Santa Anita: Aiello goes west to sub on mic for Mirahmadi

Gulfstream Park race caller Pete Aiello will take over in the Santa Anita announcer’s booth Friday through next Sunday while Frank Mirahmadi is at Saratoga to call its five-day Belmont Stakes racing festival.

Young up-and-comer Liam Molinaro, who was the announcer at the Golden State Racing meet during the fall at Pleasanton, Calif., will step in for Aiello at Gulfstream.

Click here for Santa Anita entries and results.

Mirahmadi has been Santa Anita’s track announcer since December 2018. In 2023, Mirahmadi additionally was hired by the New York Racing Association to serve as its announcer during the summer meet at Saratoga. Last year the Belmont Stakes racing festival was added to Mirahmadi’s duties when it was moved to Saratoga from Belmont Park, which is undergoing a $455 million renovation.

“I am beyond grateful to have the privilege of calling the Belmont Stakes again for NYRA and Fox,” Mirahmadi said. “Santa Anita management once again kindly let me take the time off. Our fans will be delighted to welcome Pete Aiello from our sister track into the booth at the great race place, and they should get ready for some high-energy, fun calls from Pete.”

Aiello has served as Gulfstream’s year-round announcer since 2016. A native of West Palm Beach, Fla., Aiello, 39, served as a guest race caller at Santa Anita during the 2023 Breeders’ Cup, calling the Juvenile Turf and Juvenile Turf Fillies as well as the Sen. Ken Maddy Stakes on the undercard. This will mark his first full weekend foray at the racetrack in Arcadia, Calif.

“It’s exciting, because this time I’ll get to call every race and be able to get into a rhythm,” Aiello said. “Everything about this job is rhythm.”

Aiello acknowledged there will be additional challenges that come anytime an announcer moves to a new track, most notably a lack of familiarity with the local horse population.

“Like with the silks. There are some I know as a fan, but others that I’ve never seen before, so it will be a little tricky,” Aiello said. “But one good thing in the equation is Santa Anita isn’t new to me, and I have great a resource in the sense I can call Frank anytime I have a question.”