Asmussen | Star announcer making calls at Champaign County Fair races

Jul. 25—When Brian Loman began planning for Tuesday's harness racing session at the Champaign County Fair, he wanted to make it special.

What to do?

Well, start with a celebrity race. WCIA's Bret Beherns, former University of Illinois basketball standout T.J. Wheeler, Urbana Fire Chief Demond Dade and Fair President Terry Lemke will ride along with real drivers.

Loman is bringing a celebrity announcer to call it, too, along with the rest of the 12- to 15-race card, which starts at 6 p.m.

Kurt Becker, longtime track announcer at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., and a regular on NASCAR radio, is making the trip from his Altamont home to Urbana.

"Keeneland is like the Wrigley Field of horse racing," Loman said. "It's a very traditional track. It's an older facility, but it's immaculate."

Loman, owner of Loman-Ray Insuruance Group, first got to know Becker in the late 1980s.

At age 19, Loman had a summer job working for a horse trainer.

"Bathe horses, clean stalls and all that stuff," the now-54-year-old Loman said.

And the person calling the races back then? You guessed it: Becker.

"We've become friends over the years," Loman said.

Fast forward to today. Loman is part of a stable that owns 15 horses under the name Varsity Racing.

The home base for Varsity Racing is the Champaign County Fairgrounds in Urbana. Loman is leasing the horse barns and maintaining the track.

Loman asked Becker to call this year's Champaign County Fair races. It was a quick "Yes."

"There's a big piece of my father (Carl) on that Illinois fair circuit and that's why I so much enjoy coming to the fairs," Becker said.

Becker has a full week. He called harness races Monday night at the Edgar County Fair in Paris, then Urbana, followed by harness races at the Illinois State Fairgrounds on Thursday and Friday. He has a NASCAR broadcast Saturday in Wisconsin.

It will mean more miles on Becker's Dodge Journey, which is speeding toward 200,000.

It won't be a one-off for the celebrity race or Becker's appearances at the track.

"We're going to keep on having it and we're going to keep building this thing up," Loman said.

Becker said he will return in the future.

"We should be good to go," Becker said.

"He loves the community. He loves the Illini," Loman said.

Family ties

Becker grew up in Altamont, 92 miles southwest of C-U.

His late father Carl was a longtime track announcer.

Carl Becker worked races at state fairs and county fairs. He visited Urbana many times over the years.

Kurt Becker spent summers traveling to races with his dad, starting at age 9.

"I would sit in the grandstand and just listen," Becker said.

He was hooked.

Becker's first race was Aug. 1, 1985 at age 16. Dad had a conflict, so Becker went to the Coles County Fair in Charleston.

"They had shorter fields that day. They didn't have as many horses," Becker said.

It was a familiar track for Becker, who had gotten to know the race officials while attending with his dad.

How did it go?

"When the first race began that day and the horses left the starting gate, for that split second I thought 'What am I doing here? I wish I could go home,' " Becker said.

That passed.

"By the time they got into the first turn, I had settled into a rhythm," Becker said. "By the time they finished, I was anxious to do some more."

His next gig came three weeks later at the Cumberland County Fair in Greenup. He had to handle harness and thoroughbred races.

"The thoroughbred calls were a disaster," Becker said. "My mom (Bonnie) recorded those calls off a radio broadcast that day and I still have the tape. It was awful."

What happened?

"The fields were much larger," Becker said. "They moved much quicker. The racing style was much different. They changed positions more often. They carried a lot more speed."

His dad saw the slip as a teaching moment.

"You need to have days like that," Becker said. "It helps you realize you have to improve."

Becker got back on the horse two weeks later at Pana, returning to harness races.

"It helped me get some confidence back," Becker said.

Almost four decades later, Becker is still calling races.

His dad, who passed away in 2021, provided many helpful tips.

"He refused to let me rest on my laurels," Becker said. "I remember telling my dad I was content calling county fair races and he said 'That's fine. It's good to be involved with the fairs. But you need to learn to challenge yourself.' My dad recognized I had some level of ability to call races.

"He did not want me to wake up at age 54 and say 'What if?"

Dad knew best. Becker makes a living calling races, giving him the ability to be involved with the county fairs."

Carl was a University of Illinois alum, graduating as the outstanding senior in the agriculture school.

Kurt Becker graduated from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, where he earned in degree in political science.

"I am glad to be a Saluki," Becker said. "But there has always been a part of me as I got older that wished I had gone to the UI. I would have enjoyed sharing that kind of bond with my dad. We went to Illini games together."

Moving up

Becker became a known talent in the harness racing business. The thoroughbred community took notice and gave him an opportunity.

His first thoroughbred job was working tracks in Chicago in the early 1990s. He later went to work at Keeneland.

On the radio side, he recently was part of the crew that called NASCAR's Chicago Street Course Race.

"That was one of the greatest privileges of my career," Becker said.

Another? Working the Kentucky Derby twice in the late 1990s as the track announcer.

One area he never considered was play-by-play for football, basketball or baseball.

"I am a firm believer that one has to know his limitations," Becker said. "I have always known in my heart there is no way I could call football, baseball, basketball,which is one of the reasons I have great regard for people like (Voice of the Illini) Brian Barnhart."

When he works with horses or race cars, there are distinct colors worn. In football and basketball, the colors are the same.

"That would be a nightmare to me," Becker said. "I would be panic-stricken."

He admires those who can call team sports. Just not for him,

"I always say if it's horsepower, I'm good," Becker said.

From hobby to business

Loman understands the racing connection between Becker and his dad.

Loman shared the love for racing with his dad Lyle, who passed away in 2008.

"That was something that he and I had a passion for," Loman said. "We owned the horses together."

Loman got out of the business for a while. But four years ago, his fiancée, Keri Richardson, suggested he get back into it.

Good call. He named the first horse Coach Loman to honor his dad, who is a member of the Illinois High School Basketball Hall of Fame.

"Coach Loman won five races," Loman said. "He got beat up in Chicago in his sixth race by a horse named Hot Mess Express that won over $1 million. It was owned by (Kentucky basketball great) Sam Bowie."

His current horses are doing well. Two horses will top $100,000 in earnings this year.

Horse racing in Illinois has taken a hit with tracks closing. The only two that remain are Fairmount Park in Collinsville and Hawthorne Park in Chicagoland.

"We're trying to get it built back up," Loman said.