HOT SPRINGS, Ark. — There's a new face behind the bugle here at the track, and for the first time in the 125-year history of the park, it's a woman.

Before the horses are loaded and before they’re off, the riders and horses hear the sound of a single trumpet.

The call to the post is the sound that racing fans have heard at Oaklawn for the last 125 years. And with the start of the 2025-2026 racing season, Van Deventer will be the face behind that call

“It's just, it's a rush. I play the call, and then I stick around just to catch the beginning of the race. And it's nothing like seeing every horse go by clap of thunder,” Natalie Van Deventer, the Bugler of Oaklawn, said.

Her journey to Oaklawn started back in middle school, with a fine arts class.

“I wanted to take dance, but my mom was

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