Denman Elected to SCSB Hall of Fame

Veteran announcer Trevor Denman will become one of two members of the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Hall of Fame when he is inducted at the 27th annual SCSB Awards Luncheon Jan. 22, 2018, at Lakeside Golf Club in Toluca Lake.

The other inductee will be longtime Los Angeles Lakers TV commentator Stu Lantz. He and Denman will become the 36th and 37th members of the SCSB Hall of Fame.

Denman, 65, revolutionized race commentary after coming from South Africa to Southern California in 1983 and working at all three of the area's major racetracks—Santa Anita Park, the now-defunct Hollywood Park, and Del Mar. He retired from Santa Anita in December of 2015 but still calls races at Del Mar.

Denman's approach to calling races involves not only describing the position of the runners but adding in-race commentary. One of his most familiar phrases is "moving like a winner." Among his most memorable calls came when then-undefeated Zenyatta came from behind to win the 2009 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Santa Anita.  As Zenyatta unleashed her trademark rally to beat the boys, the cadence of Denman's call of "un-be-lieve-able" seemed to match the horse's strides.

This will be Denman's second Hall of Fame honor. The other, by the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association, came in 2013.

When not working at Del Mar, Denman and his wife Robin live on a farm in rural Minnesota. Last April, Denman suffered a severely broken leg when he fell off a tractor at his farm. The leg was broken in three places. It took several months to heal.

Denman said he and his wife will make a special trip back to Southern California to attend January's awards luncheon.

The SCSB was formed in 1958, and the Hall of Fame has existed since 1993. The first inductees were former Heisman Trophy winner and local broadcaster Tom Harmon, UCLA announcer Fred Hessler, and Los Angeles Rams announcer Bob Kelley. Harmon was the organization's first president.