AUBURN, Wash. – Robert Geller, Emerald Downs’s longtime track announcer, said he will leave his post in early June to become the race-caller at a higher-profile track that he declined to name. Geller, 55, has called races at Emerald since the facility opened in 1996. He previously was an announcer in his native Australia and in Hong Kong for the Hong Kong Jockey Club. In addition to Emerald Downs, Geller serves as the announcer for the winter meeting at Sunland Park. “It required something really worthwhile for me to move towards, for me to leave,” Geller said of his decision. “I felt that there’s something I was wanting to move to. But I feel great about what we’ve achieved here, what we’ve done as a group. I feel like I’ve done a good job.” Geller said he was in negotiations to become the race-caller at a larger venue. He said his exit has nothing to do with the recent ownership change at Emerald Downs, which is now being run by the Muckleshoot Tribe and new track president Phil Ziegler. “The timing is unfortunate, but it has nothing to do with ownership,” Geller said. “I feel really sad that I won’t have a chance to work with Phil. But if I can work at a bigger-named track that offers me bigger fields, turf races, and graded stakes, you don’t get that every day. I’m not getting any younger, so it’s very much a matter of me using my Emerald Downs experience and cashing in my chips.” Emerald Downs is looking for a replacement for Geller. Joe Withee, Emerald’s director of publicity, called two races last weekend and will call two more Sunday, he said. But Withee, who like Geller has been at Emerald Downs since Day 1, said he has no interest in becoming the permanent race-caller. “It’s just keeping me in practice in case there’s any problem getting someone else here before Robert leaves,” Withee said. “I’ve only done 15 races or so here over the years. It’s fun; it gives you a charge. I’m just happy to help. But there’s been a lot of interest in the position already.” Sophia McKee, Emerald’s director of marketing, is leading the search for a new voice. Emerald’s announcer also does TV work and community outreach, serving, along with Withee, as the face of racing in Washington state. After two decades and some 16,000 race calls, Geller has built a loyal following. “It’s a relationship that you grow into,” Geller said. “As they start to warm towards your style, it becomes a given that there’s a strong connection, and it gets richer and richer as the years go by. It feels very intimate. Fans who are aware I’m leaving have come forward with great outpourings of emotion. “It’s very rare to be in a situation like I was, where you’re the only announcer for a racetrack. To come in at the very beginning as a person who puts their own style, who brings their own voice to a track, is really quite unique. I was never planning to leave, really. An opportunity came up. But there are nothing but great memories and a sense of a great future. The one thing I’ve always felt about Emerald is that the track is not complete. It needs a turf track, and I’d like to see another big race outside of the Longacres Mile. But anyone who visits this place will be blown away by how friendly and professional it is.” Mitchell to retire after meet Jockey Gallyn Mitchell, Emerald Downs’s all-time leader in wins, stakes wins, and purse earnings, said he plans to retire following the 2015 meeting. Mitchell, who was a mainstay at Longacres before coming to Emerald Downs for the inaugural meet in 1996, began the current meeting with 1,387 victories, 77 stakes wins, and more than $14.4 million in earnings at Emerald. Mitchell, 52, finished eighth in the standings in 2014 with 39 wins. But his health has been a concern since April 2012, when he suffered a major heart attack at his home near Emerald Downs. Alert Bay eyes Longacres Mile Alert Bay, the winner of California Cup Turf Classic at Santa Anita in his last start Jan. 24, has returned to training and will be pointed toward the Grade 3 Longacres Mile at Emerald Downs on Aug. 16, trainer Blaine Wright said. Alert Bay, a 4-year-old by City Zip, races for Peter Redekop of Vancouver, British Columbia. A stakes winner in British Columbia, California, and New Mexico, Alert Bay has won 8 of 14 starts and earned $754,707. Trainer Gibson gets first win Mark Gibson, for many years the official starter at Emerald Downs, began his new career as a trainer in style when his Bid for Pride won the final race on opening day April 18. Bid for Pride rallied from just off the pace to defeat $2,500 claimers going 5 1/2 furlongs. Gibson was the starter for 17 years. The job now belongs to Don Miller, Gibson’s former assistant.