JOHNSON ISSUE 16.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd
9/4/10
18:46
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MARK JOHNSON
W
“My first season at Churchill Downs exceeded my expectations a thousand-fold.” These words belong to 43-year-old Mark Johnson, the Londoner who took up the position as racecaller at Churchill last spring, writes Geir Stabell.
ITH his arrival “the voice of the Kentucky Derby” was given an English accent, while Trevor Denman’s South African tone is part of the Breeders’ Cup. These are changing times in horseracing, right from the track surfaces up to the caller’s booth at the top of the grandstand. No doubt, calling races has become an international profession, and why not. If a man can do a good job at Newmarket or Stratford-on-Avon in England, he will probably do a good job also at Churchill Downs. Without having done any research on the subject, it is my guess that Johnson is the most versatile of all racecallers in this world. Having started off at point-to-point meets, which are amateur races over fences, in England, he became the first man to have called both the great Grand National steeplechase in England and the Kentucky Derby, and it is a fair bet that he will, for some time to come, be the only one to have Churchill Downs on a résumé already including Aintree – where the Grand National is contested – and Epsom, home of the English Derby. His passion for the sport shows a mile off and is heard even further away, while his interest in North American racing goes back a long way. “It has been my lifelong ambition to call at a major venue in the U.S.A.,” Johnson reflects, “but when I applied for this job [at Churchill] I did agree with bookmakers in Las Vegas as they chalked me up at 33-1 to actually get it.” However, and perhaps for a change, the bookies did not know enough about the form. After a two-week trial in competition with four other callers, Johnson was offered the job and, in his own words, “thought about it for about five seconds before accepting.” It meant reorganizing his life somewhat, with three long spells in Louisville and the rest of the year in England, where his wife Catherine is still based. “It suits us well,” Johnson says, “I am very fortunate, as I get the best of both worlds. I have my cake and eat it too. Last spring, I married Catherine and I got my dream job. It must have been the best year of my life!” The enthusiastic Johnson has some observations on his job, his input to a raceday in the U.S. compared to in the UK and racing in general: “Firstly, one thing I really enjoy at Churchill Downs is that I am being used more, my homework is being put to much better use,” he explains. “I am part of the handicapping team with Jill Byrne, and racecallers here also get the chance to inform the public much better during the post parades, and as we greet every winner back in the winners’ circle. No race is too small to make a bit of fuss about the winner and its
connections. What happens before and after each race is important, in my view.” For instance, in England, unlike in North America, the runners go directly to the start from the saddling paddock, says Johnson. “Often they don’t even canter past the stands but disappear around the bend across to the backside. People do not get to see the horse move. Racing is so much more consumer driven in the U.S., and, as ‘the voice,’ all callers are part of it. For example, I also write on Twitter [username: churchillmark] between races, from my booth, and I am part of the simulcasting show. I give selections between races. Do I bet? Yes I do, but not when I am working, it just becomes distracting. Remember, racecallers probably come better prepared than anybody to each raceday, so why not use us in the same way also in Britain? At
I am very fortunate, as I get the best of both worlds. I have my cake and eat it too. Last spring, I married Catherine and I got my dream job. It must have been the best year of my life!” Churchill I am provided with all the tools to give the public, on track and off track, good information; back home [in England] I am not.” He still sounds totally British of course, but when he travels back to work in England, many of his phrases are very North American these days. The British public now often hear lines like “he sits five off the speed” and this is just one of many lines new to them. One has heard no complaints. In a way, the racecallers are probably the best equipped to provide explanatory links between racing jargons on both sides of the Atlantic. After all, when you are being told a horse is five off the speed and you see he is five lengths behind the leader, you get it. Equally when you get the description ‘running in snatches’ about a horse you see racing in a kind of a ‘stop-start-manner’ you will understand. You will learn, and it will be easier to follow, and appreciate, global
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