49-year-old Michael Wrona named new voice of Santa Anita Park

The Santa Anita Park named popular Australian aouncer Michael Wrona to replace Trevor Denman Thursday moing.

Wrona, 49, who has been the voice of the Golden Gate Fields in Berkeley the past decade, got the job after a world-wide search netted more than three dozen candidates. He had been alteating the Santa Anita duties with another finalist this season while the search was going on.

“This was a much harder decision than anyone could have imagined,” said Joe Morris, SVP of West Coast Operations for The Stronach Group. “It was an exceptionally close decision, but Michael just raised his game here at Santa Anita. We are honored to welcome him to the historic fabric of The Great Race Place.”

Wrona began his aouncing career at the age of 17 in his homeland of Queensland, Australia. He came to the United States at the age of 24 and had been working at Golden Gate Fields since 1992.

He becomes the fifth primary aouncer at Santa Anita Park since the track opened in 1934, joining Joe Heandez, Chic Anderson, Dave Johnson and Denman.

“I’m overjoyed and humbled that Santa Anita is entrusting me with a booth occupied by so few aouncers in the track’s storied history,” said Wrona. “I shall try my utmost to honor the great legacy of my predecessors – each of whom was of the highest caliber.”

Denman, considered the unmistakable voice of Southe Califoia horse racing, retired last December after more than four decades as an aouncer. The native South African began, who was the voice of Santa Anita Park for 33 years, was hired in the fall of 1983.

In an interview with this publication last year, he said Zenyatta wiing the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita as his most memorable call.