Eddie Fair, longtime mid-Atlantic region jockey agent, dies at 77

Eddie Fair, a longtime jockey’s agent in the mid-Atlantic region who had the book for leading rider Michael McCarthy, died on Friday night of complications from Alzheimer’s disease at his home in Langhorne, Pa., according to his wife, Helene. Eddie Fair was 77.

Fair began his career in 1974 at the former Keystone Park in Philadelphia, according to his wife, when he “didn’t know anything about racing.” His first rider was Joe Mucciolo, who would win the brunt of his 772 career races in the late 1970s and early 1980s with Fair as his agent.

“He didn’t know the business at all, and Joe took him under his wing and taught him everything he needed to know,” Helene Fair said.

Fair would go on to represent a handful of other riders over his 40-year career as an agent, including Tony Black and McCarthy, who won 2,907 races, mostly at Delaware Park, before retiring in 2002. McCarthy was also twice the leading rider at Philadelphia Park, now known as Parx Racing.

“All the riders, they all loved him,” Helene Fair said.

Services for Fair will be private, Helene Fair said. The couple had celebrated their 39th wedding anniversary on Aug. 1.