For decades, the voice of Larry Collmus has been synonymous with the thunder of hooves on the biggest stages in horse racing. But long before he was calling the Kentucky Derby for millions on NBC, before the Triple Crown became his signature, he was just a kid from Maryland, standing alone in a tiny booth at Laurel Park, practicing race calls to himself as the horses flew by.

Now, 41 years later, racing’s biggest moment is coming full circle. For the first time in its 151-year history, the Preakness Stakes will be run at Laurel Park this weekend, as historic Pimlico Race Course undergoes a massive redevelopment. And when the field turns for home on Saturday evening, the call will come from the same announcer who once honed his craft in that very building.

For Collmus, this isn’t just another assignment—it’s a homecoming that carries extra weight. “Every year feels like a personal homecoming for me, whether it be Pimlico or Laurel,” he said. “I spent so much time there, as the backup announcer and at all the tracks in Maryland. It’s a big deal to be that guy that gets to call the race for NBC. But it’s double meaning for me to come back to Maryland, where it all started, for sure.”

Few people connected to this year’s Preakness embody the spirit of Maryland racing quite like Collmus. Now 59 and based in Monmouth Beach, New Jersey, he still follows the racing calendar across the country. But his roots run deep in the Old Line State. He grew up there, called his first race at Bowie Race Track as an 18-year-old in 1985, and worked as the assistant announcer at Laurel, Pimlico, Bowie, and Timonium before building a career that took him far beyond the Mid-Atlantic.

His biggest break came in 2011, while he was calling races at Gulfstream Park in Florida. About three weeks before the Kentucky Derby, NBC called. Tom Durkin, the legendary voice of the Triple Crown and the Breeders’ Cup, was stepping down. Collmus was offered the job, and he hasn’t looked back since.

From those quiet afternoons practicing alone in the booth to the roar of the crowd at Churchill Downs and Pimlico, Collmus’s journey is a testament to the power of dreaming big—and never leaving your roots behind.