Collmus preparing for what could be the biggest call of his
career in Belmont
The connections of Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner California Chrome aren’t the only ones who
are anticipating the June 7 Belmont Stakes to be the biggest day of their
careers.
Churchill Downs and NBC track announcer Larry Collmus will call the
Belmont Stakes on network television — his first Belmont call with the Triple
Crown on the line.
When asked if the 2014 Belmont would be the biggest call of
Collmus’ career he responded, “Absolutely. I don’t think there’s any doubt about
it. There hasn’t been a Triple Crown winner in 36 years and to be able to call
that race if it does in fact happen is tremendous.
“There will be two of us, Tom (Durkin) and I, who will call it and just to be
able to be one of those guys and to get to do it for network television is just
incredible and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Collmus discussed some of his feelings this past week at
Churchill Downs as he mentally prepares for the Belmont.
“I’ve been trying to get myself as prepared as possible for it because it is
a first for me,” Collmus said. “I want to be able to come up
with the right thing to say if the event happens. I also think it’s important to
make it about the moment and try to stay out of the way.
“It’s basically coming up with a thing that would be most
appropriate if it happens; I can’t say what that is but I have a good idea of
what I want to do at this point. Also, even though the focus of the race call
will be about California Chrome, I have to know all the horses in the race, so
the studying like any other race comes into play with regards to getting all
those horses’ names in your head. Luckily, save maybe one or two, I’ve called
all of them before, which is a big advantage.
“You also want to prepare for the ‘what if’ scenarios where he doesn’t win.
No matter what your preparation is, you also have to be able to react to
anything. You never know what’s going to happen, so if you treat it like any
other race you’ve seen and are ready to react to scenarios like you always are,
then that’s good too. You don’t want to pre-plan too much is basically what I’m
saying.”
Collmus also mentioned that he’s watched past Belmont Stakes races with the
Triple Crown on the line and studied the calls.
“I’ve listened to a lot of them,” Collmus noted. “I’ve
listened to the Triple Crown successes, which were pretty much Chic Anderson
calls of Secretariat, Seattle Slew and Affirmed. I also have listened to Triple
Crown ‘failures,’ if you want to use that word; a lot of those were Tom Durkin
and Dave Johnson calls.
“I’ve learned a lot from those calls. For example when
Smarty Jones ran in the Belmont, the beginning of Tom’s call was very low key
and I think it’s because the race is so long, that you really need to start
slow. I think he built it up well and he was dead on to do that.
“In the Chic calls, other than the world-famous
‘Secretariat is moving like a tremendous machine,’ he didn’t get overly dramatic
in those races, but I think that was more just his style too. I can’t see myself
being able to tone it down enough to sound like that.
“I’m just going to react the way it makes me feel like any other race does. I
don’t want to be screaming like a maniac, but at the same time there will be a
tremendous level of excitement.”
Collmus also touched on an interesting fact about the third
jewel of the Triple Crown with regards to the ability to see and call horses
that late in the evening with the way the sun sets on Belmont Park.
“On a sunny Belmont Stakes day, with the race going off
early in the evening (6:52 p.m. EDT), you have a major issue with horses’ colors
and jockey silks colors changing. When I called the Belmont last year, it was
the first time I had ever dealt with a sunny Belmont.
“I was warned by Tom Durkin about it because when the
horses turn for home, they actually look like silhouettes. So you better know
who they are before they turn for home because they’re very tough to identify
for almost an eighth of a mile. It’s from about the top of the stretch to the
eighth-pole. Once they get to the eighth-pole, you’re fine.
“For an example Orb, who had white silks with a red stripe, looked black —
it changed it that much. You have to be prepared for that and I’m glad that last
year I got a chance to call a sunny Belmont because it is definitely a concern.
Needless to say I’m rooting for clouds on Belmont Day. No need to rain, but
clouds would be fine.”
When asked how exactly an announcer does make sure he knows
the horses in the infamous colorblind spot, Collmus said “I think the key to
that is to make sure you don’t go too far back before they turn for home and
just be aware of who those leaders are. If someone should make a big move from
behind at that point, you have to hope you know who it is. In the case of last
year there wasn’t much going on as they were turning for home, which is usually
the case often times in those longer races.”
As of Sunday morning the National Weather Service projected
Saturday’s weather forecast for Elmont, New York, to be ‘Mostly Sunny, with a
high near 79.’
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