Gonna miss this guys voice....he's been the voice of the Derby...

Durkin Will Not Call the Derby

Tom Durkin, the signature voice of American horse racing, will not call the Kentucky Derby or any other Triple Crown race this spring. He said his mental health was more important than his participation in telecasts of three of the sport’s most significant races.

Durkin, 60, announced Tuesday he was not renewing his contract with NBC Sports to call this year’s Triple Crown races — the Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes. He said he made the decision after a year of reflection about the increasing performance anxiety he felt leading to the Derby. Last year, he said, he sought help through hypnotism in the days before the Derby.

“It is with deep regret that I have made the decision not to renew my contract as NBC’s Triple Crown announcer,” Durkin said in a statement. “It was an extremely difficult decision to make and one that came after almost a year of reflection. Because of the stress of the event, I felt it was not in the interest of my best health.”

Durkin has called the Derby 13 times — nine for NBC Sports. He called the first 22 runnings of the Breeders’ Cup for NBC, as well as all three legs of the Triple Crown on television — for different networks — since 2001.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/27/sports/27durkin.html

Commanding presence and awesome variety.

The guy who took over today is very good but he was all but drowned out in the final 220 yards.