Frank Mirahmadi’s career as a full-time racetrack announcer was still in its infancy when he walked into Saratoga as a fan for the first time in 1997. “The moment I walked into Saratoga I realized what a special place it was, what an iconic place it was,” Mirahmadi said. “When I walked in there I never thought to myself, ‘Wow, I’d like to be the race-caller here one day.’ I never thought that would even be a tiny possibility, I never even considered that to be something to even strive for, I could never picture it happening.” While he has called the races there five times over the previous three meets, beginning Thursday it’s happening for real when Mirahmadi takes over the announcing duties at Saratoga on a full-time basis. At the end of the 2022 Saratoga meet, John Imbriale announced he would be stepping down from full-time race-calling duties at the New York Racing Association. Imbriale still calls the Belmont Park meets while last winter Chris Griffin took over the job at Aqueduct. Though he is the full-time announcer at Santa Anita and was the last full-time announcer at Hialeah back in the late 1990s, Mirahmadi calls Saratoga “the ultimate destination.” :: DRF's 2023 Saratoga headquarters: Previews, past performances, picks, recaps, news, and more. “Whether you’re a racing official, whether you’re an owner, trainer, jockey, fan, Saratoga is just the greatest place,” Mirahmadi said. “It has the best fans in the world and I’ve been a fan for so many years. To be able to go there and call, for me, it’s the culmination of 27 years of hard work and getting better and perfecting my craft.” Mirahmadi grew up in Southern California and his father was a racing fan. Mirahmadi remembered being disappointed his father wouldn’t take him to Hollywood Park in 1977 to see undefeated Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew run in the Swaps because he didn’t want to fight the crowd. Nine years old at the time, Mirahmadi remembers being even more disappointed when Seattle Slew finished fourth. As a kid, Mirahmadi loved doing impressions and he would often imitate track announcers Harry Henson and then Dave Johnson, announcers of whom he became a big fan. In 1983 Trevor Denman arrived in Southern California and Mirahmadi said his “fascination and interest” in calling races went to a new level. “When he first arrived, I like almost everybody, was like, who’s this guy because we had Dave Johnson, who was an absolute legend so I was reluctant to accept him,” Mirahmadi said. “I knew very early on he could watch a race better than anybody I ever heard. I became a huge fan of his very shortly after his arrival.” In 1992, Mirahmadi was working in the advertising business when on a whim he called Don Robbins, the track president of Hollywood Park, and asked if he could call a couple of races. That the request was not met with a flat-out no – only a “highly unlikely” – spurred Mirahmadi to keep trying. He called his first two races at Hollywood Park in 1992. He also called a couple of races on the closing-day programs at Hollywood Park in 1994 and 1995. With those tapes on his résumé, a complimentary mention in the Los Angeles Times, and a letter of recommendation from Denman, Mirahmadi said he sent videotapes of him calling races to 60 tracks in the country. Nobody offered him a job. “I got some great return letters and a lot of people blew me off,” Mirahmadi said. In 1994, Mirahmadi had moved to Jacksonville, Fla., where he was working for a cash-register tape receipt company as well as doing part-time work on a national race results line. In 1995 he got to fill in for Vic Stauffer at Hialeah, and when Stauffer left Hialeah for Golden Gate Fields in Northern California, Mirahmadi got the full-time gig at Hialeah. “They actually called me,” Mirahmadi said. “That’s how it started, it’s an absolute miracle.” Mirahmadi said his truly big break came in 2000, when he got the gig at Louisiana Downs, which gave him a circuit of work. In 2007, he began doing fill-in work at TVG. Mirahmadi got full-time announcing jobs at Oaklawn Park, Monmouth Park, Golden Gate Fields, and Turf Paradise. He got his foot in the door at the New York Racing Association when he called the 2017-18 winter meet at Aqueduct. In 2018, he got his dream job at Santa Anita, not far from where he grew up. Imbriale said the intensity of the five-day race-week and the relatively close proximity to the crowd make Saratoga a bit unique from most jobs. And then there are the Saratoga nights. “Saratoga you’re right in the middle of the crowd, you can hear them every race, you can see them in the restaurant, it’s a different feel,” Imbriale said. “Is he going to handle it? He’s going to handle it great. :: Visit the Saratoga Handicapping Store for Past Performances, Clocker Reports, Picks, Betting Strategies, and more. “The one piece of advice I gave him is don’t say yes every night,” Imbriale added. “You got to say no sometimes, because if you go out every night up there it’ll eventually come back to bite you.” Mirahmadi got a taste of Saratoga over the last three years having filled in for Imbriale once in 2020 and twice in both 2021 and 2022. Now, all 40 days and the 400-plus races are his and he’s looking forward to it. “It’s the right time. I really feel my work is as good as it’s ever been,” Mirahmadi said. “I’m coming in with good works.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.