In an interview ahead of the Belmont Stakes, legendary race caller Dave Johnson tells Amanda Duckworth how he trademarked his six-word salute for charity purposes – and why the Triple Crown should never be tampered with
Track announcer Dave Johnson was going to be a trial lawyer until a twist of fate resulted in him unexpectedly calling his first horse race. In the years that followed, during a renowned career, numerous champions were heralded into their newfound fame to the sound of Johnson’s distinctive race call: “And down the stretch they come!”
Now, at 81 and mostly retired, he still follows racing with interest and works quietly behind the scenes to give back to the sport that gave him so much. Needless to say, his efforts revolve around his famous catch phrase.
While most fans have their favorite race calls for specific horses – Chic Anderson’s “He’s moving like a tremendous machine” anyone? – when it comes to a recognizable sporting phrase that succeeded in becoming part of the American vernacular, it’s hard to top Johnson’s six-word salvo.
From coffee mugs to t-shirts
‘And down the stretch they come!’ became so widely known that others started profiting from it without asking permission to use it. From Amazon selling coffee mugs and t-shirts, to major newspapers using it in advertisements, to movies scripting the famous phrase to drive the narrative of a scene – it’s all happened.
By 2012, Johnson had become uncomfortable with others exploiting his life’s work for profit, so he trademarked his expression. However, he did not do it to make money. While he is humble about the results, in the past decade he has donated over a quarter of a million dollars to various charities solely from the proper or improper usage of his phrase by others.
“It wasn’t to make money, and I have not kept a nickel from it,” Johnson said. “I did it because so many people were using it however they wanted, and they weren’t even asking permission. It was just to stop them from doing that. The important thing is that if the phrase is being used, it’s then helping those in the game that can really use it.”
Those within the racing industry to benefit include aftercare organizations for both Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds, as well as backstretch chaplaincies and charities, but Johnson’s attorney Drew Mollica, who was a highly successful jockey agent before changing careers, said that Johnson’s name routinely isn’t even on the donation.
Synonymous with big races
“Dave made his mark in racing, but he has never forgotten what it gave to him, so he wants to give something back to it,” said Mollica. “He is synonymous with big races, and his catch phrase is synonymous with all that is good in racing.
“When he called me about this, he made it clear that anything he recovers, he gives away. People talk that talk a lot, but with Dave, I am here to tell you, it’s not about the money. He gives it away from his heart. He often doesn’t even want the people to know where the money is coming from.
“Dave is the epitome of everything that is good about the human spirit. I am proud to not only be his attorney, I am proud to be his friend. I think people should know how much good he does because it will inspire others to have the charitable, kind heart that he has.”
For instance, after a movie wrongfully used ‘And down the stretch they come’ without getting clearance, the resulting money was given to the Backstretch Employee Service Team (BEST), a non-profit organization devoted to providing health and wellness services to the backstretch workers at Thoroughbred racetracks across New York.
Then when Churchill Downs approached Johnson about using his phrase on a photo wall in its new $45 million Homestretch Club, he happily agreed—provided the track make a donation to its own Backside Learning Center (BLC) for the same amount that BEST had received from the movie.
“These two organizations, BEST and the BLC, as well as the backstretch chaplaincies, they help so many people,” said Johnson. “It’s a wonderful thing that isn’t funded as much as it should be. We are just so happy to be able to help. I love the expression pay it forward because any of us who have had a little success, that’s what we should do.”
Several scholarships are also funded through the proceeds, including one at Southern Illinois University and one at the University of Arizona. The latter is specifically for the Race Track Industry Program (RTIP), and in typical Johnson fashion, he asked that it be named after Bill Fisher, who was the general manager of Hialeah Park and instrumental in furthering Johnson's career.
A twist of fate
The fact Johnson even had a career in horse racing is something that still surprises him. In his 20s, he was working for a law office and going to school with dreams of becoming a trial lawyer. The law office had a box at Cahokia Downs in St. Louis, and he was a frequent visitor.
