Mr. Terrence "Terry" Wallace

AND HERE HE COMES INTO THE STRETCH, Terry Wallace, 74, of Hot Springs, Arkansas, legendary track announcer and longtime voice of Oaklawn Racetrack, earned his Triple Crown on Thursday, December 6, 2018. He was met at the Finish line by his son Howard Wallace.

Terry was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to the late Edward and Mildred Wallace. After high school, Terry moved to Cincinnati to attend Xavier College, earning a language degree. After graduation, he spent a year in France at the Sorbonne.

Terry’s start was at River Downs in Cincinnati.. Terry also announced at Ak-Sar-Ben and Horsemen’s Park, which earned him a spot in the Nebraska Racing Hall of Fame.

Terry is also in the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame for having called a record setting 20,191 consecutive races at Oaklawn. He worked at Oaklawn for 42 years, from 1975 until his final retirement at the end of 2017.

After retiring from announcing duties on January 28, 2011, Terry continued working at Oaklawn as a handicapper and ambassador. January 28, 2011 was proclaimed “Terry Wallace Day” by the mayor of Hot Springs. Governor Mike Beebe and President Bill Clinton wrote him letters of congratulations.

His voice was familiar to racing fans throughout the country. Terry’s excited commentary often had racing fans out of their seats and waving their programs.

Terry was a man very generous with his time when it came to grandchildren or charity. He served on the boards of several local charities, including the Garland County chapter of the American Cancer Society and their Leadership Council. He worked with the United Way, which has the “Terry Wallace Volunteer Award”, an award that is bestowed upon the volunteer who has gone above and beyond, as Terry often did.

Terry’s voice will be missed everyday by his wife, Alice; children Ernest (Christine) Wallace, Jake Wallace, Sarah Wallace; grandchildren, Cameron, Clayton, Rebecca, Rachel; sister Judy (Jerry) Koenigsmark; numerous nieces and nephews; and more friends than he could count. Alice’s children and grandchildren, that he treated as his own, will also miss Terry.