Tom Durkin Interview

By: T.R. Slyder, TRSlyder@yahoo.com

You probably have to be a horse racingophile to appreciate this video, but I'm posting it anyway. TheBloodhorse.com is now featuring an entertaining interview with Belmont Stakes (among other races and tracks) announcer, Tom Durkin (whom I previously saluted). They talk about his preparation, strategies and do go over a few specific calls.

The most fascinating tidbit was when Durkin said that he was so confident that Smarty Jones would win the Belmont that the night before the race, he went down to the track and measured out 31 lengths, by hand, from the wire and put a piece of red tape against the rail to mark it. That distance is significant in Belmont Stakes history because it's the biggest margin of victory ever at that race, and was done by Secretariat. There is also another good image of it here.