Imbriale's tenure with NYRA dates to 1979 when he won a New York Daily News contest, giving him the opportunity to call a race and work with the NYRA press office. In 1990, the Queens, New York native became Tom Durkin's backup and along the way, took on other responsibilities at NYRA by working with Harvey Pack on the Inside Racing program, and in a variety of roles within NYRA TV.

“When I think about all the things that I was fortunate to do at NYRA, the best part was being able to work with a lot of talented, wonderful people, from Harvey Pack and Charlsie Cantey to Tom Durkin and all the behind-the-scenes people in NYRA TV, simulcasting and the press office,” said Imbriale.

In January of 2020, Imbriale took over as NYRA's full-time track announcer, joining former New York race callers that include Durkin, Marshall Cassidy, Dave Johnson, Chic Anderson and Fred “Cappy” Capossela.

He said, “When I walked into the booth at Saratoga for the first time after taking over as the full-time announcer in 2020, I literally got goose bumps thinking of those who had gone before me, greats like Fred Capossela, Marshall Cassidy, Chic Anderson, Dave Johnson and Tom. I got to do just about everything I wanted to do at NYRA. That's how fortunate I was. I really feel that way.”

In 2023, Imbriale transitioned from full time to seasonal duties as the primary announcer at Belmont Park and the Belmont at the Big A fall meet. Imbriale handed the Saratoga baton to Frank Mirahmadi, who called his first Saratoga meet in 2023 and will return in 2024.

Chris Griffin, who joined NYRA in 2023 and served as the track announcer for the winter and spring meets at Aqueduct, will expand his role and handle all race calling duties at Aqueduct.

“John's contributions went beyond an unwavering accuracy in calling the races,” said  NYRA President & CEO Dave O'Rourke. “He conveyed excitement whether it was a Grade 1 at Saratoga or a mid-week claimer, and in doing so, helped fans learn about and better appreciate thoroughbred racing. John is also one of the true gentlemen of racing and a role model and mentor to a generation of NYRA staff.”

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Imbriale's 43-year tenure with NYRA dates to 1979 when he won a New York Daily News contest, which gave him the opportunity to call a race and work with the NYRA press office.  He has served as NYRA's full-time track announcer since January 2020.

“NYRA is the pinnacle of this wonderful sport, and these last three years have been filled with incredible moments and races that I will never forget,” said Imbriale. “I'd like to thank the fans at Saratoga for truly embracing me, and I look forward to being in the booth the rest of the year and at Belmont Park moving forward.”

Mirahmadi has been the track announcer at Santa Anita Park since 2018 and Monmouth Park since 2015.

“I felt the history and tradition of Saratoga Race Course the moment I entered the gates for the first time 25 years ago,” said Mirahmadi. “It is a magical place, and I am beyond grateful to follow in the footsteps of John Imbriale next summer at the Spa.”

Griffin has served as track announcer at Parx Racing since 2021. He previously worked as track announcer at Sam Houston Race Park, Gulfstream Park West and Portland Meadows. A native of Santa Monica, California, Griffin was backup announcer to Imbriale at the 2021/22 Aqueduct winter meet.

“Aqueduct Racetrack plays a central role in New York's Thoroughbred racing ecosystem, and it was a privilege to be able to call races there last winter,” said Griffin. “I thank NYRA for this opportunity and can't wait to get back to the Big A to begin this new role.”

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“Following the conclusion of the summer meet at Saratoga Race Course, NYRA track announcer John Imbriale received a positive COVID-19 test result after experiencing mild symptoms. As a result of the mandatory 10-day isolation period, Imbriale will miss the opening weekend of the fall meet (at Belmont Park) and is scheduled to return on Thursday, Sept. 23.

“In his absence, Frank Mirahmadi will handle the race calling duties on Thursday, September 16. Chris Griffin, who was named the lead race caller at Parx in March, will call Friday-Sunday.

