The man calling the 2011 Kentucky Derby, Larry Collmus, is a Baltimore native who began his career as an 18-year-old calling horse races in Bowie, MD. Collmus gets the call at the mic today, chosen by NBC to replace the legendary Tom Durkin. Durkin had called the previous 30 Triple Crown races.
You might not have known Collmus' name before this post (I sure as heck didn't), but there's a 50/50 chance you did know his voice, because of this epic YouTube clip.
You might think getting the chance to call the Kentucky Derby would be the apex of a career. Well, in the case of Larry Collmus, you'd be wrong (he is from Baltimore after all):
For any other announcer, calling the Derby would be the biggest assignment he could get. Collmus, however, is from Baltimore. The Preakness was the race he grew up with.
"For anybody else, the Derby would certainly be the one that you'd look forward to the most," he said. "Let's put it this way. Coming from Maryland, it's as close to a dead heat as it can get."
I've got to admit, I'm pretty fired up to listen to this race now. Let's hope Larry Collmus get a race, and finish, for the ages.