Claude P. Williams, DRF columnist and racing regulator, dies at 82

Claude P. Williams, a former columnist for Daily Racing Form who went on to hold key positions at racing commissions in Louisiana and Alabama, died Saturday due to brain injuries suffered in a recent fall, according to a family friend. He was 82.

Williams died at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital in Baton Rouge, La., according to information provided by Roger Heitzmann of the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association.

Williams first joined Daily Racing Form as a freelance reporter in 1965 and in time became a columnist. He also was a chartcaller for Daily Racing Form.

Williams later managed the Shreveport, La., farm of Eclipse Award winner John Franks in the early 1980s before purchasing the publication Louisiana Horse and serving as its publisher and editor.

Williams then moved to the regulatory side of racing, and after serving as a steward for the Louisiana Racing Commission was named its executive director in 1989. He went on to serve in a similar capacity – executive secretary – of the Birmingham Racing Commission.

Williams’s survivors include his wife, Rosemary.

Services will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Westwood Presbyterian Church in Dothan, Ala.