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Collmus To Pinch Hit For Injured Denman During Del Mar Meet

Veteran announcer Larry Collmus, who stepped up to pinch hit for Del Mar's longtime caller Trevor Denman during the height of the COVID 19 crisis in 2020, has been called to the plate once more. He'll take over this time for the recently injured Denman for the majority of the seaside track's upcoming fall race meet starting Wednesday, November 3.

Denman, 68, suffered a painful herniated disc in his back earlier this week at his home in Minnesota when he slipped and tumbled down the stairs of his deck which were wet from early morning dew. He was readying to drive to Del Mar to follow up his return to calling at the seaside track this past summer, but his injury makes it all but impossible for him to travel.

Collmus, 55, was going to be at Del Mar anyway next week for his regular role as NBC's caller for the Breeders' Cup, which will be presented for the second time at Del Mar on Friday, November 5 and Saturday, November 6. He's now agreed to take on the Del Mar role from opening day right though the season's finish on Sunday, November 28 with the exception of three days (November 12-14) when he'll be on a previously planned holiday.

Collmus, who has called races for 37 years and for the past decade has been the voice of not only the Breeders' Cup but also the Triple Crown races on NBC, drew rave reviews for his Del Mar debut last year at both its summer and fall meets. He'll be a busy man on the two Breeders' Cup Days when he'll call five undercard races and five Breeders' Cup races Friday, then come back Saturday to be the voice for three more undercard events and nine BC races, including the $6-million Breeders' Cup Classic.

Denman had celebrated his 50th year of race calling this past summer and he told Del Mar's CEO Joe Harper in his explanatory message that he was “devastated” by this latest turn of events.

“I have never missed a day's racing in 50 years and now I have had to miss racing two years in a row because of the virus and this freak accident,” he said. “I am devastated, but this is completely out of my control.”

Del Mar will call on its back-up announcer John Lies to handle the three days that Collmus will be away. Lies has called at various racetracks around the country and has filled in smartly at Del Mar on several occasions previously.

First post daily at Del Mar will be 12:30 p.m. for the majority of the meeting. For the Breeders' Cup days it will be 11:55 a.m. on Friday and 10:15 a.m. on Saturday. The one other exception is Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 25, when it will be 11 a.m.

The post Collmus To Pinch Hit For Injured Denman During Del Mar Meet appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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‘And That’s A Wrap From Tampa’: Richard Grunder Calls Final Race

After calling his 37,587th horse race Sunday at Tampa Bay Downs in Oldsmar, Fla., announcer Richard Grunder succeeded – barely – in keeping his emotions under control.

“And that's a wrap from Tampa,” Grunder said as the aptly named Friendly Fella crossed the wire in first in the 10th race, “and God bless everyone involved in the Thoroughbred industry.”

Once the race became official, the jockeys and their valets lined up in the winner's circle, waving toward the press box and shouting their encouragement to the man whose voice is the only one most Oldsmar followers have ever known.

“Thank you guys. Thank you so much,” said Grunder, known far and wide as a vocal supporter of race riders.

With the understanding that all the attention he has received since announcing his retirement has made him uncomfortable (although he never showed it), on to the action on closing day of the 2020-2021 season.

Video of Richard Grunder's final call at Tampa Bay Downs

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Neuman Named Prairie Meadows Announcer

Bobby Neuman, the long-time voice of Calder Race Course and more recently a regular in the commentator's booth at Los Alamitos Race Course, will call the races at Prairie Meadows Casino, Racetrack and Hotel for the 2021 season. The meet begins Apr. 30 and runs through Sept. 25. Given a prior commitment to contribute to Horse Racing Radio Network's coverage of the GI Kentucky Oaks and GI Kentucky Derby, Neuman will be at the mic for the first time May 7. Former announcer Ken Miller will handle race-calling duties Apr. 30 and May 1.

“I'm really excited about getting back into the booth,” Neuman said by phone after his hiring. “Calling the races has always been my passion and I believe I will bring an accurate, entertaining, and professional approach to the fans watching Prairie Meadows racing on-track, in the simulcast outlets, and at home.

“I see the horses, the jockeys, the trainers, and the owners as the stars of the show,” Neuman added. “It's the job of a good announcer to put the spotlight on their accomplishments on the race track.”

Having earned a degree in Business Administration through the University of Arizona's Race Track Industry Program, Neuman first called races at the Arizona fairs in the 1990s. He moved to Thistledown for three years and was at Calder for 15 years. He has also called harness races at The Red Mile and Pompano Park, while also doing a fill-in stint at Churchill Downs.

The post Neuman Named Prairie Meadows Announcer appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Marshall Cassidy, 75, Former NYRA Track Announcer, Passes

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) mourns the loss of Marshall Cassidy, who served as its track announcer from 1979 to 1990. Cassidy, who died Sunday at the age of 75, was noted for his enduring accuracy and even-keeled delivery.

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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