Stone excited to take over as race-caller

Travis Stone realizes what a unique place he is in. At age 30, he already has one of the best jobs in racing as the new race-caller at Churchill Downs.

“It all started sinking in when I got here this week,” said Stone. “It’s very exciting, that’s for sure.”

Stone, who started his announcing career in 2006 at Louisiana Downs, becomes the eighth caller in track history and replaces Larry Collmus, who moved on to the New York Racing Association after working one year here. Mark Johnson preceded Collmus.

Stone grew up in Schroon Lake, N.Y., near Saratoga Springs and idolized the work of Tom Durkin and Dave Johnson. In fact, his calls bear a striking resemblance to those of Johnson.

** Trainer Graham Motion said this week via Twitter that Ring Weekend, the winner of the Grade 1 Kilroe Mile in his last start, has been withdrawn from consideration from the traditional lead-in to the Derby, the Grade 1 Woodford Reserve Turf Classic, due to injury. Motion added that the injury is not serious, and the 4-year-old gelding still might be able to make the Grade 2 Dixie two weeks later on the Preakness undercard at Pimlico.

With Ring Weekend out, the 6-year-old mare Stephanie’s Kitten could be the favorite for the $500,000 Turf Classic, a 1 1/8-mile race also expected to get Seek Again, Finnegans Wake, Chocolate Ride, Umgiyo, and possibly Jack Milton, among others.

** If rain pounds Churchill all day Saturday, as is being forecast, it might be déjà vu all over again for Majestic Harbor.

The winner of the Grade 1 Hollywood Gold Cup last summer, the 7-year-old horse snapped a six-race losing streak by winning an off-the-turf allowance race as a main-track-only entrant on the April 4 Blue Grass Stakes undercard at Keeneland.

On Saturday night, Majestic Harbor again is the lone main-track-only entrant in the eighth race, a 1 1/16-mile allowance scheduled for the grass. One other Saturday night race, the sixth, also is scheduled for the grass and would be imperiled by heavy rain.

** It’s hard to tell how big the crowd will be for the Saturday night opener with rain in the forecast, but these are the attendance figures since Churchill began opening its spring meet under the lights four years ago:

2011 – 38,142

2012 – 26,527

2013 – 21,038

2014 – 24,431

** For the record, the namesake of the new opening-night feature, the William Walker Stakes, was the dominant rider during Churchill’s first few years, leading the jockeys’ standings at four different meets from 1875-78 and winning the 1877 Derby aboard Baden-Baden.

An Internet search found that Billy Walker was born into slavery in 1860 and died in 1933. In 1996, Churchill erected a headstone on his previously unmarked grave at the Louisville Cemetery with an epitaph outlining his riding career.

** Entries for the Tuesday card at Churchill were drawn Thursday, and Daily Racing Form past performances were available shortly thereafter on drf.com. However, the Tuesday print editions of DRF will not be delivered until Tuesday morning.