Craig Evans, the senior race broadcaster for the Singapore Turf Club since 2010, and David Fitzgerald, a presenter and commentator for Racing UK since 2010, have been invited to audition to become the permanent replacement for Trevor Denman at Santa Anita Park. Since the legendary South African announced his retirement last December, Frank Mirahmadi and Michael Wrona have alternated in the booth, with the other calling the races at Golden Gate Fields.
“Michael and Frank have both done an excellent job,” said Joe Morris, Senior Vice President of West Coast Operations for The Stronach Group. “Even though the feedback for both has been very positive, we owe it to our fans to make sure we have explored every option. The quality of announcer submissions was overwhelming and included many well-known and well-respected announcers currently working at other tracks. We also have heard a few young stars in the making.”
Evans, 48, landed the highly sought-after position with the Singapore Turf Club in 2007 and ascended to the role of senior race caller three years later. The native of Carnavon, Western Australia, has covered racing in an official capacity in Hong Kong, Dubai, Japan, South Africa and Australia. Evans will call the races at the Arcadia oval Feb. 20 and 21. Fitzgerald, 31, has had a presence at the Royal Ascot meetings in 2014 and 2015 and will be at the mic the weekend of Feb. 27 and 28.
“It was very difficult to select these two to audition from the many contenders,” Morris continued, “but both Craig and David bring something unique to their craft, in addition to being well regarded and highly recommended. We are looking forward to welcoming them to the Santa Anita announcer booth as we finalize this process.”
Some three dozen applications have been received from around the world for the Santa Anita position. It is unclear whether additional auditions will take place in the coming months.
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