The guy who created the horse racing catchphrase "And down the stretch they come" is suing Amazon.com ... claiming the company jacked his signature call to make a crappy "tacky" shirt.
The man behind the suit is Dave Johnson -- who's been calling horse races for more then 40 years! Johnson famously created the call and uses it at the biggest races in the sport from the Kentucky Derby to the Preakness and the Belmont.
Johnson says he owns the trademark for the phrase intended to block other people from profiting from his work.