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.
The focus is on the lawn at Saratoga today with the Grade 1 Sword Dancer Invitational on the docket. In contrast to the Alabama, Travers, Hopeful, Saratoga Special and other dirt stakes, the turf stakes at Saratoga have relatively recent origins (some, like the Diana, began as dirt stakes and were moved to the turf). The oldest turf stake currently run at Saratoga is the Bernard Baruch, which was first run in 1959. That doesn’t mean that Saratoga hasn’t seen more than its fair share of top caliber turf racing, however. And nothing adds as much to a top rate showdown between a champion and a two-time Breeders’ Cup winner as a Tom Durkin call.
By the time they knocked heads in the 1994 edition of the Bernard Baruch, Lure and Paradise Creek had already met six times. Lure had won the first four meetings and Paradise Creek had won the two most recent ones. The Bernard Baruch would be their seventh and final confrontation, with Lure going off as the even money favorite, and Paradise Creek right behind him at 1.1-1. For good measure, the field also included Saratoga fan favorite Fourstardave, who would give his backers a thrill on the front end before begrudgingly giving way to the main event – a stretch drive between Lure and Paradise Creek.
As usual, Tom Durkin’s call is spot on, reaching a crescendo in deep stretch as he describes “Mike Smith asking [Lure] for everything he has, and he’s GIVING IT TO HIM!” Lure would gamely hold off Paradise Creek to close the rivalry with a 5-2 record against his archrival. Watchers of the race can tell just how important this race was to the participants by watching Mike Smith’s reaction as he crosses the wire. Standing straight up in the saddle, Smith gives the “salute of victory” to the Saratoga crowd.
Today’s 40 Days celebrates a great race, with three great horses, a great ride by a Hall of Fame jockey, and most importantly, a great call by the best in the business:
