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[Turfday]

I shared a box with John and Marty Ritt in the 80's at Del Mar. This is way before they remodeled Del Mar. Spent many an afternoon talking about just about everything. Owned a couple of horses with John as well. Only one got to the winner's circle and he was probably one of the worst sons of Raise a Native ever.

John wasn't a big bettor. A hundred bucks in a race was a big bet for him. But oh, how he loved the game and loved shooting the bull with us.

I distinctly remember the last time I saw John. It was in the Director's Room at Hollywood Park and he brought a beautiful lady with him that wasn't Linda Evans but was a almost Linda Evans lookalike. This was years after John's wife Julie had passed on. Turns out John wound up marrying that lady...a Linda Evans lookalike...just like his days on hit TV show Dynasty.

At one time, John was an avid softball player and so was my late father. Turns out they played against each other back in the day in softball leagues.

His charm and class far exceeded his fame and fortune. John lived for many years in Pacific Palisades, Ca, but after his wife Julie passed, he moved to the Santa Ynez Valley, CA and due to poor health, had been in seclusion for years at his home there.