Larry Lederman, 67

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Very sad. So unfair. Huge talent with a huge heart.

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One-of-a-kind announcer Larry Lederman dies at 67
Matt Hegarty | Mar 06, 2024



Larry Lederman (Bill Denver/Equi-Photo) Larry Lederman, shown at Monmouth in 2016, had an uncanny ability to describe racing situations accurately and with a sharp sense of humor.

Larry Lederman, a track announcer for both harness and Thoroughbred racing, died on Tuesday at his home in East Windsor, N.J., at the age of 67, according to friends. Lederman was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2011, and his death was related to the cancer.

Lederman, a colorful character who strived to make his race calls entertaining, got his first full-time job as an announcer at Atlantic City Racecourse in 1987. He later worked as a race caller at Freehold Raceway, Garden State Park, and The Meadowlands, and, in 1993, he had an off-camera role in the movie "A Bronx Tale” by calling a fictional race in the style of longtime New York race announcer Frank Capossela.

Lederman retired in 2020, but still made guest appearances at some tracks. He got his first job in racing in 1977 at the Daily Racing Form, where he worked as a chart caller until 1990.

Lederman was frequently creative with his race calls. In one race, featuring a horse named Dominatrix, he said the horse was “under the whip and loved every minute of it.” In a race featuring a horse named Burnt Toast, he celebrated the horse’s win by saying, “Scrape off the crumbs and spread on the butter, because Burnt Toast is home.”

Asked in an interview with Daily Racing Form in 2021 if his stylings came naturally during the running of a race, Lederman said “sometimes [things] would just pop into my head during the race.”

“It is supposed to be an entertainment thing, not that I call for laughs, because I’m not,” Lederman said. “The main thing is to call the race right and be as accurate as you can.”

In 2011, Lederman was given the Good Guy Award from the U.S. Harness Writers Association.

Lederman’s wife, Jodi, died in 2014. A daughter, Leslie, died in 2017. He is survived by a brother, Alan; a son, Scott; and a grandson.

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Larry Lederman, 67, dies
March 6, 2024, by Ken Weingartner, USTA Media Relations Manager

Hightstown, NJ — Larry Lederman, 67, known for his playfulness and wit during a decades-long career as a racetrack announcer, died March 5, 2024, after a lengthy battle with brain cancer.

Mr. Lederman, who began working fulltime as an announcer in the mid-1980s at Atlantic City Race Course, was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor in 2011. He was forced to curtail his workload in the ensuing years, but still made occasional guest race-calling appearances at numerous tracks and remained a popular presence in the sport.

Despite his illness, Mr. Lederman maintained a positive outlook.

“You’ve got to fight the fight; you don’t give up,” he said in a 2018 video interview with the U.S. Trotting Association. “I’ve always said it’s better to have 16 in a blackjack game than 22 because once you’re out of the game, that’s it. You’ve got to stay in it.

“I never felt sorry for myself, ever. You could say this is no way to live, but you accept it and say let me look at what I do have instead of what I don’t have. It can really beat you down and get very depressing, but you can’t let it happen.”

Mr. Lederman, a native New Yorker, was introduced to harness racing by his father, who had a business in Manhattan and enjoyed going to Yonkers and Roosevelt raceways. Before getting his start in racing, Mr. Lederman worked as a cab driver and did standup comedy at Catch A Rising Star, even appearing on the same bill as Robin Williams.

In 1977, he began working at the Daily Racing Form taking chart calls, but being an announcer was his ambition. He got his first fulltime job at Atlantic City in 1987 and two years later added Garden State Park to his credentials. He continued to work for the Daily Racing Form until 1990. In 1998, he became the announcer at Freehold Raceway.

Over the years, Mr. Lederman became recognized for the wordplay, impressions, and observations he would mix into race calls. He called races nationally on both network and cable television and was the race-caller in Robert DeNiro’s 1993 film “A Bronx Tale.”

In 2011, Mr. Lederman received the Good Guy Award from the U.S. Harness Writers Association.

Mr. Lederman, who resided in East Windsor, N.J., not far from Freehold, realized his style was not to everybody’s taste but often emphasized that accuracy when calling a race was his primary concern.

“The game is first and foremost,” Mr. Lederman said in an interview soon after becoming the announcer at Freehold. “It can go on without me. I just try to help it along.

“I try to put a lot of preparation into my work. You’re signing your name to it. You’re the last bridge between the track and the public. There is a time and a place for everything. I try to keep the races interesting enough to watch. I understand my style is a little different, but I think it helps the game.”

In his 2018 interview with the USTA, Mr. Lederman said, “I threw a changeup when everybody would just throw fastballs. I would say for the most part, I thought it worked. I thought I was adding something to the game, not hurting it.”

Mr. Lederman was preceded in death by his wife, Jodi, and their daughter, Leslie. He is survived by his brother, Alan; son, Scott; and grandson, Cayden LoBianco.

Services are private.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Christian Harness Horsemen’s Association or a cancer- or hospice-related charity.

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Announcer, Impressionist Lederman Dies at Age 67
Frank Drucker, on behalf of the Lederman family, honors the late Larry Lederman.

There can't possibly be another track announcer as unique as Larry Lederman. Hell, there can't possibly be another human as unique as Larry Lederman.

