Jonathan Horowitz is looking forward to the day when sporting events return to normal. A professional sports commentator based in Denver, he misses the routine of announcing, a hobby turned career that began at the Los Alamitos Race Course in California, where he announced his first race at the age of 14.
As a teenager, Horowitz was captivated by the running commentary nature of broadcasting in boxing and horse racing. His family encouraged the letters he’d write to announcers and the days he’d spend glued to the stands with binoculars and a tape recorder. He got his chance to sit behind the microphone when the track’s general manager asked him to commentate at a Quarter Horse championship for juniors. From there, the opportunities grew.
“For me, it’s about being part of an atmosphere and telling a story,” said Horowitz, 35. “Once I showed that I could do horse racing, when I got to college I expanded into soccer and basketball, lacrosse. I’ll announce whatever I can because, for me, it’s about the stories and being part of that atmosphere.”
In 2015, Horowitz began announcing for the Retired Racehorse Project’s Thoroughbred Makeover. That year he also started riding for the first time, and he’s now training the 4-year-old off-the-track Thoroughbred Cubbie Girl North with his wife Ashley Gubich, owner of Super G Sporthorses. Horowitz plans to enter “Cubbie” in the 2021 Thoroughbred Makeover. He also became president of CANTER USA—an organization that helps facilitate second careers for race horses—in 2019.
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