Last Call

Despite being away on vacation, I was certainly remiss in failing to find the time to mention the passing of Jack E. Lee, the soundtrack of my formative years at the track. Lee was the track announcer at Roosevelt Raceway back in the early 70's when I first started to make the trip on the Southern State Parkway, to the Meadowbrook, and on to Roosevelt, The Big Wheel, where his mellifluous baritone resonated throughout the festive grounds, as alive a racetrack as any I've been to since....and, in later years, echoed throughout the sad ruins of the golden age of harness racing in this state.

Track announcers at half-mile tracks can get locked into a formula. The races all unfold in similar fashion, and are run mostly all at the same distance, featuring a leader, the unfortunate first one over, the pocket trip, 4th with perfect cover on the outside, the dreaded third on the rail (especially in the days before the passing lane, ugh). Jack E. Lee avoided slipping into monotony with the sheer power and grace of his voice, and an unfailing accuracy which made the visuals virtually unnecessary.

Jack E. Lee called the races at Freehold in the 90's; and also served as the PA announcer during the early years of the Mets. He was retired when he died last week at the age of 73.

His is one of those distinct voices that I can always replay in my mind. Of course, it also helps that I can now see and hear lots of old races on You Tube. Here are three videos - the first, posted recently, is a great clip featuring Stan Bergstein in the booth while Lee prepares for a race. The second is one I think is appropriate at this time, featuring as it does the win by the champion filly Tarport Hap against the best male pacers in the sport in the 1976 U.S. Pacing Championship. (You happy now? See, I mentioned alluded to her, OK?). And the third is the great Ideal Du Gazeau winning his second straight Roosevelt International.

Thanks for the calls, Jack.







By the way, the race directly above is also one of the races which is pictured in the Big Wheel post linked to above and here. When I wrote that post, just a few short years ago in February 2005, You Tube barely even existed. Amazing, isn't it?


- Another voice from my youth is that of Pete Fornatale, who was my favorite DJ on WNEW-FM, back in the golden age of FM rock radio. As I recall, he was only a weekend and fill-in guy at first. But I was a regular, and I vividly recall his turning me on to Neil Young, this around the time of Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere; including and in particular, his mysterious first solo album, pre-Crazy Horse, with two different covers and two different mixes.

Fortunately, Pete Fornatale is alive and well, and still doing radio. He also has a new book out about Woodstock entitled Back to the Garden, which I expect to love once I get it in return for this plug (lol, just kidding). Whatsmore, you guys up in Saratoga, where the weather outlook is promising if not glorious for the next few days, can meet the author and reminisce about the times when radio really mattered; it was an art form in itself. He'll be at the Borders in town on Wednesday at 7 PM, to discuss, read from, and sign the book. While you're there, you can also discuss Thursday's races with my buddy Peter Thomas Fornatale, the junior Pete Fornatale, an author in his own right, and a sporadically prescient horseplayer and handicapper for the Saratoga Special. Check it out, tell him I said hi.