John Piesen dead @ 80

[upthecreek]

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/221369/handicapper-john-piesen-dies-at-80?source=rss

[LottaKash]

I fondly remember reading many a "Piesen" newspiece, and I always considered his opinions when going to the races...Especially Monmouth and Garden State Parks...

He was good for this game of ours...

[PaceAdvantage]

Sorry to read this.

[Vinnie]

I always enjoyed reading his articles from his offerings, etc. Most heartfelt condolences go out to his family. He will indeed be missed.

[Nitro]

R.I.P. John.
You gave us a lot of sound advice over the years.
You will be missed.

[burnsy]

Condolences to his family.

Master of a lost art.

[reckless]

Piesen was truly an advocate for the $2 bettor, and his Through the Binocs feature was a must-read for all New York racing fans. I know that was the first place I went to back in the day ... and I kept notes too!

Piesen caught heat over the years from the NYRA jockey colony because he'd often mention riding efforts that he thought were just a little untoward of the profession. He particularly targeted the Top 3 jocks of the early 1980s era, Angel Cordero Jr., Jorge Velasquez and Jacinto Vasquez, whom he collectively referred to as the Spanish Armada.

RIP to John Piesen, a gifted handicapper, turf journalist, a true lover of the game and honored family man.

[Pine Tree Lane]

He was also respected by the same riders. At Angel's request, he didn't report death threats Cordero received after the 1980 Preakness (the Tony Ciulla race fixing cloud still hanging over the sport). In journalism, to sacrifice "the scoop" for decency's sake is an admirable quality.

[theiman]

Between John Piesen doing T-Breds and Henry Hecht doing harness racing, if you were in NY area you had some great readings every day.

RIP John.

[RunForTheRoses]

Rest in Peace, read him for years in the NY Post.

[Tom]

Very sad news.
I met him once at Finger Lakes, where he was a guest speaker during the winter NyRA simulcasting. ( me and about 200 other guys!)

Nice guy, good speaker.

:rip:

[NJ Stinks]

John Piesen, Ray Kerrison, Bob Harding, Ray Brienza, Bill Finley, Tom Luicci, Jerry Izenberg....

Surely there are others I omitted but the guys listed above made me care so much more about horseracing. If you lived in NJ or around NYC, you know what I mean.

How the sport can survive without great racing writers nourishing our passion is the million dollar question.

RIP, John Piesen.

[thespaah]

I bought the NY Post all the time and one of the first places i would head was to "Through the Binocs"..
I enjoyed John's musings about racing.
Condolences to his family.

[cj]

I bought the NY Post all the time and one of the first places i would head was to "Through the Binocs"..
I enjoyed John's musings about racing.
Condolences to his family.

Same here, used to read it every day along with the Star Ledger.

[BetHorses!]

Ohhhh didn't know....so sad. Prob one of the most recognized names in NY. Spent my childhood reading that page!

[pandy]

Between John Piesen doing T-Breds and Henry Hecht doing harness racing, if you were in NY area you had some great readings every day.

RIP John.

Agreed. Back then, the NY Post had the best racing section of any daily newspaper I've ever seen. The sports section overall was excellent. Over the years the Post had some of the top turf and harness writers including the late Rick Lang, John Pieson, Henry Hecht. This all ended in 2013 when the Post fired their entire racing staff a few days before the Belmont stakes...Ed Fountaine, John DaSilva, Anthony Affrunti.

[judd]

Agreed. Back then, the NY Post had the best racing section of any daily newspaper I've ever seen. The sports section overall was excellent. Over the years the Post had some of the top turf and harness writers including the late Rick Lang, John Pieson, Henry Hecht. This all ended in 2013 when the Post fired their entire racing staff a few days before the Belmont stakes...Ed Fountaine, John DaSilva, Anthony Affrunti.

Remember sports Eye?

[pandy]

Remember sports Eye?

I worked for Sports Eye for 5 years, as a handicapper, communications editor, columnist, feature writer, and chartcaller, and wrote a column for the paper for forty years, so, yeah, I remember Sports Eye.