Tom Durkin retired this summer from his job as track announcer for the New York Racing Association, ending a 43-year career calling horse races. He has been the top announcer for NYRA since 1990, has called many Triple Crown races, and was the lead race caller for the Breeders’ Cup from its inception in 1984 though 2005. Durkin recently spoke with SportsBusiness Journal’s Liz Mullen and reflected on the horse racing business.
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How do you think the sport has changed since you started calling races in 1971?
DURKIN: I haven’t taken a survey. I don’t even look at surveys. But what I see out the window at Saratoga, I see young people. People in their 20s and young families. I know beneath me are boxes of people, people who are older and people who are more monied. But that’s what I see at Saratoga.
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Tom Durkin has had a keen vantage point as the horse racing business has evolved.
Photo by: NYRA |
Now when I look out my window at Belmont, I don’t see those people, except on Sundays when it’s family day and I see them. They come out in pretty good numbers, younger families and the younger kids.
I have also noticed on the bigger days there are more women there and they are dressed fashionably. And I think there is a bit of a reason for that. Maybe 10 years ago, NBC did some market research and they realized that the majority of people that were watching the Kentucky Derby were women. Once they got that information, they sent us out. I know I was on the “The Today Show” … and only women watch that show, 90 percent of the audience must be women. So the first hour of that show, there was a little bit about horse racing, but most of that hour was about food and fashion and celebrity. And I just noticed, and again this is not empirical evidence, but what I have seen from my window, I see a lot more women and I see them gussied up.
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What do you think of hard-core horse racing fans who have been critical of NBC, Churchill Downs — as well as other stakeholders in the sport — for focusing on the social aspects, the food and the fashion, as opposed to the sport of horse racing?
DURKIN: I think you can do both. And I think NBC has got the mix just right. … The first part of the show is not about who is going to go to the lead and who are you going to use in your exacta box. It’s about the event, and that is a bit of the hook.
And then people will stick around for the race, and the second part of it is pretty much about the strategy, a rundown of the horses. If you have an interest in the first part as well as the second part, it’s a pretty good mix. I think you can do both.
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Do you think we will see another Triple Crown?
DURKIN: Well, you know, we wouldn’t be having this conversation if [Real Quiet] was in front when his nose hit the wire. … We might not be having this conversation if Smarty Jones was given a more judicious ride and didn’t run the third quarter of his race in 22 and 4 [22 and 4/5 seconds]. Might not be having this conversation if
Charismatic didn’t go lame at the 16th pole. Might not be having this conversation if Silver Charm had seen Touch Gold in the corner of his eye.
You know it’s been really, really close. If Big Brown didn’t rip off his shoe going into the first turn or if War Emblem didn’t fall to his face coming out of the starting gate. I just think it’s a matter of time.
■ And then what? It’s sounds like you are saying horse racing has been unlucky.
DURKIN: I mean everybody puts the whole thing on, “If we get a Triple Crown winner.” I mean, I don’t know. I don’t know if that is going to be the greatest thing that ever happened. If we get a Triple Crown winner, the next day at Belmont Park is attendance going to double? I don’t know. I wouldn’t say so.
■ What do you think the sport is doing right and what do you think the sport is doing wrong?
DURKIN: I think we probably need fewer races and we probably need more horses. I think we need to improve the product. I don’t know a lot about business, but I know there is such a thing as supply and demand. The product just isn’t as good as it should be. It’s pretty much due to too many races and not enough horses. The foal crop is down.
■ Do you have any opinion on running the Breeders’ Cup in prime time?
DURKIN: I know the Derby would never work in prime time. … It’s tradition, you know. It’s a daytime event. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The Triple Crown, the Breeders’ Cup, both of them are doing pretty well and I don’t see much to add.
■ What were your favorite Triple Crown horses and your favorite Breeders’ Cup horses?
DURKIN: I have been able to see all of these really good horses. I mean all of the best. I think Zenyatta may have been the only really good horse in the last 30 years I haven’t called. My list is probably the same as any fan’s.
■ Do you think the sport is suffering from a lack of star horses?
DURKIN: It’s not so much the star horses. You’d like to see the star horses more often. You know, fans go to the track on Saturday and they will get a horse and then you don’t see him for another six weeks. I remember, growing up, you’d see him run every two weeks. It develops a following not just for big horses but for other horses, you know, personal favorites.
■ How is the atmosphere of the Breeders’ Cup different than the Derby?
DURKIN: There are a lot more people [at the Kentucky Derby]. They get 150,000 people in that little building. It’s just bigger in terms of star power and international attention and things like that.
■ What do you think of video boards versus race calls, as a race caller?
DURKIN: I think it’s good. I remember going to the track growing up, everybody needed binoculars. Now you don’t need binoculars.
