They'rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrre offan'running.

I can't remember the first time I heard Luke Kruytbosch, but I've always regarded him as one hell of a racecaller.  When I was at Churchill for Giacomo's Derby, it was Luke's voice I strained to hear among the 140,000 in attendance.  And when I first learned how to call thoroughbred races, Luke gladly offered his input on how I could improve.  I didn't know him too well, but he was a great guy.

I'm at a loss for words.  Life truly is precious, and tomorrow's not a guarantee for any of us.  Farewell, my friend.

Punctuation

Commas are followed by one space, and while a period can be followed by one or two, I always use two.  Funny how I'm posting about punctuation on my blog.  Time for bed.

Weekend in Goshen

A friend of mine suggested I start blogging, and I've taken it to be a good suggestion, so here goes.

First off, about me:  My name is James, I'm 22, and I'm the racecaller at a harness track near Philadelphia.  I finished a degree in music composition from Duquesne University last December, and I now reside in northern Delaware.  I'll talk about my endeavours in life--as a racecaller, a composer, and maybe the occasional philosophical rant.  Apparently, that's what these blog thingies are for ;)

This year I decided to spend Fourth of July weekend in the Cradle of the Trotter, Goshen, NY.  In addition to visiting the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame, I called a few races at the Historic Track Grand Circuit Meet.  Simply put, I had an absolute blast and would recommend Grand Circuit Week at Goshen to ANYONE.

I left Friday morning just after 8, giving me plenty of time to make 1 p.m. post.  That is, until, my right front tire blew out little more than three miles into the journey.  Needless to say, I was set back a couple hours, but thanks to National Tire and Battery being open on a national holiday, I was on the road in time to make the last four races at Goshen on Friday, of which I called the last three.  I called a couple this afternoon too, including a race with Dave Little from the New York Daily News.  Kind of like at All-Star Announcer's Day last year, except Dave did play-by-play and I did colour.

About Goshen itself, it's a quaint little town about 45 minutes from New York City and an hour from the Meadowlands.  The track is located right in the middle of town, with a wooden grandstand that seats about 1800, I'd say.  The judges stand and commentary box are located in the infield, making the sight lines at the head of the stretch a bit difficult.  A couple trees on the backstretch didn't help, either, but it was no worse than calling at Suffolk last fall.  The racing was competitive and of good quality, but the best part was by far the crowd.  The 1800-seat grandstand was beyond capacity both days, with the outside fence lined three-deep on both ends of the grandstand.  With no betting at Goshen, they're truly there for the love of the sport, and the atmosphere is easily unrivalled.  I'll definitely be going back next year.

Tomorrow, it's back to reality (but I'm not complaining one bit).  Life truly is good.