“Imbriale is fully vaccinated, doing well, and looking forward to returning to Belmont next week.”

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“As a result of the mandatory 10-day isolation period, Imbriale will miss the opening weekend of the fall meet and is scheduled to return Thursday, Sept. 23,” McKenna said. “In his absence, Frank Mirahmadi will handle the race calling duties Thursday, Sept. 16. Chris Griffin, who was named the lead race caller at Parx in March, will call Friday-Sunday.

He added, “Imbriale is fully vaccinated, doing well, and looking forward to returning to Belmont next week.”

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Live coverage of Thoroughbred racing from Saratoga will begin each Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m. and include every race through final post broadcast on 104.5 FM, as well as streamed worldwide at 1045theteam.com or available by downloading the free 104.5 The Team App.

Presented by NYRA Bets, NYSCOPBA, Tech East Fire and Water Restoration and Michelob Ultra, the weekend broadcasts will simulcast a portion of Saratoga Live, the nationally acclaimed horse racing telecast produced by NYRA in partnership with FOX Sports.

On Fridays, the station will also air the live race calls by NYRA track announcer John Imbriale during “The Drive with Charlie and Dan” which will originate from Saratoga beginning at 3 p.m.

“We received great feedback about this partnership last season and are excited to continue to offer Capital Region horse racing fans the opportunity to enjoy the audio simulcast of Saratoga Live through the local ESPN Radio affiliate,” said Tony Allevato, NYRA Chief Revenue Officer. “This is yet another convenient way for our fans to access the thrill and excitement of Saratoga.”

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From the time he started working at NYRA in November 1979, Imbriale has handled multiple responsibilities, both in front of the camera and behind the scenes, and as a familiar voice as the backup announcer.

His perseverance led to his appointment as the circuit's full-time race-caller and announcer in January 2020, and another milestone will be reached as Imbriale will call his first Wood Memorial; a 1 1/8-mile prep race for the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby offering 100-40-20-10 qualifying points to the “Run for the Roses” to the top-four finishers.

Imbriale worked as NYRA's Director of Television Production before replacing Larry Collmus as the full-time announcer last January. Just two months later, the COVID-19 pandemic shut down racing, with the Wood Memorial not being contested for the first time since the race's inaugural running in 1925.

When racing in New York resumed in June, Imbriale got to check off a litany of career firsts: calling his first Belmont Stakes, and American Classic overall, with Tiz the Law's victory in the Belmont Stakes, as well as the New York-bred's victory in the first Travers he called during the Saratoga Race Course summer meet.

After being on the mic for the signature races at Belmont Park and Saratoga, the 66-year-old Imbriale will finally get to call the most well-known race at the track he considers home, and fittingly the Ozone Park-based track will offer up another special moment for a graduate of the Queens-based St. John's University.

“It does make it extra special because I've called more races at Aqueduct than any place else,” Imbriale said. “It just has to do with age and being around forever; I called a lot of races when we ran on the [now defunct] inner track. Now, moving to the Wood Memorial, it's good to add that to the resume and I just hope everything turns out OK.”

The chance to call a Wood Memorial was a long-time coming from a man who paid a lot of dues from the time he won a 1979 New York Daily News contest which gave him the opportunity to call a race and work with the NYRA press office. In 1990, Imbriale became Tom Durkin's backup and has since been part of NYRA's race-calling team at all three tracks.

Imbriale's patience paid off with the opportunity to narrate some historic moments, with the reality of 2020 leading to some unique circumstances, such as his first Belmont Stakes assignment being a 1 1/8 one-turn mile instead of the traditional 1 1/2-mile test. The Belmont also served as the first leg of the Triple Crown series instead of its customary closing race on the trail.

Imbriale has been present for many seminal racing moments, but his knowledge extends even further to his time as a fan, reaching back to the 1973 Wood when Secretariat was outkicked by Angle Light and Sham before going on to craft arguably the most dominant Triple Crown run in the sport's history.

