larry collmus | Horse Racing Free Tips

Former NYRA Announcer Marshall Cassidy Passes Away at 75

Marshall Cassidy, the announcer at the New York tracks from 1979 through 1990, passed away Sunday at his home in Saratoga Springs, NY. He was 75.

According to friends of Cassidy, he died in his sleep. The cause of death was not immediately known.

Cassidy began his announcing career as the backup caller to Dave Johnson and then Chic Anderson. After Anderson passed away in 1979, Cassidy was promoted to the job of head announcer. In 1990, after the Saratoga meet concluded, he was replaced by Tom Durkin.

Over his years at NYRA, his calls could also be heard on WCBS radio, ABC, NBC, CBS and ESPN.

“He was my assistant for about five years,” Johnson said. “It was a real pressure cooker job because we were also doing the TV show on WOR at the time. In all that time, there was never a cross word between us. He was such a pro and such a good man.”

After leaving the announcers job, Cassidy worked on and off for NYRA as a racing official during the Saratoga meets. On Sept. 1, 2008, he ventured back into the booth and called a race at Saratoga.

Cassidy was known for his accuracy as a caller and for how he enunciated the names of certain horses. In a staccato fashion, there was often a brief pause between syllables and Cassidy liked to draw out the names. The name of the top filly Lucky Lucky Lucky became “Luck-Keeey, Luck-Keeey, Luck-Keeey.”

Cassidy's calls were usually straightforward, but when it came to Easy Goer, he showed some provincial pride. He was not “Easy Goer” but “New York's Easy Goer.” He wound down his call of the 1989 GI Belmont S., with the following words: “It's New York's Easy Goer in front.”

“I grew up listening to Marshall's calls and was always a big fan,” said Larry Collmus, who took the NYRA announcing job after Durkin left. “He had a classic and classy delivery that was so pleasant to the ear. When I became the NYRA announcer, Marshall and I developed a friendship that I'm so glad we had. He would visit me in the booth at Saratoga and would share so many great stories. Every summer Marshall and I would have dinner with Sonny Taylor [longtime NYRA racing official] and hearing their tales of the past was something special. I will miss Marshall and am so grateful to have had him as both an idol and a friend.”

“This is very sad news,” said Fair Grounds announcer John Dooley, who was an up-and-coming backup announcer at NYRA in the late eighties. “When I worked for the New York Racing Association, he really took me under his wing when I was starting off as a race caller. He was such a kind man, a great person. He took the time to help me, a wannabee announcer. It was because of him that I was eventually able to call races in New York. I owe him a real debt of gratitude.”

Cassidy came from one of the most prominent families in New York racing. His grandfather, Marshall Whiting Cassidy, worked as a head starter, a steward and as the executive secretary of The Jockey Club. He is credited with inventing the modern starting gate. Cassidy's great-grandfather, Mars Cassidy, was also a longtime starter at the NYRA tracks, as was Cassidy's great uncle, George Cassidy.

“I'm immediately stereotyped as a bright boy with a silver spoon in his mouth,” Cassidy said in 1974. “I have to overcome this image by proving myself with hard work. As many people loved my grandfather as many hated him. I don't want people to judge me off my grandfather, but for myself.”

The post Former NYRA Announcer Marshall Cassidy Passes Away at 75 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Beat Ray At Del Mar: From Announcer’s Booth To Beach Boss?

After calling the winners of the 14 Breeders' Cup world championship races on NBC Sports last weekend, Larry Collmus is back in the announcer's booth for the Bing Crosby season at Del Mar racetrack north of San Diego, Calif.

Collmus has encountered a couple of foggy afternoons at Del Mar, once during this past summer meet and again in the fall, but his calls have been crystal clear and precise. But can his handicapping match those skills?

In this week's Beat Ray “Beach Boss” competition, Collmus and Paulick Report publisher Ray Paulick join handicapper/host Michelle Yu to dissect Saturday's sixth race at Del Mar, a one-mile allowance-optional claiming event that has attracted the razor-sharp 6-year-old Secret Touch and several promising 3-year-olds coming off maiden wins. (Note: Paulick's selection, Divine Armor, has been scratched. His alternate pick is Secret Touch.)

Beat Ray Everyday is an online contest offered every racing day of the Del Mar meet. It's free to play and you can sign up here. Bet a mythical $100 each day on the selected contest race in win, place or show bets on any horse or horses. At the end of the meet, the player with the highest bankroll from those wagers becomes the “Beach Boss” and wins two VIP tickets to the 2021 Breeders' Cup at Del Mar. Other prizes are available to top finishers in the competition.

Watch below as Collmus, Yu and Paulick discuss today's Beach Boss race.

The post Beat Ray At Del Mar: From Announcer’s Booth To Beach Boss? appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Larry Collmus To Again Fill In For Trevor Denman At Del Mar

With Trevor Denman again opting to stay home out of concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, Del Mar once more has called on his ace substitute – Larry Collmus – to take up the mic at the shore track's fall race meeting beginning on Saturday, October 31.

The 15-day session, named the Bing Crosby Season in a salute to the track's founder, will have a Saturday/Sunday opening weekend, then three Friday-thru-Sunday weekends before finishing up with a four-day run keyed on Thanksgiving Thursday (November 26) through to Sunday, November 29.

Denman, Del Mar's announcer at every meet since 1984, chose to stay at his Minnesota farm this summer instead of working the Del Mar meet in light of fears for himself and his family presented by the virus. He indicated to track officials that he planned to return for the fall stand. In his stead, the nationally prominent race caller Collmus filled in admirably with his sharp calls and enthusiasm shining through over the course of the summer.

“We talked to Trevor right after our summer meet and it was obvious he was torn,” said Del Mar Thoroughbred Club's CEO Joe Harper. “There still was concern about the pandemic and his family, yet he also wanted to keep a commitment he'd made to us. But in the end we told him to stay home and stay safe; he appreciated that.”

Del Mar's next move was to reconnect with Collmus, the veteran announcer who has called at major race meetings from coast to coast over the past 35 years and who has been NBC television's voice of the Triple Crown for the last decade. Collmus quickly gave a thumbs up to the idea of returning to the seaside oval for another go-round and was signed on for the fall meet.

“I truly enjoyed calling the races this summer at Del Mar and look forward to the opportunity to return for the Bing Crosby meet,” Collmus said. “It's such a special place and I'm honored to be asked to come back.”

The seventh Bing Crosby Season, highlighted by 16 stakes and a strong emphasis on high-class turf racing, will see racing begin each day at 12:30 p.m. During the stand, Del Mar will serve as the California host track for the Breeders' Cup Championships, which will take place on November 6 and 7 at Keeneland in Lexington, KY.

The post Larry Collmus To Again Fill In For Trevor Denman At Del Mar appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Spanish Language Announcer Sues NYRA, Says He Was Paid Less than Whites Doing Same Job

Luis Grandison, a Black Latino who is a native of Panama and who served as the New York Racing Association’s Spanish language race caller from 2014 through March 2020, has sued NYRA claiming he was discriminated against because he was paid less than white Americans who call the races in English.

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.

The post Spanish Language Announcer Sues NYRA, Says He Was Paid Less than Whites Doing Same Job appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post