Alan Benewitz

[delmar1@email.phoenix.edu]

Condolences Jerry.  I\'m sorry to hear about the loss to you and the community.

[Sean D]

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

[TreadHead]

Missed this taking a couple weeks off, but sorry to hear this and condolences TGJB and all who knew him.

[cvilleguy]

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.

[Fairmount1]

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!

[MO]

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.

[cvilleguy]

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.

[RICH]

that is some testimony, thanks for that