Saratoga. Known for his high-profile Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup calls, Durkin revealed in an interview with Heather Vitale, that the most exciting race he has ever called happened to be during his time announcing races at The Meadowlands, from 1982-1990. He described the 1989 Hambletonian dead-heat between Park Avenue Joe and Probe in the final race-off as "astronomical squared."