Denman hired to call Breeders' Cup

Trevor Denman, the longtime Southern California racecaller, has been hired by ESPN to call the races for its 2006 Breeders' Cup telecast, the network announced on Wednesday.

Denman, who calls the races at Del Mar and Santa Anita, will call the Breeders' Cup races on a national broadcast for the first time. The Breeders' Cup will be held this year on Nov. 4 at Churchill Downs.

Denman is a native of South Africa and began his career there 35 years ago. He moved to the U.S. in 1984 to call the races at Del Mar.

Denman will replace Tom Durkin, who has called the races for the Breeders' Cup telecast since the event's inception in 1984. Durkin has an exclusive contract with NBC, and he announced earlier this week that his contractual arrangements would prevent him from appearing on the ESPN telecast.

The 2006 Breeders Cup will be the first broadcast by ESPN. All the previous events were broadcast by NBC.