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.
“Don’t count Flanders out yet!”
The 1994 Juvenile Fillies featured two D. Wayne Lukas trained stars– unbeaten Flanders, owned by William T. Young and future three year old champion and hall of famer Serena’s Song, owned by Bob and Beverly Lewis. Flanders had won all four of her starts prior to the 1994 Breeder’s Cup. However, after winning the Matron, she was disqualified and placed last due to testing positive for the prohibited therapeutic drug isoxuprine. She rebounded with a 21 length win in the Frizette.
Flanders entered the Juvenile Fillies as the favorite. Perhaps knowing he had the two best horses in the race, Lukas apparently had no issues with both Nakatani and Pat Day going for the lead with Serena’s Song and Flanders respectively. The two fillies ran together throughout the backstretch and entering the far turn. As they entered the famed Churchill Down stretch, it appeared as though Serena’s Song had put away Flanders. But as Durkin would say after the horses crossed the wire:”Never count out Pat Day at Churchill Downs.” Flanders battled back and a “spellbinding stretch drive” ensued which Durkin narrated perfectly.
“Flanders on the inside. On the outside it’s Serena’s Song. Give their all as they come down to the line. A spellbinding stretch drive. Flanders….Serena’s Song….Flanders looks like she got her nostril on the wire first!”
Of course, Durkin was right. It was Flanders by a nostril.
Unfortunately, on the way back to the winner’s circle, Day, noticing something was wrong, dismounted from the horse. Flanders had suffered a condylar fracture of the cannon bone and a fractured sesamoid. She never raced again. As Young would say later, we’ll never know how good she could have been.
However, we all know how good Flanders was on that day in 1994, “giving it [her] all” and winning a “spellbinding stretch drive” over a very game Serena’s Song.
