Lexington, Kentucky (January 12, 2026) ─ The Nationwide Thoroughbred Racing Affiliation, the Day by day Racing Kind and the Nationwide Turf Writers and Broadcasters introduced that legendary race caller Trevor Denman will obtain a particular Eclipse Award for Profession Excellence.
Denman, which has dominated Southern California horse racing for greater than 30 years, can be celebrated in its fifty fifth yr.th The annual Resolute Racing Eclipse Awards can be held on January twenty second at Breakers Palm Seashore, Florida.
Denman mentioned, “What a good way to finish a 53-year profession. I am really honored to obtain this award and can cherish it for the remainder of my life. I want to thank Santa Anita Park’s Alan Balch and Del Mar’s Joe Harper for giving an unknown child the chance to play on such a prestigious course in 1983. I might additionally prefer to thank the followers for his or her large assist through the years. Thanks everybody!”
Born in Germiston, South Africa, Denman confirmed an early curiosity in racing as an train rider, however realized his expertise lay elsewhere – within the announcer’s sales space. He began calling races in South Africa in 1971 on the age of 18, however after some time he was observed by Invoice Colberg, a Californian who was in South Africa and caught Denman’s race calls. When Santa Anita Park was searching for a brand new race caller, Kolberg enthusiastically endorsed Denman to racetrack officers, and Denman auditioned and was accepted at age 31. He started calling races on the 1983 Oak Tree Affiliation assembly.
Regardless of his distinctive accent, Denman broke the mould of conventional race callers along with his welcoming and revolutionary fashion. Whereas many American announcers caught to the fundamentals of calling the precise race order and size of the horse’s forwards and backwards on the name level, Denman included commentary and evaluation into his race calls, giving the viewers clues as to which horses had been in good place and which had been falling again. And so they created a signature stamp on the gatebreak of every race that mentioned, “After which they go away.” It additionally contains catchphrases corresponding to “Strikes like a restricted categorical practice!” “You may need to develop wings to catch him.”
“What Claude Monet did for water lilies with brush and canvas, Trevor Denman did for thoroughbreds with voice and microphone throughout his greater than 40-year profession as a race caller at Southern California’s iconic racetracks,” mentioned Craig Flavell, a longtime trade govt and present companion and senior advisor at Brown Advisory. “These of us who listened to him work day in and time out at Del Mar, Hollywood Park, Pomona, and Santa Anita had been fortunate sufficient to be handled to the artwork of storytelling the place even with our eyes closed, the tempo, drama, and dynamics of the race had been clear from begin to end.”By Sunday Silence and Straightforward Goer His iconic calls within the 1989 Preakness Stakes and the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Basic, which Zenyatta extremely received, will dwell on as good. This can be a well-deserved award that enhances the greatness of the horse athletes on the racetrack.”
Denman used to name races at Santa Anita, Hollywood Park, Del Mar and Pomona (Fairplex) throughout his busy annual schedule.
In 2009, when ESPN referred to as the Breeders’ Cup race, the good race filly Zenyatta got here flying down the Santa Anita stretch within the Breeders’ Cup Basic, passing them one after the other to the roar of the gang. , he delivered one of the memorable calls of all time to viewers all over the world when he belted out, “That is unbelievable! Zenyatta! What a efficiency, we’ll always remember!”
Denman referred to as races at Santa Anita till 2015 and at Del Mar from 1984 to 2024. He introduced his retirement from Del Mar on March 6, 2025.
“This is among the most troublesome selections I’ve ever made,” Denman instructed Del Mar Public Relations. “However my soul tells me the time is now.”
Denman has been calling races for greater than 50 years. Along with his intensive duties in Southern California, he labored the Bay Space and East Coast circuits and referred to as Breeders’ Cup races when ESPN had the tv rights to championship occasions. Moreover, he supplied calls in a number of racing movies and dozens of tv reveals. He at the moment lives along with his spouse, Robin, on a 500-acre farm in rural Minnesota.
