The Del Mar racetrack is a place synonymous with decorative hats, fast horses, and big bets.
But in the background of race track memories-- there is a distinct voice.
And after 40 years, that voice is finally retiring.
“Can you tell me about the first time you met Trevor?” I asked.
“I think it's more like the first time I heard Trevor,” said Joe Harper, CEO at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club.
Over in South Africa, during the early 1980s..
“Friend of mine was down in South Africa and he went to the races down there and, and heard this voice, and he just said, that's that guy is terrific,” said Harper.
That guy is Trevor Denman.
The longtime announcer was famed for the accuracy, the intuition, and the accent-- that gave racetrack officials a pause in the early days of his career.
“And when he called the race, he said, well, he's he's accurate, but nobody can understand that accent. I said, I think they'll get used to it, you know, and, you know, we all got used to it,” said Harper.
Harper was right.
After all, he was the one that hired Denman in 1984.
40 years later-- it paid off.
“He was so accurate, and so it was like Trevor knew what was gonna happen. I think, I, I had a jockey once tell me, he said, how does Trevor know that stuff? He said, well, I was sitting there, you know, two lengths off the lead, and I knew I was gonna win it, and I heard Trevor say that I was all through,” said Harper.
Denman said in a quote, “This is one of the hardest decisions I have ever made. But my soul is telling me that now is the time.”
Harper says Dennan will be spending time on his farm in Minnesota as Larry Collmuss, Kentucky Derby announcer, prepares to take his place.
“I'll miss him, you know,” said Harper.
And away he goes.
