Alan died peacefully Monday after a long illness. Many of you knew him from the Saratoga seminars.
Al was a Racing Times guy, and after they folded he and some others came over to us. Al was the only one to stickâ€" and he made himself integral to our operation, my second in command.
Al was a good guy, and he is already missed.
Sad news, sorry to hear. Condolonces to you and his family.
Brutal news. I heard he was sick and it was tough take then. Class guy. This will hurt for a while.
So sorry to hear of his passing.
August, 2018.
I arrived in upstate NY for Alabama weekend. I had hit the big time. My work schedule and my financial situation allowed me to spend an entire week from Alabama weekend all the way to Travers Day. Little did I know that I would hit a monster score that had nothing to do with cashing a ticket.
Alabama weekend had its own crowd. At that time, just a short six summers ago, they still raced on Monday. Tuesday was a Dark Day. And then Wednesday, the TG-ers and backyard folks who I only knew from a few days the two prior summers started trickling in for the big weekend.
The crescendo was pronounced as Saturday approached. I recall beyond vividly TGAB being present on Friday. We were in the backyard near the TG spot of the time. There was a large group that year. Probably a year that got me hooked. Alan\'s ability to find a horse at beyond long odds and absolutely botch the goal of extracting huge profits was uncanny. And he did that weekend and we all got a good laugh out of his misfortune.
I also recall vividly his foresight that racing was in real trouble moving ahead. I challenged him hard that how could racing fail. How could what I\'m seeing in Saratoga on that Friday not survive forever. He made beyond brilliant handicapping points about where the game could be headed with comments about the next generation having no interest in the game, seeing it far differently than we do, and that you (ME/ALL OF US) better enjoy these days because they are not guaranteed either as a racing fan or as a friend of the folks in the backyard. He even specifically pointed out how the riding crop, horse deaths, etc could not go over well in the coming years. His words were somewhat prophetic with the challenges racing has faced the last few years.
Jerry had a few very nice seats up near the finish line for those few days that Alan had with him that weekend. Alan was kind enough to ask if I wanted to go watch a race with him up there on Friday. We did go watch at least one up there that day. Over the course of the next two days, he opened up about his mortality and what little time he thought he had left, likely as little as six months. He talked about people that loved him. I won\'t share everything that he told me but to call them life lessons doesn\'t do it justice. But I will share the following: That on Travers Day when the place was a madhouse to start the day, we eventually all settled in as part of the Backyard at the Spa. And again he was kind enough to ask if I wanted to watch a few races up in those seats. And the two of us did! And it was memorable.
Specifically, we saw the old warrior Whitmore get that first Grade 1 win. Then, a little later in the backyard, I asked him if we could go watch the Travers itself up in those seats overlooking the stretch drive. And we did. I bet on Mendelssohn that day. His 2nd place finish allowed me to cash some tickets with Catholic Boy winning that are all meaningless compared to what I cashed listening to Alan. I recall those two horses coming through the stretch right before our eyes. I recall sitting there after the finish line and Alan truly opening up about his life, about what time he had left, and other so-called life lessons that left me sitting there with real tears in my eyes. We walked back down to the backyard and enjoyed the final touches on a Travers week and weekend that I\'ll never forget. The 2018 Travers will always be Unforgettable for me thanks to Alan.
My condolences JB. I genuinely enjoyed my time with TGAB whether at a seminar at Siro\'s, in the backyard, or watching that Travers stretch drive that I\'ll never forget. It is why in the years since I\'ve wondered how he is doing. And maybe those memories and life lessons are something I\'m chasing with every return trip.
REST IN PEACE Alan.
Fairmount,
I have no idea what you do in \"real life\" but if it is not as a writer, most of the world has missesd out on your prose. Your recollection of that Traver\'s weekend literally brought a tear to my eye as I felt I knew and at a deeper level understood Alan. My sincere condolances to everyone who knew him.
Great job, kid.
Well put as usual my friend.
For years I have asked the \"backyard\" team how Alan was doing, usual response was a quick shake of the head indicating not well.
My first trip to SAR I believe was 2016 when Jean and I arrived in NYC. I\'d been listening to AB on Jason\'s radio show for some years and respected his opinions very much. Meeting him for the first time on the train from NYC to SAR, I recognized the voice immediately, introduced myself to him. I remember him not looking anything liked I\'d imagined. He was quite a gentleman, very gracious and engaging.
