Jack Kelly, thoroughbred racing chart caller, dies

Jack Kelly, a thoroughbred racing chart caller for more than 25 years, has died after a long illness. He was 61.

Kelly died early yesterday in a New York hospital, The Jockey Club said.

A chart caller for Equibase and field supervisor since 1998, Kelly began his career in the early 1980s with the racing publication SportsEye.

During the past decade, Kelly oversaw a staff at East Coast tracks and helped manage chart calling for major races, including Triple Crown and Breeders' Cup events. Based in New York, he called charts on the New York Racing Association circuit.

He once estimated he had worked at 44 racetracks and called more than 50,000 races.

Kelly is survived by his wife, Nancy, three sisters and a brother. - AP