In honor of Tom Durkin’s retirement from race calling on August 31, we are taking a look back at 40 of his most memorable calls–one for each day of the 2014 Saratoga meet.
Happy Travers Day everyone! Its the biggest day of the Saratoga meet, and Tom Durkin generally brings his fastball for the big race. Today’s 40 Days looks back on one of the most dramatic renewals of the Travers in the race’s 145 year history.
The 1998 Travers featured Victory Gallop, the 1998 Belmont winner and spoiler of Real Quiet’s Triple Crown bid, Coronado’s Quest and longshot Raffie’s Majesty. Coronado’s Quest came into the race off four straight graded stakes scores, including the Dwyer and the Haskell Invitational. He was known for his difficult temperament, which had earned him the nickname “The Bad Boy of Racing.” Coronado’s Quest’s sire, Forty Niner, had also been a Travers winner, prevailing over Seeking the Gold and Brian’s Time in a close three-way finish in 1988. Raffie’s Majesty was an outsider in the race, having been beaten by others in the race in both the Belmont and the Jim Dandy. He would relish his role as spoiler, however, and would nearly get the job done.
The race, which was won by Coronado’s Quest in a three-way photo finish by the slimmest of margins, would feature some of Tom Durkin’s best work. His call was pitch-perfect, as usual, rising in a crescendo as Victory Gallop summoned one more bid and Raffie’s Majesty closed from far back on the outside. The call culminated with an iconic Durkin call: “Coronado’s Quest, Victory Gallop, and Raffie’s Majesty, three noses on the line in a dramatic renewal of the Travers!”
Enjoy this edition of 40 Days of Durkin and, most of all, enjoy your Travers Day.
