“The Travers on steroids” Tom Durkin breaks down Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Race Course

Saratoga Springs, NY — Legendary horse racing announcer Tom Durkin joined Tom Eschen on CBS6’s Power and Politics on Thursday, live from Saratoga Race Course.

Durkin, who retired in 2014, said, prior to the construction at Belmont Park, situating the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Race Course was an “impossibility”.

“The only way that was going to happen was if Belmont Park was torn down,” he said. “Aqueduct…is really not suitable for an event like this. It wouldn’t draw the kind of people that this is drawing. This is a boon to the local and regional economy. And it’s great to have a great race like the Belmont at this mecca of horse racing.”

In the extended conversation Durkin also spoke about:

-The biggest differences between Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course
-Long-term impact of Saratoga hosting the Belmont Stakes
-Why Saratoga is the “Graveyard of Favorites”
-His pick for the Belmont Stakes
-What’s changed the most about horse racing since he started, and what he thinks will change moving forward