Jack Kelly, an Equibase chartcaller and field supervisor since 1998 and a
longtime fixture on the Thoroughbred racing scene, died early Monday at
Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City after a long illness.
He was 61 years old.
Kelly, a native of Philadelphia and a graduate of Cal State-Hayward, was
introduced to racing at a young age and was handicapping races by the time he
was a teenager. He called charts at the Fresno Fair races in the early 1980s for
the racing publication Sports Eye. By 1982, he was calling charts on the
Southern California circuit and in 1984 he joined the Daily Racing Form
staff on the East Coast.
Over the next 14 or 15 years, he covered racing at a number of tracks in the
Mid-Atlantic area for Daily Racing Form as either a columnist or chart
caller.
When the licensing agreement between Daily Racing Form and Equibase
was signed in 1998, Equibase hired him as a field supervisor.
In that role, he supervised the field staff throughout the East Coast and
also helped manage chartcalling for major races, including Triple Crown and
Breeders’ Cup events. More recently, he called charts on the New York Racing
Association (NYRA) circuit.
“Jack Kelly was one of the most beloved individuals at the racetrack,” NYRA
President and CEO Charles Hayward said. “He was a man of great intelligence and
passion, always kind, generous, and genuine in his dealings with people. Jack
will be sorely missed.”
While working at the NYRA tracks, he made many close friends, and was
universally admired.
“Jack was an extremely perseverant individual,” NYRA track announcer Tom
Durkin said. “He had more than a dozen knee surgeries and to prove a point he
went out and ran in six New York City Marathons. He saw heavy combat in Vietnam,
which he never talked about. He was a very courageous person in many, many ways;
strong, silent, and a man of great character.”
Kelly also played in many of the golf tournaments with trainers, something
that Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey remembers fondly.
“It was always a joy to play golf with Jack,” McGaughey said. “He was a
racetrack guy through and through, and loved to talk about horses and races. I
enjoyed hearing the different perspective that he had as a chartcaller. Jack
fought a long, hard battle and I hope that he’s in a better place for it.”
Kelly once estimated that he had worked at 44 different racetracks through
the years and had probably called over 50,000 races.
Kelly is survived by his wife, Nancy, three sisters and a brother. Nancy is
the vice president of development for Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation
and executive director of The Jockey Club Foundation.
Visitations will be held Wednesday and Thursday at the Leo F. Kearns Funeral
Home, located at 445 E. Meadow Avenue, East Meadow, New York. The hours are from
7 p.m. to 9 p.m. (EDT) on Wednesday and from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9
p.m. on Thursday.
A funeral mass well be held Friday beginning at 11 a.m. at St. Brigid’s Roman
Catholic Church, 75 Post Avenue, Westbury, New York.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to The Jockey Club Foundation,
40 E. 52nd Street, New York, New York 10022.