Top race caller broadcasts his final Gatton race

RACING: For the past 22 years Alan Thomas has called the races at Burgess Park but from the new year crowds will hear a new voice over the loudspeakers.

Alan Thomas has called his final race at Burgess Park ahead of his retirement from race broadcasting with Sky Racing. Picture: Kate Czerny

RACING: For the past 22 years Alan Thomas has called the races at Burgess Park but from the new year crowds will hear a new voice over the loudspeakers.

Thomas, 63, a race broadcaster with Sky Racing, first started calling races at Gatton in the late 70s but from Boxing Day he'll be hanging up his binoculars and race books.

The Gold Coast man became Sky Racing's leading broadcaster in 1993 and was a regular at Burgess Park, having called his final races at Gatton last Thursday.

He recalled his love for the track in his earlier days.

"The first thing we'd do is put the gear in the box and then get a feed from the local ladies who made homemade treats," he said.

"There was so much food, we'd get to take some home."

His memory for racing silks is outstanding, recalling many trainers from near and far and matching them with the horses in each race.

"I used to go to the races with my father and could remember what horse's numbers matched with which jockey's colours," he said.

He went on to call for Channel 9 as well as covering State of Origin games, world title fights, international golf and Sheffield shield games.

But despite all the uncertainty surrounding racing in Queensland, Thomas believed Gatton would still play a significant role in horse racing.

"I think racing is going through a major change everywhere," Thomas said.

"It just depends on when they get the new board.

"The provincial racing has got their place, it's just a matter of where it's positioned … and what role it will take."

Although Thomas is retiring from race broadcasting, he'll be kept busy with his boutique real estate business on the Gold Coast, which has a key focus for those in the racing industry.