Tom Durkin

Tom Durkin is best known as the voice of horse racing’s Breeders’ Cup from its inception 1984 until 2005. He also called the Triple Crown races from 2000 until 2010. He was the long tenured voice of Belmont Park and Saratoga Race course for 23 years and he has called over 80,000 races in the United States and Europe.

A trained actor, Durkin was a theater major at St. Norbert College in DePere, Wisconsin. He appeared in many productions in college including the title role in Moliere’s Tartuffe and major roles in Man Of LaMancha, The Boyfriend, John Brown’s Body, and almost a dozen other projects. He most recently appeared in the Homegrown Theater of Saratoga Springs as Mr. Macy and the Drunken Santa Clause in “Miracle on 34th St.”

He also taught Public Speaking in the 2015 Fall Term at Saratoga High School Continuing Education.

He has had several voice over roles in movies; Woody Allen’s” The Mighty Aphrodite”, “All Dogs Go to Heaven” and in 2014 “St. Vincent” with Bill Murray.

He was the radio and TV commercial voice of the New York Racing Association from 1990 until 2014. He was also the national radio and TV voice of the Breeders’ Cup commercials and promos from about 1988 until 2005.

For decades he has voiced numerous TV and radio projects for the horse racing and breeding industries. In addition to his race calling for both ESPN and NBC Sports, he also wrote, produced and presented feature segments. During and after his career with ESPN, NBC and the racing industry he has been a sought after emcee and public speaker.

Durkin has recieved a number of awards for his commentating and acting including Thorofan Man of the Year 2016, The Thoroughbred Club of America Honoree 2015, Hialeah Park Hall of Fame 2015, The Eclipse Award of Merit 2014, The Big Sport of Turfdom 2014 and The Saratoga Race Course Walk of Fame 2014.