One night the announcer got sick after the first race and couldn’t continue. Johnson figured he was good at memorizing facts and volunteered his services, but he was turned down in favor of the announcer’s son. When the son struggled during the second race, Johnson got invited to give it a try, and that changed the course of his life.
“I know it sounds like a B-movie, but it’s absolutely the truth,” said Johnson. “I went up and called the third race, then the rest of the night, and then the next night. Talk about being starstruck. It was a dream come true, and I loved it.
“Saturday night after the races, I got called in to the offices, and the owner of the track was there. He pushed $25 cash across the table. It was like, ‘Oh my god, I got paid for it?’ That’s how I became an announcer. Fate.”
Johnson may have started small, but by the time he retired from calling races, he was synonymous with the game. He called the Triple Crown races for decades in some form or fashion, be it on track, on the radio, or on national television, and he was part of the American sports nomenclature.
As for the Belmont Stakes, of all the horses who were tracked by his keen eyes, one still stands above the rest—Secretariat. “I was hired by the New York Racing Association in 1971, and I called the Belmont on the radio, but then I called it for the track starting in 1972 with Riva Ridge,” recalled Johnson.
“There have really been some incredible Belmonts. I loved the Woody Stephens story. I was there for all five of those, and that will never happen again. Then you had Bold Forbes in 1976. I mean Angel Cordero carried that horse the last quarter of a mile. That horse shouldn’t have won at a mile and a half, but he did.
“But for all of the 55 or 60 years of my career, the greatest horse was and still is Secretariat. I called that Belmont for the track, and Chic called it for CBS. It was the greatest performance I have ever seen. Bring any horse in the world to him in that race, that day, and he beats them.”
‘They don’t know how old I am’
In the early 2000s, Johnson retired from race calling, but he has done a Sirius XM radio show for the past 16 years. Appropriately enough, it is called Down the Stretch. Although Covid-19 altered how the radio show is recorded, it did not put a stop to it.
“It’s still so much fun to do, and they don’t know how old I am by how I sound,” joked Johnson, who lives in Manhattan. “During the pandemic we were prevented from going in the studio, so we do the show from my office here in my apartment.
“It was wonderful because the technology now is amazing, especially when I think of what we used to go through to get a recorded interview of anything sent from one place to another.”
The pandemic did stop Johnson from his normal travels to go racing, but he hopes to get back to it soon. His interest isn’t only domestic, and until 2020, he had attended every Royal Ascot for more than 20 straight years. He aims to return in 2023.
One thing Johnson hopes doesn’t change, though, is the Triple Crown. The old debate flared up again this year after Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike opted to skip the Preakness Stakes and wait for the Belmont, but Johnson feels changing the series would only harm racing.
‘It can’t change and it shouldn’t change’
“It can’t change, and it shouldn’t change,” he said. “Mainly it shouldn’t change because it works. Racing has some terrible problems, but this is the only thing that works and works really well. People still get involved with the Triple Crown. The national media is all over the Derby and what happens after. I would hate to see that change.
“It captures the whole country for these five weeks, especially if there is a Triple Crown on the line, but even if there isn’t. People came up to me in my building, on the street, in my diner – people I never thought had watched a race – and they wanted to tell me about the longshot who won the Derby this year. I loved it. If they change it, it is going to become diminished, and it is going to become an afterthought.”
In addition to racing, Johnson—whose mother was in vaudeville—also has a passion for the theater, which the pandemic has also impacted. He has only been to a show once since Covid began. It was for the opening night of Company, which is the third Broadway show in which he has been a producer. The other two were both undeniable successes in Noises Off (1983) and The Producers (2001).
“This is my last one, but I am going for the pick three since I have had two winners,” Johnson said. “It is risky, but I love it. There’s only one job in racing that is really a performer, and that’s the race caller. Basically, we are the performers, and we are the conduit between what is going on and the public.
“I don’t know where my love for it all comes from. I really looked forward to being a trial lawyer. I had been a substitute teacher—that’s how I put myself through school. It all just happened that one night at Cahokia Downs. I have so many good friends in racing, so many good memories, and I love the people I have gotten to meet. It was fate.”
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