Later, on same train, he wandered back to where we were seated and introduced himself to my wife and we talked for a bit about everything BUT racing - where we lived, how we were enjoying the city,...and he shared where the \"backyarders\" would be. I did not attend his seminar, but we did engage the group for the first time behind Byk\'s BBQ stand. For several years we seemed to be on the same Amtrak to/from SAR & always fun to share the weekend stories.
Later on, we\'d laugh when I shared one thing we had in common - \"we are not bad handicappers, we\'re terrible bettors\"!
Prior to Fairmont\'s 2018 trip, Jean passed suddenly in Feb. I\'d been in touch with AB every few months and knew he was beginning a long, tough journey. But after she passed, he send me several notes of encouragement, sympathy, & how he was dealing with similar. Never once about him, always concern for the others.
I guess we all knew this day was coming, and thank you Fairmount for putting it so well - see you soon. And we\'ll toast this wonderful man...
I never met Alan, but always looked for that TGAB.
Fairmount and Shanahan those are wonderful stories that will linger forever.
I\'ll be 61 in a few months and I too often think about my mortality. My mother was a 4x cancer survivor, and after the 4th win she held a \"one day at a time party\" every year. A wonderful event that put life in its proper perspective.
I try and enjoy every day of life that I have. A trip to the track, the golf course, the company of friends and family.
I will enjoy a round of golf today in fantastic weather here in Palm Springs.
I will enjoy dinner later tonight celebrating a friend\'s birthday.
Tomorrow my wife and I are going to see Kansas and enjoy a nice steakhouse dinner.
I\'m thankful that our beloved little terrier Stewie is starting his 15th year with us this month.
I am Thankful that I am in pretty good health.
I am thankful that I have a small circle of wonderful friends that love and support me.
I am so sorry to hear about Alan. Sounds like a life well lived. May he be resting comfortably and peacefully today.
God Bless you all and enjoy your day
I met Alan about 30 years ago at the Varick Street office, but the first time I really talked to him was at a black swan event a few years later ... the short-lived \"Thorograph Holiday Party\".
But I really got to know him only many years later, when he made the rather startling decision to start playing basketball again (as a 60-something coming off a multi-decade layoff).
[Background: For about 45 years - from the mid-70s until covid killed it - there was a Thursday night game at an Episcopal school gym in the West Village. It was where I met TGJB, where he was able to poach Nicely from the employ of Ragozin, and where Alan made his quixotic and gutsy return to roundball.]
I bring this up because, while it was plain to see that Alan was a sweet and smart guy, one could be forgiven for missing the fact that he was also tough. Basketball is a game that exposes you, and, well, Alan\'s play exposed an innate toughness that earned him the respect of our gang, and undoubtedly served him well later on. The Saint Luke\'s crew adds their condolences. Well played, Al!
My condolences. He was a nice man.
Jerry
So sorry to hear of Alan\'s passing. I was lucky enough to sit in on a couple of Alan\'s Traver Stakes seminars and had the opportunity to ask some questions about quarter point moves and circling patterns afterwards. Those insights have helped me cash many tickets since then. My deepest sympathies goes out to you and any of Alan\'s close friends and family. T.
wrongly2 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Jerry
>
> So sorry to hear of Alan\'s passing. I was lucky
> enough to sit in on a couple of Alan\'s Traver
> Stakes seminars and had the opportunity to ask
> some questions about quarter point moves and
> circling patterns afterwards. Those insights have
> helped me cash many tickets since then. My
> deepest sympathies goes out to you and any of
> Alan\'s close friends and family. T.
While my interactions with Alan were limited, he always impressed me with his intelligence. He also always struck me as the type of guy who was great to have in the clubhouse. Those guys really leave a hole when they are gone. My condolences.
Very sorry to hear this. It seemed Alan lived in my neighborhood and we’d often pass each on the street and talk racing. Always so helpful to me. RIP.
I\'m just hearing this, I worked with Alan for many years.
Alan and the late Greg Johnson both had an unfailing work ethic and put in incredible time and effort in the early days to make ThoroGraph what it is today.
RIP Alan.
HP
Condolences Jerry. I\'m sorry to hear about the loss to you and the community.
I still miss the weekly seminars. It was a big part of why I went to Saratoga.
