South African Devon Pretorius has been hired as Selangor Turf Club’s new race commentator and will call his first race here on Sunday, 4th August 2024.
From a young age, Devon grew up around horses, visiting the training centre and commonly going to different racecourses in Cape Town, South Africa through the influence of his father who is a racing presenter back in South Africa. However, his real passion for horse racing came in July 2008 in Durban when two horses dead heated in Africa’s biggest race and the commentary of that race inspired him to take an interest as a commentator.
Not long after finishing high school, he experienced his first live race call in 2022 in a small centre called, Fairview Racecourse. After endless hours of practice and ‘mock calls’ he was finally put to the test when three horses hit the line in a photo finish for his first live call. After a few months in Fairview, he was then appointed as the commentator for Cape Racing, calling races at Kenilworth and Durbanville racecourse in Cape Town.
Besides being a race commentator, Devon is also a capable race day presenter providing tips as well as in-depth analysis of races. He was also greatly involved in luring younger South African audience to the ‘Sport Of Kings’.