“I never thought I'd call an American Classic, let alone around one turn, two turns or three turns,” Imbriale said with a laugh. “But I always got a kick of looking at the video of the 1973 Wood when Secretariat lost. I think seeing that race and knowing how he turned out, it makes you think that anything is possible. You can't go by one race. A lot of us go back to our roots and I love going through the old videos when I worked in TV production.”

That unpredictability has Imbriale excited for this year's edition of the Wood, which has seen 11 of its winners go on to the capture the Kentucky Derby [with Fusaichi Pegasus in 2000 being the last do so].

“The Wood has a tremendous history,” Imbriale said. “The Derby has opened up a little this year, so maybe there's more excitement and possibilities from horses who come from anywhere to use it as a springboard to good things. When they've only run a few times, you don't know which way it'll go.

“I think what you root for in a big race like that is either you get a stretch run like in the Gotham [when Weyburn edged Crowded Trade by a nose on March 6], which doesn't happen too often, or you hope that someone steps up. They're so lightly raced, you don't know who is going to take that next step. To me, the unknown and the anticipation for the Wood makes it so fun.”

The nine-furlong Wood will provide a two-turn test for Triple Crown trail-hopefuls in what is a traditional harbinger for seeing if a 3-year-old can compete at the highest level of his division. Imbriale said two-turns can also be beneficial for the ones calling the action.

“Announcers like two-turn races because it starts right in front of you,” he said. “With the Belmont last year going a mile and an eighth, you're on an angle a little bit and you don't want to miss anything with the break. Here, there's no excuse; the break is right in front. It allows things to play out when it's a mile and an eighth. If you get a horse who is off slow, there's time to recover. You see who is getting position into the first turn after the break and then they settle on the backstretch. Then, you see who makes the move out of the [far] turn, and we have a few closers in the potential field. It looks like a pretty good mix of 3-year-olds that we'll have.”

The Kentucky Derby aspect makes the stakes higher with greater attention paid to what is said on the microphone, and the fact those races will have the endings replayed often in the lead-up to the “Run for the Roses” at Churchill Downs. Imbriale said the same fundamentals as with any race come in to play, but announcers tend to be mindful that certain races will naturally get the adrenaline flowing.

“You try to make sure your basic stuff is covered, making sure you pick up a horse if he makes a move, just the stuff you do in a normal race,” he said. “But in the back of your mind, you know that the horse who wins the Wood is going to be talked about going into the Derby, and you know your call is going to get played more often than in other races. You try to take care of basic business but with your excitement level, it's just natural that it's going to be higher.”

Imbriale will realize one of his career's biggest dreams in calling the Wood, marking another milestone in a journey that featured working with Harvey Pack on the popular “Inside Racing” program. He also will add his name to a prestigious list of race callers who have called Wood Memorials, with the list of legendary announcers including Collmus, Tom Durkin, Marshall Cassidy, Chic Anderson, Dave Johnson and Fred Caposella.

“It popped into my mind every now and then, but first Marshall Cassidy was here, then Tom Durkin, then Larry Collmus, so my opportunity came late,” Imbriale said. “I had the privilege to watch all of them work and learn from them. Once you get to a certain age, the thought that you are going to get a chance to do this really diminishes. But, it worked out.

“I knew I was the backup announcer and I always thought I was really lucky to be calling as many races as I was primarily here at Aqueduct and a little at Belmont and just a little Saratoga,” he continued. “But it was still calling races in New York, and to me, New York is still the place to be when it comes to year-round racing.”

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Cassidy, who later served as a patrol and placing judge in New York, was a member of NYRA's elite fraternity of track announcers. Serving as backup announcer during much of the 1970s to Dave Johnson and Chic Anderson, Cassidy took over as NYRA's lead announcer after Anderson's death in 1979.

In addition to his duties on the NYRA circuit, Cassidy called races throughout the 1980s on television for CBS, ABC, NBC and ESPN. He was succeeded at NYRA by Tom Durkin in 1990.