Alan was always gracious to me and my daughter.
It was amusing when a longshot he picked and won and yet somehow he didn\'t cash a ticket. He also rooted on his horses with the snapping of his fingers.
He has been missed and will continue to be missed.
Sean D
Missed this taking a couple weeks off, but sorry to hear this and condolences TGJB and all who knew him.
I have known Alan since 1969. He was my first roommate after freshman year and he was one of my absolute best friends ever since. The memories I have of him will brighten my days for a long time. He was such a genuine person and such a joy to spend time with. If I had listened to him before the last race at Santa Anita in 2009, the year John Conte won the NHC, it would have been me that would have won that year. Unfortunately, I failed to chat with him about that race before I put in my ticket. I remember Alan as a great handicapper who had the unfortunate talent of picking a winner and spreading the word but, then, failing to bet that winner. But I remember Alan for so much more. I so regret not keeping in touch the last couple of years and when I called Irene last night because I could not reach Alan I found out that he had passed. Man, I will miss him.
Thanks for taking the time to register on this site for the first time to post this and for posting the message. Sorry for your loss (and I\'m not talking about the NHC). Thanks for sharing!
In April of 1997 while employed as the bugler at Delaware Park, I received a phone call from Alan asking me if I would like to work for TG as a trackman. He’d read the story of my pick 6 score in Andy Beyer’s book “Beyer On Speed†and thought I’d be a good fit for the company. I accepted his offer and this would begin our rather unique 27 year relationship - over the phone. I have met Alan only 2 times: once when he was giving a seminar at Delaware Park and I was his ride to and from the Amtrak station. Another was when I dropped into the office at Varick Street to meet the guys and put faces on the voices I was conversing with.
I did not ever want to get a phone call from Alan. This was laid out in the guiidelines when I was hired and it usually spelled trouble. I had screwed up somehow. And the times I needed to call the office were just as stressful. Alan was all business. There was no small talk involved. My calls to the office were usually to let Alan know that he screwed up my paycheck by paying me $100 too much. We would always square up the next week. This happened often enough that he eventually developed a sense of trust in me.
One day in 2016 I found myself in state prison for my landlord’s crime. (This is a story begging for a Hollywood screenwriter). My landlord had set me up by staging a robbery of my home, which led police to his marijuana growing operation in his garage on the property where I was renting a bungalow. The cops found it, contacted him and he said it was mine. I would spend the next 96 hours living my worst nightmare - in prison, blamed for something I did not do. I was 100% sure Alan would fire me. He surely didn’t need this BS going on with an employee he’d only met twice and only dealt with over the phone. But no. Alan did something I don’t think anyone else I have ever known would ever do for me. Alan bailed me out of jail over the internet.
My bail was $25,000 and he had to put up the standard 10%. I got out of prison, got a lawyer, got the charges dropped and I sued the landlord for the max AND got paid. (The SOB had to sell one of his other properties in order to pay me).
I then sent Alan a check for $3,000. It was the last $3,000 I had in my account. Upon receiving the check, Alan calls me and says “Mark, what’s this?†I replied, “That’s the bail money plus another $500 for helping me out.†He says “Mark, I don’t need the money.†I said “Well, you saved my ass and I wanted to thank you the only way I could.†(BTW, when you get your bail money back, you don’t. You get a percentage - in my case $1500.)
This opened up a new door for the two of us and we subsequently had a few more conversations I would describe as very friendly. There was a change in his demeanor and I liked that. He told me “this will all be water under the bridge one day and yeah, it sucks, but at least you will have a good story to tell.†We had a few more conversations as his health began to decline and he marveled at the relief he got from medical marijuana. That made me very happy.
I will never forget what Alan did for me and I will always be grateful to him for his kindness and generosity to me at my lowest moment. My deepest condolences go out to his family, friends and the crew at TG. RIP Alan.
I am (or was) a very long time regular TG user, I was also on the forum for many years - previously as dehere. It seems that my absence from handicapping has led to my account lapsing so I needed to sign up as a new poster.
For what its worth, Alan was a great house painter as well. Alan, another friend and my self painted houses in upstate New York a few summers back in the early 70\'s. We even painted his parents\' house in Manhasset. Those were great times that I enjoy the chance to remember them now.
that is some testimony, thanks for that