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09-01-2014, 01:34 AM
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#1
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PA Steward
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Del Boca Vista
Posts: 88,537
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As someone said over in the harness section, Tom Durkin is one who GETS IT
If you didn't hear his speech at the ceremony following his final race call, it's worth listening to...
[yt=""]ZD-bdbPPCuQ[/yt]
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09-01-2014, 01:40 AM
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#2
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Registered User
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 120
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Imo he should go to teaching racetrack ceo's and upper management what the true driving force is in this industry. Had me choked up, he is a great man, and did a great job. Hope he enjoys retirement.
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09-01-2014, 01:41 AM
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#3
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Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 25,607
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by tampahorseplayer
Imo he should go to teaching racetrack ceo's and upper management what the true driving force is in this industry. Had me choked up, he is a great man, and did a great job. Hope he enjoys retirement.
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Hard to imagine anyone who was not choked up watching that.
Powerful moment.
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09-01-2014, 08:34 AM
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#4
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,084
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Thanks, PA for posting.
I missed seeing it live.
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09-01-2014, 08:46 AM
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#5
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: PA
Posts: 461
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Tom will live forever in the minds of racing fans and horseplayers through his race calls, his enthusiasm for the game, and especially that speech. Bravo!
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09-01-2014, 08:50 AM
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#6
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Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 7,510
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by PaceAdvantage
If you didn't hear his speech at the ceremony following his final race call, it's worth listening to...
[yt=""]ZD-bdbPPCuQ[/yt]
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Beat me to it.
I had planned on starting a thread on this very subject.
Thanks for posting PA..
And Yeah Tom Durkin DOES get(understand) it..
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09-01-2014, 08:57 AM
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#7
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Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 2,472
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Class act.
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09-01-2014, 10:04 AM
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#8
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Registered User
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 14,568
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Re-posting
Already posted in harness section:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/01/sp...=tw-share&_r=0
Quote:
“There is one person that is completely responsible for this wonderful life that I’ve had the privilege to live in horse racing,” he said. “That person is here in Saratoga today. Right now he’s in the backyard sitting at a picnic table under a pine tree looking at this image on the television. She’s at the top of the stretch leaning over the rail, and she’s in a box seat or at a simulcast center in Syracuse or a track in Ohio or in front of a computer terminal in California.”
Then, his voice caught and the tears tumbled. “The person that I owe an inexpressible gratitude is you,” he said. “The racing fan, the horse player. Thank you.”
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__________________
Want to know what's wrong with this country?
Here it is, in a nutshell: Millions of people are
pinning their hopes on a man who has every
chance of returning to the WH, assuming that
he can manage to stay out of prison. Think about it.
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09-01-2014, 10:52 AM
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#9
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Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 25,607
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Tom made races memorable that otherwise would not have been nearly as memorable.
There have been hundreds and hundreds of Grade 1 races in the years that Tom has been in the sport, but when you ask racing customers which are the most memorable, people talk about "One final acceleration" and "Tiznow wins it for America" , "Rachel WON" and of course, the unbeatable Cigar.
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09-01-2014, 11:02 AM
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#10
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$2 Showbettor
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: The Villages
Posts: 2,578
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End of an era.
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09-01-2014, 11:11 AM
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#11
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gelding
Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 8,883
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09-01-2014, 11:13 AM
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#12
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Registered User
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Kansas
Posts: 1,833
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I'm going to miss him a lot. What a great man.
__________________
D. Wayne Lukas-- "People have opinions - horses have the facts."
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09-01-2014, 11:29 AM
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#13
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Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 8,429
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Two great things about Durkin's thank you to fans and horseplayers.
First it was his only thank you. It didn't come at the end of a long list. For example others might have thanked everyone they could think of and then at the end added "and finally I want to thank all the fans and horseplayers out there for making my career possible".
second was the emotion, how he got so choked up on that thank you that he had trouble getting the words out.
"Long live horse racing and long live Saratoga! And that's that."
What a guy.
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09-01-2014, 11:35 AM
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#14
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Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 238
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Tom is such a human, human being. Sincere, no frills, not about me, not above the game, and has a deep appreciation for being allowed to be a part of it. They simply don't make them like that anymore!
I made the trip to Saratoga for only the second time in my life this year, simply to sit there and let Tom tell me to have a "great day at the Spaaaaa." It's been a great run. He will never be forgotten.
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09-01-2014, 11:43 AM
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#15
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Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 7,510
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I chose my username in honor of Tom Durkin.
Of course his rendition has more "aaaaaaa's in it.
Now that Tom has retired, I am considering changing to another username.
Or should I keep it as a tribute?
What do you guys think?
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