Results tagged “Luke Kruytbosch” from The Sports Desk

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 ...