Chris Griffin

Track announcer John Imbriale has announced that he will retire following a 44-year career with the New York Racing Association. Imbriale's tenure with NYRA dates to 1979 when he won a New York Daily News contest, giving him the opportunity to call a race and work with the NYRA press office. In 1990, the Queens, New York native became Tom Durkin's backup and along the way, took on other responsibilities at NYRA by working with Harvey Pack on the Inside Racing program, and in a variety of roles within NYRA...

Jessica Paquette never imagined that she would become the full-time announcer at a major racetrack. Neither did anyone else. The job, for as long as the sport has been around, has been a profession that largely excluded women. But when the field loads into the gate at Parx Racing for Tuesday's first race, Paquette will be high atop the grandstand, nervous but excited, and ready to make history. "The best thing we can all hope for in this sport is to leave the game a little bit better than it...

Parx track announcer Chris Griffin has been named the new track announcer at Monmouth Park starting with the 2023 meet that gets underway in May. Griffin, the back-up announcer at Monmouth Park since 2020, will replace Frank Mirahmadi, who is taking over as the track announcer at Saratoga next summer after eight years at Monmouth Park. Mirahmadi is also the track announcer at Santa Anita. The 41-year-old Griffin was also recently named the track announcer for the Aqueduct winter meet that runs from January through April. "We're pleased to have...

Another record was set Saturday at Kentucky Downs when $21,065,982 was wagered on the 12-race card. Perhaps even more impressively, Kentucky Downs out-handled Del Mar, where $19,423,928 was bet. Del Mar ran 11 races on Saturday. That a wagering record was set was hardly a surprise considering that the card at Kentucky Downs was also the best ever offered at the sport's most unique racetrack. There were six graded stakes on the card and five of them were worth $1 million. The average field size was 11, the type of...

While retaining announcing duties at Belmont Park, John Imbriale will retire as the full-time announcer at the New York Racing Association at the end of 2022, the organization announced Sunday. Frank Mirahmadi will take over the race calling duties at Saratoga Race Course and Chris Griffin will become the primary track announcer at Aqueduct Racetrack beginning in 2023. Imbriale's 43-year tenure with NYRA dates to 1979 when he won a New York Daily News contest, which gave him the opportunity to call a race and work with the NYRA press...

Chris Griffin has been named as the new voice of Parx Racing. Following the retirement of announcer Keith Jones in December, Parx launched an extensive search for their next track announcer. "Keith was here for 34 years," said Joe Wilson, Chief Operating Officer for Parx Racing. "This was a new process for all of us. Chris is a rising star in our industry with a tremendous work ethic. We are thrilled to welcome him to the Parx family." Griffin added, "This is my opportunity to enter a booth that saw...

Chris Griffin will call the races for the remainder of the Monmouth Park meeting as regular announcer Frank Mirahmadi returns to California Sept. 12 to call the upcoming Santa Anita meeting. The Monmouth meet concludes Sept. 27 and will be followed by a nine-day Meadowlands-at-Monmouth meet in October. Griffin, 39, most recently served as the track announcer at Sam Houston Race Park. "It's a huge opportunity. I'm excited," said Griffin. "I'm looking forward to getting back into the booth and calling races. This has been a strange year, as everyone...