Kentucky Derby Caller Quits, Too Much Pressure

Written by Pat's Papers | Thursday, 28 April 2011 7:37 AM

It’s known as the Greatest Two Minutes in Sports, but for Tom Durkin, it’s two minutes too long. The New York Times says Durkin, who has called the Kentucky Derby 13 times, declined to sign his contract with NBC this year because the job has given him “debilitating anxiety.” One of the most famous voices in racing, Durkin says the job is “mentally taxing” because it requires not only remembering and identifying 20 horses as they fly around a racetrack but the ability to “conjure an accurate and evocative word picture for the chaos that is 20 horses thundering around an oval for a mile and a quarter.”

The New York Daily News broke the Durkin story yesterday.

Here’s Durkin calling the 2010 Derby:

blog comments powered by Disqus

Enter address below to get the morning headlines in your inbox (more details)

New on Pat's Blog

Celebrity Skate: The Performance

Pat’s been talking about it and practicing for months. Now, check out the VIDEO of his debut on ice.

Favorites

U.S. Newspapers

International Newspapers

News

© 2012 - Newspat LLC - All Rights Reserved Pat's Papers is a review of content published in print and online by major news organizations.
Links to stories are provided to enable you to read the complete story and determine its accuracy.
Newspat LLC is not affiliated with the publishers of stories mentioned on Pat's Papers.
Site design and development by Hop Studios
Privacy Policy

New FTC guidelines mandate that we disclose seemingly obvious advertising relationships.
The advertisements on the site are, in fact, advertisements. Sometimes we are compensated simply for displaying an ad. Other times we are paid "per click" or receive
a commission if you make a purchase from the advertiser. We do not accept payment for content and do not choose content based on advertiser relationships,
but in cases when a story mentions a specific product we may post an adjacent Amazon.com link or other affiliate link that offers us a commission.

myspace visitor counter