LOUISVILLE, Ky. (FOX 56) — Mike Battaglia was born into the horse racing business.
His father, John, ran multiple tracks in and around Kentucky and even has a stakes race named after him at Turfway Park.
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“My dad started me, and I worked at all kinds of jobs at the racetrack,” Battaglia. “I was the horseman’s bookkeeper. I was a teletype operator. I was the publicity director. Then I became the announcer.”
Battaglia served as the announcer at Churchill Downs from 1977 through 1997 and then spent ten years as a simulcast host. Despite calling “The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports” for so long, Mike treated every race, no matter the size, with the same care…