Former Hollypark voice dead
Sad news for veteran fans of Hollywood Park -- for fans of lots of racetracks all over America, actually. Luke Kruytbosch has died at age 46.
Kruytbosch (pronounced KRITE-boss), who called thoroughbred races at Hollywood Park in the 1990s and called the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs the past 10 years, was found dead Monday morning at the apartment in Evansville, Ky., that he rented during his summer gig at Ellis Park.
His death is believed to be heart-related. The Evansville Courier & Press reports Kruytbosch told friends at Ellis Park on Sunday that he wasn't feeling well.
Luke worked at Hollywood Park from 1996 to '99 before taking the job at Churchill Downs. I always thought of him as one of the top three or four announcers in the country. More important right now, he was as nice a guy as there was in the press box.
He didn't mind sharing how anxious he felt as he prepared to call his first Kentucky Derby in 1999. That race, won by Charismatic, had 19 horses. Luke had never called a race with more than 14.
"I just hope I can look past the emotion, rattle off names and call a solid race,'' he said the day before.
Which he did, not surprisingly.
Here's a profile of Luke that I wrote as he began his first Hollywood Park season in April 1996 ...
The new voice of Hollywood Park has the gravel tone of an old-time racecaller, or somebody who spent too many years punishing his throat in a smoky turf club bar.
So, fans may be surprised to learn that the voice actually belongs to a baby-faced 34-year-old who's still fresh enough to admit he's a little nervous about his Hollypark debut tonight.
``People have told me I sound older than I am,'' says Luke Kruytbosch, who will be calling the next 67 days' and nights' thoroughbred races from a seventh-story booth. ``One guy told me I've got a modern style of calling but an older-sounding voice.''
The voice comes naturally to Kruytbosch, a Moscow, Idaho, native who grew up in Virginia and has been a track announcer for 10 years, the past three at Turf Paradise in Phoenix.
As for the ``modern style'' he mentioned, it's the descriptive manner popularized in the United States by South African Trevor Denman.
Denman, the announcer at all four Southern California thoroughbred tracks since 1991, is skipping both Hollypark meets this year to tend to his animals and his books on his Minnesota farm. But Kruytbosch will make sure Trevor's influence is heard.
``Those are big shoes to fill,'' says the new man, whose name is pronounced Kright-boss. ``He's among the best in the world. Since he came to this country, racecallers have gotten a lot better.
``My idea of a good call when I first started was just naming the horse and the number of lengths behind. After listening to Trevor, I realized there's a lot more that can be done.''
Kruytbosch grew up a fan of Chick Anderson and others but developed his own style. He says he tries never to embellish the truth.
The son of a college professor, Kruytbosch spent part of his youth near UC Berkeley and in Buffalo, and became a racing fan at Golden Gate Fields and Fort Erie.
He attended the University of Arizona's Race Track Industry Program with the idea of becoming a racing secretary. But one rainy day in 1986, while Kruytbosch was getting his feet wet in track management at the county fair in Holbrook, Ariz., the announcer let the 25-year-old call a race.
Kruytbosch handled a close finish smoothly enough (the winner, he remembers, was a horse named Big John's Wallet). So the regular announcer told him, ``As long as it keeps raining, you keep calling 'em.''
The booth, you see, wasn't waterproof.
From such a modest start, Kruytbosch went on to racecalling jobs at dusty establishments like Albuquerque, Blue Ribbon Downs (Oklahoma), Santa Fe, Tulsa and Sunland Park (Texas), and someplace called G. Rollie White Downs, a Texas track that lasted two weeks.
He became nationally known by calling races at Ruidoso (N.M.) Downs, including the quarterhorse All American Futurity, and Turf Paradise. Those tracks are run by Hollypark chairman R.D. Hubbard. So when Denman's job came open in December, Kruytbosch was one of two announcers invited to try out.
``I got a phone message asking me to try out the next day,'' he says. ``That was good for me - I had no chance to think about it. I'll admit I was nervous to get the chance to call at one of the premier tracks in the country.''
Kruytbosch called four races and won the job, although the track made him sweat for a month before telling him.
``A positive reaction by our fans was the key to our selection,'' Hollypark general manager Eual Wyatt Jr. says. ``He is a very talented racecaller who we believe has a very bright future.''
For Kruytbosch, who was assistant racing secretary at Turf Paradise, this will be his first chance to concentrate on racecalling full-time.
``I have to admit it is intimidating,'' he says. ``I've called three graded thoroughbred stakes in my life - three Phoenix Gold Cups. I looked at the Hollywood Park schedule and there are 29.''
He'll adjust as fast as the fans will adjust to him. There are four stakes, including the Grade III Los Angeles Handicap, on the opening-night card that starts at 7 p.m.
That story appeared in the Daily News April 29, 1999.
2 Comments
Leave a comment
About this blog
Kevin Modesti watches sports from a new angle since his promotion from sports columnist to sports editor for the Los Angeles Newspaper Group. In his new blog, Modesti not only comments on the big sports stories of the moment-- he talks about what makes them big. Think of it as a conversation with readers about how these stories should be covered.
My thoughts and prayers are with Luke's family and friends. It tough to see someone your own age pass away quickly (and with little warning) like that.
He was a really good racecaller who gave fans a solid and accurate (which cannot be said for all callers) of the race. He will be missed.
This is so awful. I was very shocked to hear, he was way too young. He was a good caller and did seem like a very nice person! So very sad!