LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Luke Kruytbosch will purchase two copies of the Louisville Courier-Journal today. One for home, one for work.
Not for the Kroger coupons, but for the banner traditionally stripped across the top with the silks and post positions of each entry in the Kentucky Derby.
For an ordinary race the Churchill Downs track announcer studies jockeys and horses as they enter from the backside. But for the Derby he begins committing the contestants to memory three days early.
"I tape one of the strips up at home and one in my office at work," said the 40-year-old announcer, who also color-codes his program with crayons. "I'll black out the names so I can memorize them. Every 30 minutes or so I'll walk past the list and just refresh my memory.
"'I don't want to leave anything to chance."
Kruytbosch's voice will be heard by millions of people Saturday. He knows it, and he admits he gets nervous.
"When the last (horse is in the chute) I stand up, shake my hands out a little bit and get ready to go," he said. "It's a pretty intense time for me."
One challenge, Kruytbosch said, is to avoid repetition. He'll have a series of words, such as "revving," "gearing" or "stoking" prepared to describe a particular action. He tries to avoid "corny plays on words" but keeps a catch phrase ready in case a favorite, this year's being Empire Maker, wins in a rout.
"I don't have any phrase I'm really known for," he said. "I don't want to be too cute. But I'll have something in mind."
