Legendary horse race caller Trevor Denman announces his retirement
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Trevor Denman, whose familiar voice has punctuated horse races in Southern California for more than four decades, announced his retirement on Thursday. He will be replaced at Del Mar by Larry Collmus, who is best known for his NBC calls of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Breeders’ Cup.
Denman is considered one of the greatest race callers of all time. His signature expressions such as “And away they go” at the start of each race to occasionally saying “they would have to sprout wings” to catch a horse that was far in front. He also would refer to horses close to the rail as “scraping the paint.”
Denman, 72, has contemplated retirement for a few years, reducing his workload to just the summer meeting at Del Mar. He has called every season, except one, at Del Mar since 1984.
He came to Southern California in 1983 and called races part-time before moving to the main spot in the booth at Santa Anita the following year. He held that position until he announced he was leaving Santa Anita before the 2016 season. Denman also called races at Hollywood Park and even Fairplex during his Southern California tenure.
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“I’ve been doing this for 44 years and I knew the day would come,” Denman told The Times in 2016 about his departure from Santa Anita. “I knew I didn’t want to do this the rest of my life. They say you have about 32,000 days on this Earth and I’ve already used up about 22,000 of them, so I needed to make the last 10,000 count.”
Denman also cited the 210 Freeway as another factor for leaving Santa Anita and just calling at Del Mar.
“The killer is there is no way around it,” said Denman, echoing the sentiments of anyone who has traveled the 210 at rush hour. “I’m sitting there in traffic and I start thinking, ‘What am I doing with my life?’ When you multiply it out, you are sitting in your car a couple weeks a year. Thirty years ago, that freeway was a breeze. The last five years have been terrible.”
Denman, who spends most of his time on his 500-acre farm in Minnesota, then focused his remaining race calling days to Del Mar. He gave up the Del Mar fall meeting five years ago and was replaced by Collmus, 58, who was formerly the lead race caller for the New York Racing Assn.
“This is one of the hardest decisions I have ever made,” Denman told Del Mar’s media relations department. “But my soul is telling me that now is the time.”
Denman’s absence from Santa Anita even led to a series of death threats against Michael Wrona, who initially replaced Denman at Santa Anita. Wrona had security escort him to and from his car every day. Arcadia police found the person who made the threats but did not arrest him, finding he had a developmental social disorder. The person was also tied to threats against Collmus, when he replaced Denman as the voice of the Breeders’ Cup.
Denman’s style, cadence and ability to spot changes in a race almost before they happen, made him, arguably, the best race caller for the past few decades. There are few current race callers who say they haven’t been influenced by Denman.
“My career was inspired by the brilliance of Trevor Denman,” said Frank Mirahmadi, considered one of the pre-eminent race callers today as he announces both the Santa Anita and Saratoga meetings. “My first-ever race call was at Hollywood Park, imitating his voice on closing day of the 1992 season.
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“Trevor educated his audience not only through his race calls, but even his words between races on the nightly replay shows back in the ‘80s and ‘90s and his fabulous work as an analyst on the Breeders’ Cup when Tom Durkin was the announcer. He taught us how to watch a race and his love for horses and the sport made me a much bigger fan.”
Denman first started calling races in his native South Africa in 1971 before coming to the United States, where his distinctive accent paved the way for other race callers, who also brought an international flavor to the races.
“I grew up listening to Trevor and have loved his unforgettable calls for decades,” Collmus told Del Mar publicity. “It is an absolute honor to follow him at Del Mar. Calling the races there in the fall the last five years has been a great experience and I’m thrilled to be the new full-time voice of Del Mar.”
When Mirahmadi entertains visitors to the announcer’s booth at Santa Anita, he always makes a point of calling it “Trevor’s booth.”
Mirahmadi even has a framed copy of Denman’s favorite poem, If by Rudyard Kipling, in the booth.
“We knew this would eventually come with Trevor, and now it is here,” Del Mar’s chief executive, Joe Harper, said in a statement. “We’ve been so lucky to have the best in the business in our booth for all these years, and now all we can do is wish him and his wife Robin the very best on their road ahead.”
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