LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Travis Stone just might have the best seat in the house at Churchill Downs – he just never gets a chance to actually sit in it.
“The horses will come right onto the track and parade before the stand,” Stone said. “That allows me to take my markers and color the silks the jockeys are wearing, and I instantly get to work memorizing them and I just try to commit it to memory.”
Stone has been the official track announcer and race caller at Churchill Downs for nearly 10 years.
“I’ve called at a lot of great tracks,” he said. “Whenever someone over my career has said, 'where do you call', and I say Churchill Downs, everybody’s eyebrows go up because everybody knows where Churchill Downs is.”
RELATED: Churchill Downs selects Kentucky native, country music icon to sing National Anthem at Derby 150
In preparation of a race, the caller needs to know the names of the horses and their jockeys, what color silks they're wearing, their race histories, strengths and weaknesses, their trainers, breeders, bloodlines and starting positions. Stone says these are just the basics when it comes to what a quality race caller should know.
The Run for the Roses is just one of many races Stone calls on Derby Day. In fact, it's just one of the races he calls year-round. This makes his preparation process endless.
Regardless of how many races he calls, Stone admits some moments are bigger than others.
“The only thing that’s really changed for calling the Derby this year is, I will try to come up with a couple of lines here or there to capture the moment because it is the monumental moment, but the routine of calling the Derby is not changing,” he said.
Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.