A Familiar Voice: Sitting Down With Santa Anita Legend Trevor Denman
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Denman is well known for the phrase "And away they go..." (Alex Norwick)
Neon Tommy: How does this job keep you on your toes?
Trevor Denman: It’s not brain surgery, but there is a little bit of skill and a bit of pantomime involved during the race. You can say who is first, second and third, what I call joining the dots. Or you can get up there and do a bit of Shakespeare. Each and every race is entertaining; no one knows what is going to happen.
NT: How will your workload change when Santa Anita takes on more racing following the closure of Hollywood Park?
TD: I only work six months of the year now. But next year it’s going to be 11 months, so it’s going to be the first time I’ll be calling races for almost a whole year. I have a farm in Minnesota that I go to when we’re not racing. So that’s a little bit of a problem because it’s a fairly large farm and you can’t just shut it down.
NT: Is that where you go to unwind between racing seasons?
TD: Exactly. It’s such a juxtaposition. One day you’re driving down the 10 Freeway with a million cars around you and the next day you’re on this farm where you cannot see another human being.
NT: Have you ever called a match race?
TD: In my whole career I’ve called between six and 10, so it’s not often. Those are tough for an announcer because there is nothing to say. I’d rather do 12 horses than two any day.
NT: How will this year’s Breeders’ Cup separate itself from last year’s series?
TD: The Classic should turn into a very good race. We’ve got Mucho Macho Man, Game On Dude and last year’s winner, Fort Larned. In the old days there were only seven races and each one of them was outstanding. But now it’s impossible to have 15 great races. There are not enough horses out there. But the Classic should be a good race.
Reach Staff Writer Alex Norwick here.