“Marshall Cassidy was incredibly skilled at his craft and a true ambassador for thoroughbred racing in New York,” said NYRA President and CEO Dave O'Rourke. “Marshall was a friend to so many, especially in Saratoga, where he could so often be found mixing it up in the press box or talking to fans in the backyard. We mourn his loss and offer our condolences to his friends, family and colleagues past and present.”

Durkin praised Cassidy's unique delivery and accuracy which he said rivaled that of Fred Capossela, NYRA's race caller from 1934 to 1971.

“Marshall had a voice that belonged in the Hall of Fame. He had a resonant baritone and his timbre was perfect,” said Durkin, who was NYRA race caller from 1990 to 2014. “In terms of New York announcers – and this is the highest praise – he was on an even par with Fred Capossela. The most important thing for a racetrack announcer to be is accurate. And for that, Marshall was peerless.”

John Imbriale, NYRA's current race caller, also remembered Cassidy for his accuracy and his distinctive style.

“Nobody was more accurate than Marshall,” said Imbriale. “His call of Easy Goer's Belmont Stakes win will be remembered forever.”

Cassidy also mentored Imbriale in the 1980s at Aqueduct, often critiquing and analyzing his practice calls and teaching him the ropes of a profession that few ever master.

“He was very supportive and really took the time to help me,” Imbriale said of Cassidy. His help was extremely important.”

Cassidy was a member of a distinguished multi-generational family of racing officials in New York. His maternal grandfather, Marshall Whiting Cassidy, was a race starter and later a steward, who eventually became racing director for NYRA's predecessor agencies, and later the executive director of The Jockey Club. Cassidy's maternal great-grandfather, Marshall (Mars) Cassidy, was also a fixture in New York racing as a race starter, the first to use a barrier to start a race, and immortalized in coverage by Damon Runyon.

George Cassidy, Cassidy's grand-uncle, was also a race starter, serving for upwards of 50 years, mostly at NYRA tracks, before he retired in 1980.

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According to a suit filed Tuesday in Brooklyn Federal Court, Grandison was paid $60,000 a year. The suit claims that long-time NYRA announcer Tom Durkin earned $440,000 a year before retiring in 2014 and that his replacement, Larry Collmus, was paid in excess of $200,000 annually. Collmus left NYRA in January and was replaced by John Imbriale. The lawsuit claims that Imbriale also earns in excess of $200,000 annually.

“Although Grandison and his fellow full-time race callers performed the same primary duty (i.e., announcing), NYRA paid the white American race callers more than double Grandison’s salary despite Grandison having just as much experience as them, working more months per year than they did, and performing additional advertising duties not required of them,” the suit reads.

Grandison was furloughed in March when racing was shut down by the coronavirus. His job was then terminated in June. The suit alleges that NYRA’s treatment of Grandison amounted to “unlawful discrimination against him on the basis of his race, color, and national origin…”

“Defendant purposely discriminated against Plaintiff because of his Black and Latino/Hispanic racial background, thereby denying him equal terms and conditions of employment enjoyed by his white counterparts,” the suit also alleges.

NYRA Director of Communications Pat McKenna issued a statement defending the racing organization and its history of diversity.

“The New York Racing Association (NYRA) is proud to have the most diverse broadcast and TV team in the sport of horse racing today, and maintains a fair and equitable workplace,” the statement read. “NYRA–like so many businesses across the state and nation–has faced significant financial challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and has been forced to make adjustments to its workforce in order to maintain operations and safeguard its future.”

Grandison began his career in Panama and called races at Hipódromo Presidente Remón in Panama City before moving to the U.S. in 2009. When he was brought on board by NYRA to call the races, then CEO and President Chris Kay said the hiring of Grandison was an “important initiative that will help enhance and personalize the guest experience for our Spanish speaking fan base.”

