Two days after Oaklawn Park lost its track announcer to southern California, it found its next voice in south Florida.
Oaklawn introduced Pete Aiello on Friday as its fifth full-time announcer since the track opened for racing in 1904. Aiello will replace Frank Mirahmadi, who resigned Wednesday to become track announcer at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. Aiello is currently track announcer at Hialeah Park near Miami.
Aiello, 30, began his career on the Arizona County Fair Circuit in 2005. He worked at River Downs in Cincinnati from 2008-2012, and currently calls races for Gulfstream Park West, formerly Calder Race Course, in Miami, and Hialeah Park, a track for quarter horses in Hialeah, Fla. He is a 2007 graduate of the University of Arizona's race track industry program.
"I think he's a great caller," said David Longinotti, Oaklawn's director of racing. "He's very descriptive, very clear and concise, and he has a great voice."
Aiello sounded thrilled as he spoke Friday from his office at Hialeah.
"I'm struggling to put into words the reaction to this I've gotten from the social media realm and from friends of mine," Aiello said.
He said his cell phone had lost power by Friday afternoon.
"It's completely dead because it's been going off all day with calls and texts and tweets and Facebook notifications and all that," he said. "It's been completely humbling. That's the best way I can put it."
Longinotti said he first heard of Aiello about five years ago from a friend at River Downs.
"He said I needed to listen to him, and I did, and I was impressed," Longinotti said. "He and I have stayed in touch since then.
"I'm kind of old fashioned. I think the stars of the sport are still the ones on the track and that the track announcer is supposed to complement that, and that it's not the other way around. That's one of the reasons I'm attracted to Pete, because I think it he understands that, too."
Longinotti said there were 19 other applicants for the opening.
"Was he the first person who popped into my head?" Longinotti said. "Yes, but we still had to go through the process. I think everyone will fall in love with Pete like they did with Frank and like they did with Terry Wallace. And I hope he will be here as long as Terry Wallace was."
Wallace was Oaklawn's track announcer from 1975-2011.
Aiello was among the candidates considered to replace Wallace in 2012, and he said Longinotti called him shortly after Mirahmadi was hired and told him that perhaps an opportunity would someday arise for him at Oaklawn.
"It was really vindicating when he called with this offer," Aiello said. "A lot of times in the business world when someone tells you something like that, they're just doing it to be nice and because it's the right thing to do. But he's really been a big fan of mine, and it's nice to know he chose me when there are a lot of very good track announcers to choose from. It was an amazing feeling."
Aiello said he plans to move to Hot Springs on Jan. 11.
The 57-day, 2016 Oaklawn meet begins Jan. 15.
"Everyone has said you will love Hot Springs and Hot Springs will love you,'' Aiello said. "I can't wait to experience what everyone is saying to me. I'm so excited, because for my entire career I have ate, slept, and breathed horse racing.
"It sounds like when Oaklawn is racing live, that's exactly what they're doing. It's going to be great to talk to people all the time about horse racing."
Sports on 12/12/2015