Whether he is calling an ordinary horse race or a Triple Crown event, Larry Collmus is never tempted to say, near the end: “And down the stretch they come!” Collmus, who will announce Saturday’s Belmont Stakes on NBC, said, “When I hear it from another announcer, I say: ‘That’s awful. You can’t say that. It’s Dave Johnson’s line.’ ”
Collmus’s version, which he says with verve as the horses turn for home, is, “And they’re into the stretch.”
He added: “It hasn’t taken off like his.”
A few years ago, Johnson received a trademark for his famous line, which he used during his Triple Crown race calls for ABC and many other races.