Ray Kerrison, who covered every corner of horse racing for The New York Post from 1977-2013, has been selected to the National Racing Hall of Fame’s Joe Hirsch Media Honor Roll.
Turf writer Edward L. Bowen and photographer Charles C.C. Cook will be honored as well.
Kerrison, who vowed to “protect the $2 bettor,” died in 2022 at the age of 92. He was one of the sport’s most respected reporters, capturing the thrill of thoroughbred racing as well as its dark side.
Ray was the go-to insider during the “golden age” of horse racing.
He attended 32 Kentucky Derbys.
Saw Affirmed and Alydar duel down the stretch in the 1978 Belmont Stakes. He was there when Seattle Slew won the Triple Crown and then 37 years later when American Pharoah snapped the seemingly forever drought.
He was on the scene when Coastal upset Spectacular Bid. When Charismatic broke down in the Belmont. When Big Brown was pulled up. When Victory Gallop ran down Real Quiet in a win for the ages.
The legend covered legendary trainers Bob Baffert and D. Wayne Lukas when they were rookie handlers. Watched great riders including Angel Cordero, Jorge Velazquez, Bill Shoemaker, Jerry Bailey, Laffit Pincay Jr., Steve Cauthen, Pat Day, Braulio Baeza and one of my personal favorites, Eddie Maple, come back smiling to the winner’s circle.
Kerrison attended the inaugural Breeders’ Cup Championships in 1984 and many thereafter.
Ray shed light on the ugly side of the Sport of Kings as well. He rubbed his press box peers, as well as the racing industry, the wrong way when he uncovered a scandal in his first year on the beat for The Post.
While most columnists were basically publicity agents, Kerrison let readers in on an ugly fix at Belmont Park. Cinzano, a stakes winner, raced under the name of Lebon, who resembled Cinzano but was an underachieving claimer. Cinzano won at odds of 57-1. No, this 17-year-old $2 bettor didn’t have Cinzano that day.
Kerrison was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for his outstanding investigative reporting.
Patrick Kerrison, Ray’s son, said it best: “He was not one to yield and punters adored him because he had their backs. Had a quiet confidence about him. A relentless drive to find the truth, uncover it and make sure the horseplayer got a fair shake.”
