Ray Kerrison, a former racing columnist for the New York Post known as a fearless reporter who was never afraid to tackle the most sensitive subjects, passed away Sunday. He was 92.
His death was first reported by the Post, for whom he covered 32 Kentucky Derbies. A native of Australia, Kerrision came to the Post in 1977 and was a regular on the racing beat through the 1985 season. He then moved over to the news side and worked as a columnist up until 2013. The news department would lend Kerrision to sports after his career change and he continued to cover the major races like the Triple Crown events and the Breeders' Cup up until his retirement.
Kerrison was a product of a different time, when the New York tabloids kept close tabs on racing and were unapologetic when it came to shining a light on the good, the bad and, when it was called for, the ugly. Kerrison's reporting skills helped land him the exclusive on one of the biggest scandals ever at the New York tracks. Kerrison uncovered the 1977 betting coup that involved the switching of the identities of the horses Lebon and Cinzano. Cinzano, a champion in Uruguay, raced under the name of Lebon, a non-descript horse who also came out of South America. Running under the name of Lebon, Cinzano won a race at Belmont at odds of 57-1. For his work Kerrison was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.
With his reporting, Kerrison also played a key role in uncovering the scandal that led to charges being brought against Con Errico, Anthony Ciulla and more than 20 others.
According to the Post, Kerrison also covered the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., the 1969 moon landing and the 1972 Munich Olympics terrorist attack before moving to the U.S.
“Horse racing needs more journalists like Ray Kerrison,” former NYRA announcer Dave Johnson said. “He was fearless and he took on all subjects, no matter if it might cost his paper advertising dollars. He was an invaluable asset to the game. It's a shame we don't have people like that in racing anymore.”
Kerrison was born in in Cobdogla, Australia. He came to New York in 1963 to work for News Limited. In 1970, he went to work for fellow Australian Rupert Murdoch at the National Star and then joined the Post, also owned by Murdoch.
“It was never about him,” said his son, Patrick. “He was extraordinarily humble. He was very protective of the $2 bettor. When he came on the racing season, Jan. 1, 1977, the other turf writers did not like him and neither did racing personnel, trainers, jockeys. That's because it was very insular and the turf writers acted more like publicity agents as opposed to investigative journalists. What my dad did upset a lot of people. He didn't care. He just wanted to protect the bettors and he wanted everything to be on a level playing field. That's how he was with everything in his life.”
“All I can tell you is Ray Kerrison was just a wonderful human being,” Greg Gallo, a former Post sports editor, told the Post.”He was a terrific journalist, columnist, a tenacious reporter who went after stories full tilt. But he was so gracious in the way he did his business. I used to refer to him as the Fred Astaire of Thoroughbred racing because he was the best. He was the classiest guy who ever worked that beat. No one was better as a journalist. … We really have lost a special person here.”
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