It’s like he was never gone.  Sam Grossman, aka Sam The Bugler announced last year that after twenty six years of blowing out the Call To The Post (the little ditty that signals the horses have reached the track prior to each race) at Saratoga Race Course he was going to retire.

Well look out old Sam is back.  Let’s not even refer to it as a retirement, it was more of a hiatus.  Why the change of heart?  Sam played at this years Preakness and Belmont Stakes after which he started to “desperately miss Saratoga.”  So Sam is back at The Spa doing what he says; “It’s not rocket science, I entertain the fans and then I go home.”

That is being humble.  Sam is obviously not one to blow his own horn (sorry).  He’s been a trumpeter for close to fifty years, has a bachelors, and masters degree in music, and studied under trumpeters from the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

There is nothing modest about the bugle Sam plays.  It is a custom Kanstul Herald trumpet, which costs around $3000 dollars.

After Sam is through playing the Call To The Post (which has been a racecourse staple since the mid-1800’s) he can be found wandering the grounds at Saratoga, mingling with the fans, posing for pictures and playing requests.

It’s evident that Sam is a man who enjoys his work, so if you happen to see him, be sure to welcome him back- though he never really left.