Get Bugled At Emerald Downs

By Rachel Belle

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to Get Bugled at Emerald Downs

I made my first trip to Emerald
Downs a few weeks ago and it wasn’t the athleticism of
the horses or the thrill of gambling that my friend used
to get me excited; it was the promise of getting bugled.
Daniel Harrington has been the track bugler at Emerald
Downs for the past 15 years. Dressed in a top hat, tails
and riding boots, he’s easily noticed and very sought
after. His main duty is playing the Call To Post
every 30 minutes, but he has expanded his position beyond
the average track bugler.

“I wander around the crowd and I look for birthdays,
anniversaries, anything special. If it’s a slow day, and I
can’t find anything else to do, I just walk up to somebody
and say, ‘Hey, do you have a favorite song that you’d like
to hear?'”

Daniel will play anything from a Beatles tune to
Hey Dolly to The Simpsons theme song if
you really really want him to. Once he’s played for you,
you get a much coveted “I’ve Been Bugled” sticker. A
friend of Daniel’s came down to the track and was shocked
to see his friend was a local celebrity.

“He said, ‘You’re like Mickey Mouse at Disneyland.
Everybody wants to see you and have their picture taken
with you.’ That really cracked me up!”

But Daniel wasn’t born to bugle. He worked as a Delta
Airlines pilot until he was diagnosed with diabetes and
because he takes insulin, the FAA wouldn’t let him fly.
Shortly after he lost his job, a friend gave his name and
number to Emerald Downs and he had an interview.

“I actually never ever played one single note for them.
They asked me what my background was and I told them I had
gotten a performance degree in trumpet and got my masters
degree. They said, ‘Well, I’m sure you can play the
Call To Post.’ And I said ‘Well, yes, I hope
so!'” he laughed. “The only other question they asked me
was ‘Do you think you can handle playing Happy
Birthday?'”

Daniel estimates he’s played the Call To Post
tens of thousands of times. Being the bugler is only a
weekend gig, and he doesn’t make a lot of money, but the
job is deeply satisfying for him.

“I’ve had people come to me and say ‘You played Happy
birthday for my father, it was more than ten years ago,
and he passed away. But every birthday, after you did
that, he would talk about how the bugler at Emerald Downs
would play for him and it really meant a lot.’ So that’s
the kind of thing that sticks with me. It’s very, very
important for me to create those kinds of memories.”

Long ago, before Daniel was a pilot, when he was trying
to become a professional trumpet player, he says he took
playing very seriously and every note had to be perfect.

“Now when I play, I keep it just as a fun thing. Yeah,
you’ll hear me miss a note or two here and there and I
don’t really care! I just have fun,” he laughs.

Don’t forget to tip your bugler!