Barbara D. Livingston
Tom Durkin, who joined the New York Racing Association in 1990, is retiring as race-caller Sunday.
Tom Durkin, the longtime announcer for the New York Racing Association who retired earlier this year, has been selected to receive the Eclipse Award of Merit, the organizers of the Eclipse Awards announced Thursday.
The Award of Merit is one of the highest honors in racing, recognizing a lifetime of outstanding achievement in the sport. It caps an extraordinary 43-year career for Durkin, who called his last race Aug. 30 at Saratoga Racecourse. After the final call, Durkin gave a moving speech in front of the track’s grandstand thanking “you, the racing fan, the horseplayer.”