According to the suit, Grandison’s salary when hired was $32,000 and that he subsequently received raises until reaching the $60,000 mark. His job, the suit claims, involved more than just announcing and that he was required to promote NYRA racing on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, a role that was not required of Durkin, Collmus or Imbriale.

Grandison is seeking unspecified damages for discrimination.

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A jack of all trades, Imbriale served as a backup to the legendary racecaller Tom Durkin beginning in 1990 and has held several behind-the-scenes roles with NYRA TV throughout the years as well.

Appointed to the position of head announcer in late January, the affable native of Queens, New York will be behind the binoculars as they line up for Saturday’s 152nd renewal of the GI Belmont Stakes.

“November of ’79 I started, and it’s been a good run and a good ride,” Imbriale said. “I got this opportunity and I hope to make the best of it.”

This year’s Belmont, now the first leg of the reshuffled Triple Crown, has been shortened to 1 1/8 miles and will be contested spectator-free due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Everybody knows it’s under different circumstances,” Imbriale said before adding with a laugh, “I come along, they change the distance, which order the Triple Crown is run in, no fans, etc. But you have to deal with the hand that you’re dealt. It’s still obviously very exciting and thrilling to be able do it on Saturday.”

TDN’s Senior Editor Steve Sherack caught up with Johnny I for a Q&A session as the big day approaches.

Q: New York sports is back and beautiful Belmont Park is back! Those were your words as you welcomed back not just racing in New York, but all of New York Sports, when Belmont re-opened for business June 3. This has just been such a surreal time for everyone throughout the pandemic, but how good did it feel to kick things back up and return to some sort of normalcy? And on a more personal level, getting your start as the No. 1 announcer at Belmont?

JI: I really thought about that race for quite a while. It was a unique scenario, even perhaps more unique than a Belmont S. Let’s hope that we don’t have to go through that again. Hopefully, [my call] came across O.K. There were some butterflies in the belly for the first race out. I’ll tell you that.

Q: That first race back, and your stretch call, was on almost every major New York news channel that evening. Other than the Belmont S., you don’t really see racing in that kind of spotlight in this media outlet anymore.

JI: It got a lot of coverage, which was really neat. I didn’t really think of it that way at first where our sport was the first one back in New York after all this time. Sometimes you get so involved in what you’re doing, that you kind of forget about the outside world. If the race went off at 1:18 p.m., I was a very happy camper at 1:20 p.m.

Q: Growing up in Queens and spending your college days at St. John’s, I take it you spent a lot of time at Belmont and Aqueduct? How did you catch the racing bug?

JI: Actually, my brother and some of my uncles were bigger racing fans than I was, and I would go occasionally. If they were going to go, I would tag along. It was clearly the Affirmed-Alydar match up in ’78 that got me the bug. And Affirmed and Steve Cauthen, I thought that was just a tremendous story. Affirmed was my first love as far as horse racing was concerned and I’ve been a fan ever since.

Q: Winning a NY Daily News contest has led to a lifelong career at NYRA and you celebrated your 40th anniversary with the organization in November. What do you remember about the contest and how it all came about?

JI: You had to make a tape–you could go to the track if you wanted to-but I actually made one in my brother’s living room, just did a recreation of a race. I sent that in, and from that, they narrowed it down to three people who would do a live call. Mine was July 25th of ’79, and up until that point, that was probably the most nervous I’ve ever been doing anything. [Track announcer] Marshall Cassidy was up there with me during the call.

The gig–you didn’t get anything as far as announcing was concerned-but you got a job in the press office, and as it turned out, they asked me to come on board. That was the end of July, and I started working for NYRA on Nov. 5 of ’79 in the press office doing notes, backstretch stuff, helping out doing the first media guide and then went from there.

Q: You’ve had plenty of different roles throughout the years at NYRA, including working alongside Harvey Pack on Inside Racing, as well as several behind-the-scenes responsibilities with NYRA TV. Looking back at all your time at NYRA, can you reflect a little bit? What are some of the things that stick out?

