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Wrona by Tracy Gantz
Los Alamitos Track Announcer
The temptation might be to classify Los “I’m always open to correction,” he said. Wrona said that succeeding the legend-
“If you hear me slaughtering a horse’s name or an owner’s name, please get in touch because I’d rather be right than wrong. I often take it upon myself to ask about a pronunciation.”
Rest assured, the chances of Wrona “slaugh- tering” a pronunciation are slim because of how rigorously he does his homework. He recently telephoned Champion trainer Paul Jones to check on a promising two-year-old filly named Jess Lyndes Reason to find out how to pro- nounce the second word of her name. (For the record, it’s “LIN-deez.”)
A Turner Farms homebred, Jess Lyndes Reason made “a dynamic debut,” Wrona said in his racecall. On April 18 at Los Alamitos in her first start, she powered home on top by a half-length under jockey Jesus Ayala.
That accuracy and work ethic are some of the reasons Dr. Ed Allred hired Wrona after
Ed Burgart retired. The announcer at Los
Alamitos since 1981, Burgart continues to make the morning
line at the California track, though he lives in Arizona.
Alamitos racecaller Michael Wrona as a
Thoroughbred guy moving to Quarter Horses. Don’t be fooled: Wrona’s list of Quarter Horse bona fides is longer than most.
He called the inaugural meet at Retama Park in 1995 and spent five years as the Lone Star Park racecaller. Other racetracks on his resume include Zia Park, Grants Pass Downs, Arizona Downs, and the Sonoma County Fair, with Quarter Horses an integral part of all of those meetings.
No matter what the distance, breed, or species – he has even called greyhound races – Michael Wrona gives fans an accurate and entertaining racecall. It stems from his com- mitment to his craft.
Take the interview for this article, for example. Wrona’s one request was to mention how important it is to him that he pronounce names correctly, whether it’s the horse, owner, trainer, or jockey.
Ed Burgart with new Los Alamitos track announcer Michael Wrona
ary Burgart is “overwhelming.” Burgart called through the end of the Los Alamitos 2019 season, which culminated in Cartel Jess Rockin’s victory in the Dec. 15 Los Alamitos $2 Million Futurity. Wrona called Los Alamitos’ December Thoroughbred meet and then began calling the Quarter Horses when the 2019-20 meet began in late December. He is scheduled to pull double duty and call the daytime Thoroughbreds and nighttime Quarter Horses during the two short Thoroughbred meets at the track.
“I knew how difficult it would be coming in straight after he finished, knowing how revered and beloved Ed is,” said Wrona. “It would be natural for some people to just miss him, and it wouldn’t matter who it was replac- ing him. It’s not Ed.”
While fans and horsemen certainly miss Burgart, they have embraced Wrona. The sense of family famous to Quarter Horse racing is evident at Los Alamitos as well.
“I’ve been made to feel genuinely welcome and comfortable,” Wrona said. “I’m proud to represent Dr. Allred and his racetrack. The horsemen that I have interacted with have been very friendly.”
Fans only had the opportunity to experi- ence Wrona live for a few months, however, before California went into lockdown in March due to COVID-19. Los Alamitos was the only racetrack in the state allowed to continue rac- ing, albeit without fans in attendance.
Wrona said that the situation, while unusual, hadn’t really altered his calls. He has always been aware of the simulcast and television audiences as well as the fans at the track.
52 SPEEDHORSE May 2020