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10 Questions Derby announcer details tricks of the trade
Posted: Friday May 05, 2000 04:35 PM
Luke Kruytbosch is the track announcer for Churchill Downs. He called his first Kentucky Derby in 1999. Before the 126th running of the Derby, he answered 10 Questions with CNNSI.com. 1. What was your first reaction to stepping into the announcer's booth at Churchill Downs? I was overwhelmed by the tradition and the spires. I was thinking about all the Kentucky Derbys that I'd watched, about Secretariat, Seattle Slew and Affirmed. 2. Greatest Kentucky Derby? Gotta be Secretariat in 1973. He ran every quarter faster than the previous one, which is unheard of in racing. Also, there was the Affirmed-Alydar showdown in 1978, after which Affirmed went on to win the Triple Crown. 3. My Old Kentucky Home or Sweet Home Alabama? They're both great songs, but My Old Kentucky Home has won me over. 4. Your biggest fear? Calling the wrong horse down the stretch to the wire. Chick Anderson was one of the greatest track announcers ever, and in 1975, he mixed up Foolish Pleasure with Prince Thou Art. Anybody can make a mistake at any time. You just hope it's not in the biggest race of the year. I've called more than 30,000 races. I've made a few blunders. 5. Do you study the silks? Yeah, I've got them tacked up in the booth. I'll actually black out the name and go through the Derby field and go, "There's China Visit, there's War Chant and there's Fusaichi Pegasus ... "And I'll run down the field back and forth, like I'm calling a mock race. 6. What if the silks are the same color? A bunch of different tricks, like you might look for a set of blinkers, or I know [trainer] D. Wayne Lukas always has that white bridle on his horses. You can look at the markings of the horse, the way the jockey looks, or even the markings on the legs, if you are desperate. 7. What's more difficult to call, horses coming down the stretch or coming out of the gate? Out of the gate. In the Derby, they are coming right at you. By the time they get to the top of stretch, the field has sorted itself out. 8. What would you rather see: a dead heat or a horse pulling away? I'd love to see a huge effort. We all want to see a Triple Crown winner, so I'd love to see a horse just romp. 9. Hollywood Park or Santa Anita? Hollywood Park. 'Cause I used to work at Hollywood Park and not Santa Anita. Even though it's not in the best of neighborhoods, it's a great racetrack. 10. More important for an announcer: 20-20 vision or horse knowledge? Horse knowledge. Without the great eyesight, you can compensate with your binoculars. If you don't know horses, you're in trouble.
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