Spring without Derby an 'odd, bizarre feeling' for race callers

Of all the thousands of roles and routines people have for Kentucky Derby week, two hold job unlike any others.

Those people are Travis Stone, track announcer for Churchill Downs, and Larry Collmus, who calls the Derby and other major races for NBC Sports.

We asked them their thoughts on what it will be like this week without the Kentucky Derby, which was postponed until Sept. 5 because of the coronavirus outbreak.

The delay “has almost completely changed how the whole spring feels,” said Stone, who has called the Derby since 2015. “Usually, everything is centered around Derby … and without that and without, really, anything going on, it just feels weird. This would be opening week … it’s just an odd, bizarre feeling.”

“It’s certainly a new experience,” said Collmus, who called his first Derby in 2011. “… It’s just kind of crazy to not be preparing for the Derby and getting ready with all the different things that over the period of a few months you get going. The last few months have been definitely a little bit different than years past.”

 And the Derby is much more than a million-dollar race on a spring afternoon. There is as much activity surrounding the race as for any major sporting event.

For Stone, who lives in Louisville, Derby Week is “pretty hectic. Between the post position draws in the morning, events and charity gatherings in the evenings, of course racing throughout the day – it’s a big week of racing, typically. It’s just really intense.

“But you sort of get through it because at the end of the tunnel is the Derby, right? So it’s sort of like you ride the momentum wave all the way through to the end.”

Collmus has a different routine. He typically flies into Louisville on Tuesday afternoon, checks into his hotel, then meets with other racing journalists for dinner at a local steakhouse.

“It’s a great way to start the week for me because I haven’t been there and most of the people that are there have been there for more than a week,” Collmus said. “And now I’m getting sort of the feel of everything as far as what’s been going on in the mornings with these different horses and answering any questions I have in my preparation for calling the race.

"Because it’s just not like any other race. It’s the Kentucky Derby, and there’s so much involved in preparing for that.”

On Wednesday, Collmus heads to Churchill Downs, often checking out the backside in the morning before NBC Sports meetings begin.

“The whole week is a buildup,” Collmus said. “NBC generally would start broadcasting on Thursday – that would be our first day of showing a couple of races and getting everybody geared up for the next day for the Oaks and then for the big one on Saturday.”

Stone pointed out that a September Derby will have a very different feel.

“One of the coolest things about the Derby for me as a horse racing fan is you get to see these horses square off and compete and find out who’s the best early on in the season," he said. "And it sort of sets the stage for all of the other races that follow, both in the Triple Crown and beyond. And that has basically been completely turned over.

“It’s going to go the exact opposite way in many regards,” Stone added. “… I’m acutely curious how the Derby will feel in September when, frankly, a lot of these horses will have already raced each other. It’s going to be very unique and, knock on wood, I hope it’s the only time we have to think about it.”

Stone and Collmus both said they don’t want to speculate about whether the Derby will be held in September or how it might unfold, possibly without spectators.

“Who knows? One day, you feel like we won’t be able to do anything until summer of 2021, the next day you feel like, oh, wait a minute, it is still April, there’s a lot of time for this thing to sort of level off a little bit,” Stone said. “Hopefully, parameters and systems come into place that allow us to return to some sort of sense of normalcy, even though the new normal is going to be different for a while. … I think there’ll be a Derby, I don’t know what it’ll look like, though.”

“It depends on what happens in the next month or so, I guess,” Collmus said. “Let’s put it this way: A Kentucky Derby without fans would be wacky, it would be something you couldn’t even imagine because that place is just packed and jammed and all the color, the pageantry. I just couldn’t imagine what it would be like with no one there.

“But that’s a decision that is not mine to make, and if I’m told to be there, I’ll be there. And if we have a Derby with fans, then that’s even better, that would be fantastic if that’s allowed to happen. I’m in either way – just let me know and I’ll show up.”