Bruce McAvaney to join South Australian Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame

Legendary Australian sports broadcaster Bruce McAvaney OAM will be inducted into the South Australian Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame at Saturday night’s SA Racing Awards.

McAvaney will enter the Hall of Fame in the associate category in recognition of his decades-long contribution to South Australian racing as a broadcaster, advocate and passionate supporter of the sport.

South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas will attend the ceremony at Morphettville’s Wolf Blass Event Centre and participate in McAvaney’s formal induction.

Born and raised in Adelaide, McAvaney began his broadcasting career with radio station 5DN. After calling his first race meeting at Mindarie-Halidon in 1977, he went on to call the races at Oakbank.

His move into television came the following year when he joined ADS-7, where he worked as a sports presenter and produced the weekly racing program Racetrack.

McAvaney later became Seven News Adelaide’s Chief Sports Presenter before relocating to Melbourne in 1983 and developing into one of Australia’s most recognisable sports broadcasters.

His remarkable career has included coverage of every Summer Olympic Games from Los Angeles in 1984 through to Paris in 2024, as well as Commonwealth Games, athletics, tennis and motor racing.

McAvaney has also called more than 1,000 AFL matches, including 20 Grand Finals.

Despite covering many of the world’s biggest sporting events, thoroughbred racing has remained one of McAvaney’s enduring passions throughout his broadcasting career.

He headed Racing.com’s inaugural Adelaide Cup broadcast in 2018 and continues to contribute to Seven’s coverage of the Adelaide Racing Carnival.

McAvaney has also spent many years serving on the selection panels for the South Australian Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame and the South Australian Champion Racehorse of the Year.

Saturday night’s induction will see McAvaney formally recognised by the industry in which his broadcasting career began almost five decades ago.