Legendary announcer starts new career

Tom Durkin doesn’t have the resumé you’d typically find for a new teacher.

He’s older, 74, than most first-time teachers. He’s worked for Fox, ESPN and NBC.

Oh, he’s also called more than 80,000 horse races as a track and TV announcer in a career spanning almost 50 years.

That incredible stat alone makes Durkin a good fit for his new role as public speaking teacher at Saratoga Central Catholic School, a 6-12 private school in Saratoga Springs, New York. The school announced the news in a media release.

Durkin definitely knows how to speak. He called Triple Crown and Breeders Cup races for ESPN and NBC Sports from 1984 to 2010, but may be better known as the longtime announcer for the New York Racing Association and with Saratoga Race Course, the oldest major sports facility in the U.S.

After retiring from that role in 2014, he got lured back to announcing when Fox brought him aboard to announce the Belmont Stakes in 2023 .

While Durkin didn’t handle that role for the Belmont Stakes this year, when it was held at Saratoga Race Course for the first time (Belmont Park is undergoing renovation), the Sarasota Springs resident produced an awesome intro for the broadcast.

Now, Durkin will get to share his knowledge with students. As far as being up to date on the latest technology, Durkin seems to know quite a bit. AmericasBestRacing.net asked him before the 2023 Belmont Stakes how he would handle the task.

“I am considering, instead of actually calling the race, having it called by ChatBot in the style of Tom Durkin,” he joked.

[ SaratogaCatholic.org ]

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