Burgart to call races at Los Alamitos through 2019

Ed Burgart, the popular track announcer at Los Alamitos, has postponed his retirement until the end of the 2019 season.

The track announced Saturday that Burgart had reached an agreement with track owner Ed Allred to remain in the position through next year. Burgart was originally scheduled to retire at the end of June this year, and then at the end of this year.

Burgart said he plans to take vacations in February, March, and September in 2019 but otherwise will call the year-round Quarter Horse and lower-level Thoroughbred night meeting at Los Alamitos.

The 66-year-old Burgart began calling races in the late 1970s and has been the track announcer at Los Alamitos since the early 1980s. In addition to his race calls, Burgart is highly regarded as a handicapper and provides the track’s morning line.

During the Los Alamitos daytime Thoroughbred meetings, Burgart works as a television commentator between races.