Racing fans at Churchill Downs will hear a new voice calling the action when the Spring Meet begins in April. Larry Collmus becomes just the seventh person to hold the position of track announcer.Collmus’s voice is already familiar to many racing fans. He’s called the last three Kentucky Derbys forNBC. The 47 year old Maryland native will continue to call Triple Crown and Breeder’s Cup races for NBC in addition to his duties in Louisville. He’ll also stay on as the Winter Meet announcer at Gulfstream Park in Florida. Collmus succeeds Mark Johnson, the track’s first British announcer, who’s moving on after five years at Churchill Downs. The home of the Kentucky Derby hired its first track announcer, Gene Schmidt, in 1940.
