Usually we focus on turning the buck, R.O.I, the next race, or the weekend that sets us up for a big score. As a sports fan we can rattle off names of: Capposela, McKay, Vin Scully, Joe Buck, Phil Georgeff, and many of the announcers who sent us to bed with a radio near our ear, or made the hair stand up on the back of our neck as the ponies thundered home.

This past week we have lost one of the biggest fans of the game, who just happened to be the voice of the past ten Kentucky Derbys. His name was Luke Krytbosch, pronounced( Krite-boss). Luke was graduate of the University of Arizona Racetrack Program, and loved the sport like no other.

His deep baritone voice would have caught your ear at any O.T.B, off-site platform; or if you were lucky enough you could have heard him bring them home with a flair that appealed to the common everyday Joe to the folks in the high dollar seats. He began his career as many announcers doing the smaller circuits at tracks in Arizona. He quickly moved on to replace Trevor Denman at Hollywood Park in 1996, and took off for Kentucky to become the fifth caller under the historic Twin Spires.

Luke will be missed, that is the evident truth. The story behind the story is that he was just a simple regular fan. The day after a Kentucky Derby, he was found at River Downs outside of Cincinnati swilling beers, talking horses, and betting low level claiming horses. He was gregarious man who loved life, the sport of kings, and bringing them home in his own distinctive style. The game will go on, and if Luke were here he would have demanded nothing less……

He is just another guy that lived his dream. He loved life, loved calling them home, and his distinctive trademark calls are gone forever. The game needs all of the Luke’s it can find. Just average guys who make the music that much sweeter with a master craftsman touch. He definitely left the game a much kinder place.