On Thursday morning, I learned that long-time Yonkers and Saratoga track announcer Bob Meyer had passed away. He was 80 years old. I first met Bob in 1996 when I started charting races at Yonkers Raceway for Sports Eye. He was a colorful man (to say the least) and never one to hold back his opinion. We would often argue, about sports (he was a Red Sox fan and I root for the Yankees), racing or even his style of announcing, but it was always a playful back and forth; kind of like going at it with your uncle. I grew up listening to his calls in New York City OTB or via the "976" number where bettors could get a stretch call of the race. While I always enjoyed his cadence and style, it bothered me that Bob would call the winner at the wire and shut off the microphone without informing people who finished second and third. When I questioned it (and we are talking dozens of times), in his classic style, he would tell me to "shut up and get back to work" or "mind my own business" with a smile on his face. Bob began calling races in 1970 at Monticello Raceway. Two years later he would move on to Yonkers Raceway for a 27-year run behind the mic. He put in nearly six more years at Saratoga and semi-retired in December of 2005, serving only as backup to current announcer Mike Sardella in the years since. Known as "The Bullet," Bob called his final race on December 2, 2018 at Saratoga . The years at Yonkers afforded Meyer the opportunity to call some of the greats of the sport. Green Speed, Mack Lobell, Cam Fella and Western Hanover are just a few of the future Triple Crown winners that had the privilege of hearing "in front" as they crossed the wire in races like the Yonkers Trot and Messenger Pace.  In total, Meyer had the pleasure to call 38 Triple Crown events. The last time I spoke to Bob was just after his last time on the mic in 2018. He told me, "...it's enough already. It was a good career. I knew it was coming. Nothing goes on forever." From the time he left Yonkers through December 2018, I called Bob once or twice a year to say hello. The call would usually start with my joking, "Glad to hear you're still alive" and him following up with an expletive or two in rebuttal. I regret not taking the time to make that call in 2019 and I'll certainly miss hearing his voice. Luckily, his race calls of many of the great Standardbreds in the sport will live on forever. I'll always have those fond memories. Rest easy, my friend.