JI: It’s funny. During the 40 years, I’ve been a media specialist, a coordinator, an assistant announcer and now an announcer, a producer, a director, on-air talent, a host, a co-host, etc.

Really one of the first things that I did, or got involved in, has stayed with me for a long time. The weekly Frank Wright show that aired on Saturdays on Channel 9. You got to see the late double on Saturdays at Belmont, Aqueduct and Saratoga. I got to be in the production meetings as a liaison with Frank Wright, Charlsie Cantey, Marshall Cassidy, and learned how they put a show together. Those were really fun times as a young kid just getting my feet wet at the track, but also being involved in the only racing show that there was at the time.

Doing the stuff with Harvey, whether it be Inside Racing, you learn so much from watching different people without even having to ask questions. Whether it be him or Tom [Durkin]. The person who spent the most time with me regarding announcing was Marshall [Cassidy]. I would go next door at Aqueduct and do a call into a tape recorder and go back into the booth and he would watch the replay with me while listening to my call and he really helped me out a lot.

And listen, you don’t have to be a brain surgeon to pick up on some good things if you spent 24 years listening to Tom Durkin, either. One of the most important things he ever told me was that I shouldn’t listen to him. And what he meant was, he wanted me to develop my own style. Tom had a lot of good catch phrases that he used, and he didn’t think that’s what I should do. And he was right.

Larry [Collmus] was terrific for the five years he was with us, too, and now I have my chance to do my thing.

Q: That leads into my next question. Any announcers out there that you admire, past or present? Sounds like Tom would be at the top of the list?

JI: I firmly believe Tom is the greatest announcer that there has ever been. And it goes beyond some of his legendary calls, whether it be Rachel [Alexandra] at Saratoga or some of the near misses in the Belmont. It was really a daily freshness that he brought to his craft that I think is unparalleled.

The announcer who had the best voice was Dave Johnson. He just had a cadence–he was right there with where his voice was for a track announcer.

Q: Each announcer kind of does things a little differently getting ready for a day at the races, whether it be a colored program, playing out the race first off pp’s, etc. How much prep work goes into calling a card for you?

JI: I do color the program for the silks, and make notes for blinkers and caps. I make as many notes as I can. I’m not one to handicap though. Listen, Tap It to Win is supposed to go to the lead in the Belmont. You do have a little bit of anticipation in certain big races. But when it comes to the everyday stuff, I’m going to leave the ‘who’s going to be on the lead’ to the handicappers. One of the main reasons I say that, it’s that great phrase, ‘You never know what’s going to happen when they open those gates.’ You can think the four horse is going to the lead and he comes out a little slow and now you’ve got to adjust the call. I take the approach, ‘See the horses, call the horses,’ wherever they may come out.

Q: You touched on Affirmed and Alydar’s epic rivalry before and how much it influenced you. That has to be your favorite Belmont, right?

JI: No question, it’s still the greatest race I’ve ever seen in person and I was in the stands for that. To think that they went at it like that after the Derby and Preakness with a Triple Crown on the line–I don’t know if we’ll ever see a match up like that again.

Q: This year’s Belmont is obviously very different, but Tiz the Law is certainly a worthy headliner. Early thoughts on the race?

JI: With everything being so different this year and with horses being so lightly raced these days, we don’t know how good Tiz the Law really is yet. Maybe he’s a superstar. That’s kind of the mystery that makes it fun. That’s always the fun part about the 3-year-olds. You just don’t know when that horse is going to appear that the public is really going to embrace. We’ve got a major race to be run Saturday, so let’s see. Maybe Tiz the Law blows them out of the water. Or maybe we just have a good race and that becomes the story and we go from there.

Q: The gate won’t be lined up in front of the stands, and the building will be empty, but what kind of emotions will you be feeling as they head to the gate at 5:42 p.m. ET Saturday?

JI: Hopefully, controlled excitement. I’m following a tremendous group of broadcasters. It’s certainly a thrill and an honor.

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