Kentucky Derby announcer calls it quits

Mark McKenna
April 28, 2011
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tom durkinWe know it as the most exciting two minutes in the sport, other may call it “The Run for the Roses” and bettors know it as the Kentucky Derby. It’s an exciting, always historical event, surrounded with hype, hoopla and prestige, and apparently the pressure of calling the Fastest Two Minutes in Sport has become too far Kentucky Derby announcer Tom Durkin.

Durkin had called the past 30 Triple Crown races on NBC, but is now reportedly stepping down from his position because of stress. It seems the stress of calling the Kentucky Derby for 25 plus years has finally taken its toll on Durkin.

I suppose everyone deals with stress in different ways and I won’t pretend to know what kind of pressure Durkin is under as he calls the Kentucky Derby, but let me just say, in case he didn’t know, “You’re doing just fine!”  Obviously his stress is more than a shot of Cuervo can cure, but I’m still scratching my head over this one.

I mean, it’s not like he’s botched calls, in fact, during his tenure as the announcer for The Run For The Roses, Durkin has become a household name and a memorable voice during some of the most exciting finishes in Kentucky Derby history. He served as the Breeders Cup’s chief TV voice until 2005, and was a longtime broadcaster on NBC as part of the network’s sportscasting crew for horse races. For years Durkin has been providing analysis, commentary and features in addition to in depth descriptions of horse races and he’s damn good at it.

This story is puzzling. You hear about professional athletes talking about the pressure of the NBA Playoffs, the Super Bowl and the Stanley Cup Finals but this is almost unheard of. You would expect a jockey to maybe fold under the pressure to perform, but not a well respected announcer.

Maybe he wasn’t allowed to bet on the Kentucky Derby as he called it… That would upset me enough to quit.

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Tags: Article, Horse Racing, Kentucky Derby, Tom Durkin
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