John Burke III is glad you don't know who he is.
He has always believed his job as a steward for Maryland's race tracks is to change a result only if absolutely necessary. "If you have any doubt, leave it as is," he said from his perch high above Pimlico Race Course. "It's better for everyone if we're invisible."
Burke, 74, worked his last Preakness Saturday after 14 years as a Maryland steward and a lifetime working every job imaginable at race tracks around the country. He'll retire in early June. "It's time for a younger man to sit in this seat," he said in his gentle New England accent.
He grew up around Scarborough Downs in Portland, Maine, where his father owned horses. He and six buddies later kicked in $2,500 each to form Seven Fools Stable. They weren't fools at all, turning profits from the start. "We never had to put another dime into it," Burke said.
He shifted from owning and training to stewarding almost 30 years ago because he didn't want to be pulled away from his family any longer.
Burke shares a modest booth atop of Pimlico with his colleagues, Phil Grove and Adam Campola. "We spend more time together than we do with our wives," Grove said.
They scrutinize each race, either on a bank of flat screen monitors or with binoculars, and banter like the racing lovers they are. Burke has seen terrifying moments, such as Afleet Alex's near tumble at the top of the stretch in 2005, and tragic ones such as Barbaro's fatal injury in 2006.
But after all these years, Preakness day is still his favorite on the calendar. He feels the same old charge watching the sport's best horses and riders.
"It's not butterflies; it's more excitement," he said. "We're not nervous. We know how to do our jobs."