Longtime announcer Battaglia leaving booth for front office (The Associated Press)
Longtime Churchill Downs and Turfway Park track announcer Mike Battaglia is stepping away from the booth and moving into a role as vice president at Turfway in Florence, Kentucky. After a 44-year career of calling races, Battaglia will serve as the track’s ambassador, teaching the art of handicapping and helping promote the track. The day of his move coincides with the John Battaglia Memorial Stakes, a race that honors Battaglia’s father, Turfway’s general manager in the 1970s.