Legendary commentator Trevor Denman has announced his retirement from his 33-year long position as chief caller at the flagship Santa Anita racetrack in California and officials will be scouring the planet looking for a replacement knowing they have huge boots to fill.

Denman’s skill could be defined by his call of one of the most exciting races in world racing history, when the hitherto unbeaten Zenyatta won the Breeders Cup Classic at Santa Anita in 2009 in astonishing fashion under Mike Smith after being “dead last” early on and having “a lot, a lot of ground to make up”, halfway around the final turn.

Denman’s words “If she wins this she will be a super horse,” summed up the situation. The gentle giant mare had already become an American icon and a massive crowd had turned up to watch her make history that day in her 14th career start and her first against the boys, which included a selection of the best horses from around the planet. However, her myriad fans seemed muted for most of the way around and officials probably began fearing it would be a repeat of Big Brown’s Triple Crown flop.

Zenyatta’s trainer John Shirreffs could see only glimpses of the famous mare from where he stood near the rail in front of the main grandstand. However, from her hopeless position she had surged through a couple of gaps when coming off the rail and into the straight and suddenly there was hope. Shirreffs knew she had a chance when Denman said “she is starting to pick them off though, Zenyatta’s going to hook to the outside.”

Shirreffs could hear the urgency in the commentators voice and said, “Trevor really gets the dynamics of a race. When he starts mentioning a horse, you knew something can happen.” However the crowd were still on tenterhooks until Denman raised his voice at the critical moment, “AND ZENYATTA’S COME TO THE OUTSIDE!” and with that the roof lifted off the grandstand.

To watch this moment at full volume never fails to cause goosebumps due to Denman’s timing and the crowds immediate, spine-tingling response. It was one of those roars so loud it reaches what could be best described as a silent spot at the crescendo. Zenyatta’s enormous stride took her past her rivals and Denman’s Durban roots were evident when he said spontaneously, “THIS IS UN-BE-LEEEEEVABLE!” The crowd continued to roar for minutes afterwards and her lady fans swaggered. The humble Shirreffs could be seen grinning broadly and voicing superlatives. However, there was little doubt the moment could easily have been lost without Denman’s brilliance.

Denman had been using effective changes in voice pitch for decades, a good example being when he called home the great Prince Florimund to win the Gr 1 South African 2000 at Greyville in 1982, abandoning calling the order of horses as they entered the straight and simply emphasising, “PRINCE FLORIMUND!!”. Off-course punters, who enjoyed no visuals in those days, were spared the agony of the final stretch because Denman was a renowned judge and they knew when he emphasised a name it was virtually race over.

On top of this ability to connect with the audience, he is also unerringly fluent and accurate and this is partly due to his consummate professionalism, which includes meticulous preparation and an acute sense of pace.

California trainer Ron Ellis said. “I could sit in the paddock and visually see the race with his call.”
Denman’s signature verse at Santa Anita came to be known as “And away they go,” a well know commentary term in South Africa and “scraping paint” and  “will need to sprout wings” were other examples of his many catch phrases.

Denman was only the fourth incumbent caller in Santa Anita’s history and one punter said last week, “Denman’s calls became etched in our minds. To us, Trevor is Santa Anita.”

Hall of fame jockey Gary Stevens said, “One of a kind, there will never be another like him. He was calling the race as if he was riding the horse I was on, he was calling what I was feeling.”
Santa Anita track Chairman Keith Blackpool said of Denman’s retirement announcement, “We knew this situation would come one day, but we were selfishly hoping it would be many years down the line.”

South African commentator Craig Peters was assistant to Denman for one year in the early 1980s and became a great caller in his own right. He named that year as one of his biggest learning curbs and is ever grateful to Denman for his enthusiastic willingness to share his knowledge. Peters has always kept his commentary box immaculate, having taken on board Denman’s highly professional approach, and gave a clue to the possible reason for the latter’s  immediate impact in the USA, “He once told me that if you can call successfully on South African courses you can call anywhere in the world. In the days when we relied on binoculars we had to deal with the pear-shaped Greyville, the long straight of the Vaal and other difficult courses.”

Denman also helped mentor Craig’s son Sheldon, who sent him tape recordings requesting advice.

Trevor influenced many, including, no doubt, his brother Eric, who also became a fine caller in his own right.

Trevor had wanted to become a jockey but grew too big and felt the next best thing would be commentating.
In the early 1970s he rented a flat overlooking Greyville and began calling races into a tape recorder and the Durban Turf Club eventually gave him a start as assistant commentator to another legend, Ernie Duffield. The latter called his last Durban July in 1976 and Denman then took over.

Trevor will continue to call at Del Mar but his working days at the Great Race Place (Santa Anita) will end on December 26. The 63-year-old will instead spend more time on his Minnesota Farm and travelling around the USA.

By David Thiselton