Lexington, Ky. (Jan. 12, 2026) ─ The National Thoroughbred Racing Association, Daily Racing Form, and the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters have announced that legendary race caller Trevor Denman will be honored with the Special Eclipse Award for Career Excellence.

The dominant voice of Southern California racing for more than 30 years, Denman will be celebrated at the 55^th annual Resolute Racing Eclipse Awards at the Breakers Palm Beach in Florida on Jan. 22.

“What a wonderful way to end a 53-year career,” said Denman “I am so honored to receive this award and will treasure it forever. I wish to thank Alan Balch of Santa Anita Park and Joe Harper of Del Mar for giving an unknown kid a chance to call at such prestigious tracks back in 1983. I also thank all the fans for their tremendous support over the years. Thank you all!”

Born in Germiston, South Africa, Denman showed an early interest in racing as an exercise rider but realized his talents lay elsewhere, namely the announcer booth. He began calling races at 18 in 1971 in South Africa, and sometime later he was noticed by Californian Bill Kolberg, who was in South Africa and caught Denman’s race calls. When Santa Anita Park was looking for a new race caller, Kolberg gave racetrack officials a ringing endorsement of Denman, who was given an audition and passed it at age 31. He began calling races at the Oak Tree Association Meeting in 1983.

Notwithstanding his distinctive accent, Denman broke the mold of traditional race callers with a welcoming and innovative style. While most American announcers stuck to the basics of calling the specific order of the races and lengths in front or behind horses during points of call, Denman incorporated commentary and analysis into his race calls, and provided clues to the crowd as to what horses were in good position and those who were falling back. And he created a signature stamp at the gate break for each race with “And away they go.” He also incorporated catch phrases like “moving like an express train!” and “they’ll have to sprout wings to catch him.”

“What Claude Monet did for water lilies with a brush and canvas, Trevor Denman did for the Thoroughbred with his voice and a microphone over the course of a 40-plus-year career as the race caller at Southern California's iconic race tracks,” said longtime industry executive and current partner and senior advisor at Brown Advisory, Craig Fravel. “Those of us fortunate to have heard him work day-in and day-out at Del Mar, Hollywood Park, Pomona and Santa Anita were treated to the art of storytelling that made the pace, drama and dynamics of a race clear from start to finish even with your eyes closed. His iconic calls in the 1989 Preakness Stakes with Sunday Silence and Easy Goer and the 2009 Breeders' Cup Classic won unbelievably by Zenyatta will live on as perfect complements to the greatness of the equine athletes on the track. This is an award richly deserved.”

At one time, Denman was calling the races at Santa Anita, Hollywood Park, Del Mar and Pomona (Fairplex) during a prolific annual schedule.

In 2009, while calling the Breeders’ Cup races for ESPN, he delivered to an international audience one of his most memorable calls ever when the great race mare Zenyatta came flying down the Santa Anita stretch in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, passing horses one by one, and above the roar of the crowd, intoning “This is un-be-LIEVABLE! Zenyatta! What a performance, one we’ll never forget!”    

Denman called the races at Santa Anita until 2015, and at Del Mar from 1984 through 2024. He announced his retirement from Del Mar on March 6, 2025.

“This is one of the hardest decisions I have ever made,” Denman said to Del Mar publicity. “But my soul is telling me that now is the time.”

Denman called races for more than 50 years. Besides his extensive Southern California stint, he worked at tracks in the Bay Area and on the East Coast, as well as calling the Breeders’ Cup races when ESPN had the TV rights to the championship event. Additionally, he provided the calls in several racing movies and dozens of television shows. He currently lives with his wife, Robin, on a 500-acre farm in the Minnesota countryside.