Lawrence Brian Lederman died March 5 at his home in East Windsor, N.J., weeks after his 67th birthday.

That Lederman survived more than a dozen years with an inoperable brain tumor (winning that game of under/over) was a testament to his acerbic wit, unyielding faith, biting sense of humor, and a shrewdness/stubbornness to realize the multitudes who loved him wanted him around (let's not forget his many medical friends).

A dear friend described Lederman as "a gentle and generous soul. His approach to the cancer treatment was to take it as far as he could, which is why he was able to sustain so long after the passing of his beloved wife and daughter."

...and he brought pies to those who were taking care of him.

Born and raised in Manhattan, Lederman caught the track bug early, even before sharing a stand-up microphone with some guy named Robin Williams.

He was a three-decade-plus harness/Thoroughbred announcer extraordinaire at New Jersey's Atlantic City Race Course, Freehold Raceway, and Garden State Park, plus an in-demand guest at more venues than this space permits.

His calls were clear, concise, comical, and, above all, correct.

...then, there were the voices.

Lederman interjected so many spot-on impressions, and dropped so many names into the course of a race, you'd swear it was a fire hazard having that many people in the booth.

His Jackie Mason was so good that Jackie Mason wasn't sure if he himself was indeed Jackie Mason.

The silver screen took notice, recruiting Lederman to be the off-camera track announcer in 1993's "A Bronx Tale."

There was commercial voice-over work as well, but it was his equine passion, and his compassion toward others, that made Larry Larry.

Lederman was predeceased by his wife, Jodi, and their daughter, Leslie. Lederman is survived by his brother, Alan; son, Scott; and grandson, Cayden LoBianco.

Listing his extended family, both in and out of racing (shout-outs to the Christian Harness Horsemen's Association and Meadowlands) would take way too long.

Here's the irony: anyone who tries to be the next Larry Lederman would be nothing more than a poor imitation of someone who never did a poor imitation.

While Larry's services are private, those who desire to honor him might consider donating to the Christian Harness Horsemen's Association or a cancer—or hospice-related charity.

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Larry Lederman, the very best of us
By Dick Jerardi

It was the Thursday night before the 1997 Final Four in Indianapolis. Was with a few of my sportswriter friends at the off-track-betting spot attached to the Embassy Suites, a few blocks from the old Hoosier Dome where the games would be played. I asked them if they would like to be in the next race at Garden State Park. They looked at me like I was crazy.

I called the old 800 number at Garden State and got patched into the announcer’s booth. Larry Lederman answered. I gave him the names of several friends, including Ken Rosenthal, then of the “Baltimore Sun” now a key part of the Fox TV baseball coverage and a baseball columnist for “The Athletic.” And sure enough, my friends, including Kenny, were in the next race running behind horses, in between horses, fanned wide, closing, dropping back. It was the horse names and it was their names. Only Larry could pull it off and he did it seamlessly.

There was the night before a Breeders’ Cup at Churchill Downs when Larry was calling at the Meadowlands. He was to call races as every famous and not-so-famous announcer in the country. He changed voices during the races going from Trevor Denman to Dave Johnson, Tom Durkin, Ross Morton, Bob Weems, Jack Lamar, Keith Jones. He would throw a Jackie Mason voice in there just because he could.

I first met Larry in the winter of 1985 when I came to Philadelphia to write for the “Philadelphia Daily News.” He worked for DRF as Lew Zagnit’s chart call taker in the raucous press boxes at Philadelphia Park and Garden State.

There was a Sunday when Larry called his bookie to bet some NFL games. He said: “give me the dogs.” He was asked which ones. “All of them,” he said. Of course. Only Larry.

Larry became the regular race caller at Atlantic City, Garden State and Freehold. He regularly filled in for Jones at Parx.

His legendary “it’s not a battle, it’s a war” calls at AC will reverberate forever.

He was asked by Robert DeNiro himself to do the part of legendary race caller Fred Capossella in the 1993 film “A Bronx Tale.” Check out the movie. That is Larry’s off camera race call in DeNiro’s directorial debut.

It was more than 12 years ago when Larry was diagnosed with brain cancer. A brilliant surgeon gave Larry the last 12 years when he wondered if he would have any. If Larry ever complained, nobody ever heard it.

He could not drive anymore so a few years ago, I picked him up and we went to dinner in midtown Manhattan with Dave Johnson, Bill Finley and a few other friends. We went through the Holland Tunnel so Larry could take me through the lower Manhattan neighborhood where he grew up.

After Larry was first diagnosed, he lost his wife Jodi and then their daughter Leslie. The conversations after Leslie’s death were just so hard. I wanted to say the right thing, but there was no right thing to say. It was all just so unfair.

The tumor returned last year, “exploded” Larry said and there were no more options. Larry texted me late Saturday night Feb. 24. Wanted to talk the next day. He knew he was dying. I knew he was dying. We had talked a few weeks before when he told me exactly that.

But, with Larry, even then, it was like no time had passed. He could swing from his health to a night at the track we had shared without missing a beat. He was Larry right to the end – sharp, incredibly funny, one of one.

Larry Lederman, 67, died March 5 at his home in East Windsor, N.J. There will be no service. His ashes will be buried in a family plot in upstate New York.

The memories? The stories?

Those are forever, timeless, just like Larry Lederman, my great friend, everybody’s great friend.