Tom Durkin has had a long tenure as a track announcer throughout the U.S. (NYRA/Adam Coglianese Photography)

Track announcer Tom Durkin, who has been bringing his special brand of excitement to The New York Racing Association (NYRA) circuit since 1990, announced Saturday he will call his last race at Saratoga on August 31, bringing a 43-year career to a close.

"I want to thank all of the fans that have been so supportive over the years, my colleagues at NYRA and countless others who have helped me along over four decades," said Durkin, 63. "I thought that 24 years here at NYRA was enough and that 25 might have been too many. It has been an honor and a privilege to have been given the best seat in the house to some of the greatest moments in modern racing history."

Born in Chicago, Durkin studied theatre at St. Norbert College and began calling races at county fairs in Wisconsin in the summer of 1971. In 1975, he moved on to ply his trade at a string of small tracks including Cahokia Downs, Balmoral Park, Quad City Downs and Miles Park before landing the job at famed Hialeah Park in 1981. Three years later, he was hired as the announcer for the annual Breeders' Cup, a job he held until 2005, and gained further fame calling the Triple Crown for a decade beginning in 2001.

"Tom Durkin is one of the greatest race-callers in history, and we are fortunate to have had him with us here in New York for so many years," said NYRA President and CEO Chris Kay, who recalled that his first visit to a racetrack was at Cahokia Downs, where Durkin was calling the races. "The way Tom uses his voice to build to a crescendo is unparalleled, and the words he uses to describe races are pure magic. We are disappointed to see such a storied career finally come to a close, but we are grateful to have had the opportunity to enjoy his race-calling for so long. We wish him all the best in the next chapter of his life."