Finger Lakes Won't Be The Same

Finger Lakes Racetrack will begin its 47th season of Thoroughbred racing in Farmington, New York, April 19th , but it won’t be the same. For the first time in Finger Lakes history, Ross Morton will not be announcing the races.

Literally the voice of the upstate New York racetrack for its entire existence, Morton passed away last February 20th at this winter home in Hollywood, Florida at the age of 74. Morton was also the face of Finger Lakes, producing and hosting “The Winner’s Circle,” the daily recap of Finger Lakes’ racing on local television the past 25 years.

Earlier in his career, Morton served as the announcer at Gulfstream Park for 23 years and Hialeah Park for five. In Florida, he called major stakes races featuring Forego, Seattle Slew, John Henry, Spectacular Bid and Holy Bull.

I heard his race calls at Finger Lakes daily on the OTB-Channel 12 network in Albany, New York, where I’ve lived since the early 1970s. Decades before TVG and HRTV were even conceived, the OTB-network based in nearby Schenectady, N.Y., offered live race calls and replays 24/7 for free. It’s part of the Times Warner Cable system.

Morton’s deep, rich voice was so distinctive that Finger Lakes regulars called him “The Voice.” Every time I heard it, if I wasn’t paying attention to the TV, I knew that it was post time at Finger Lakes. Morton began his career doing radio in Syracuse before landing the job as the announcer at Finger Lakes when it opened in 1962. Though the level of racing at Finger Lakes never rivals that of the New York Racing Association’s three tracks, Saratoga, Belmont Park and Aqueduct, Morton called Finger Lakes races as if every one was a graded stakes. He had the courage to call most of the tight finishes he saw and was particularly adept at calling who finished second, third or even fourth for those bettors who had played exacts, triples or superfectas.

“Ross was synonymous with Finger Lakes,” Finger Lakes President and General Manager Chris Riegle said. “Race days at Finger Lakes will not be the same without his distinctive voice welcoming visitors and viewers alike on a daily basis, as he did for the past 46 years.”

He called more than 60,000 races at Finger Lakes, and while most were forgettable, others were not. .

Funny Cide, the New York-bred who won the 2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and captured the attention of the nation, made his final career start at Finger Lakes last July 4th in the $100,000 Wadsworth Memorial Handicap. Finger Lakes was chosen as the site of Funny Cide’s final race because his owners who comprise the Sackatoga Stable are high school friends from Sackets Harbor in northern New York State. At a Memorial Day barbecue in 1995, they each decided to throw $5,000 into a partnership to buy a couple Thoroughbreds. The rest is history.

With Funny Cide no longer able to compete at the highest level of racing in the early months of 2007, Sackatoga Stable decided to give him a final race last summer. They chose to make his last start at Finger Lakes, the closest track to Sackets Harbor. Led by managing partner Jack Knowlton, the Sackatoga group sold Funny Cide merchandise that afternoon with all profit going to the Finger Lakes Thoroughbred Adoption Program, which finds homes for Finger Lakes horses after their racing careers are over.

As the first winner of a Triple Crown race to ever race at Finger Lakes, Funny Cide was sent off a prohibitive favorite in the Wadsworth, but at the age of seven, he was nowhere near the dominant horse he was at three. Funny Cide broke slowly from the gate, settled in fifth, and though he moved up to third heading into the final turn, he appeared to be struggling.

I can almost hear Morton’s call when Funny Cide suddenly kicked in coming out of the final turn and exploded past the leaders. He won going away by three lengths as a mammoth crowd estimated at 11,400 almost tore the Finger Lakes grandstand down.

It was a special moment for anyone there or watching or listening on television, and Morton nailed it. A great call of a great race. He will be missed.