“I watched him call a race, and [fellow announcer] Travis Stone was up in the booth with me,” Collmus said via phone. “And Sam was chatting with us right up until it’s time do the race. The race starts, and his program is on the desk behind him. Literally, he worked with nothing in front of him, and he was absolutely flawless-descriptive, dead-on, every horse right, no hesitation. It was just him and binoculars. And he wasn’t showing off-that was how he did it. I point to the program, and Travis and I are just shaking our heads, thinking, ‘Oh my God, this guy’s a legend.’ He was as good as it gets in harness racing, and he could call a Thoroughbred race, too. He was just one of those guys who was very talented, and not an egotistical bone in his body.”

Tonight’s tips thread pays tribute to the “voice of the Meadowlands”, the legendary harness race caller Sam McKee, who passed away March 7th after suffering a stroke. Thread open.