One of Australia’s most recognisable sporting voices will receive South Australian racing’s highest honour this weekend.
Legendary broadcaster Bruce McAvaney OAM will be inducted into the South Australian Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame at the Sportsbet SA Racing Awards on Saturday night.
McAvaney will enter the Hall of Fame in the Associate category, recognising his contribution to South Australian racing as a broadcaster, advocate and lifelong supporter of the industry.
Premier Peter Malinauskas will attend the ceremony at Morphettville’s Wolf Blass Event Centre and take part in the formal induction.
While McAvaney has called some of the world’s biggest sporting events, his remarkable broadcasting career began much closer to home.
Born and raised in Adelaide, he joined radio station 5DN and called his first race meeting at Mindarie-Halidon in 1977. He also called the Oakbank races on air before moving into television with ADS-7 the following year.
There, he worked as a sports presenter and produced the weekly racing program Racetrack, becoming Seven News Adelaide’s Chief Sports Presenter by 1981.
After moving to Melbourne in 1983, McAvaney quickly became one of the most respected figures in Australian sports broadcasting. He joined the commentary team for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games and called his first Melbourne Cup in 1985.
His career has since included coverage of every Summer Olympic Games from Los Angeles in 1984 to Paris in 2024, along with Commonwealth Games, athletics, tennis and motor racing.
He has also called more than 1,000 AFL matches, including 20 Grand Finals.
Despite the international scale of his career, McAvaney has maintained a close connection with South Australian racing.
He led Racing.com’s first Adelaide Cup broadcast in 2018 and continues to contribute to Seven’s coverage of the Adelaide Racing Carnival. He has also served on the selection panels for the South Australian Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame and South Australian Champion Racehorse of the Year.
Beyond the commentary box, McAvaney has advocated for greater investment in the local racing industry, publicly supporting increased prizemoney, improved funding and initiatives designed to strengthen the sport in his home state.
McAvaney received the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2002 for his service to sports broadcasting and the community. He has also been inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, TV Week Logie Hall of Fame and Australian Football Hall of Fame.
His latest honour brings his career full circle, almost 50 years after he called his first South Australian race meeting.
The South Australian Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame was established in 2001 and recognises the horses and people who have made an enduring contribution to the industry.
Its honour roll includes champion racehorses Rain Lover, Tobin Bronze, Taj Rossi and Maybe Mahal, alongside racing figures including John Letts, Clare Lindop, Colin Hayes, David Hayes and Leon Macdonald.
The Sportsbet SA Racing Awards, featuring the John Letts Medal and McAvaney’s Hall of Fame induction, will be held at Morphettville’s Wolf Blass Event Centre on Saturday, September 5.
