Former DRF writer, oddsmaker Jon White to retire after meet

He has been a Daily Racing Form writer and chartcaller, a steward at tracks in several states, a morning-line oddsmaker, and a television commentator.

In June, Jon White, 68, a longtime fixture in racing in California, will add another category – retiree.

White plans to retire at the end of the current Santa Anita meeting on June 16, Santa Anita announced earlier this week.

White has written the morning-line at Santa Anita since 2009 and at Del Mar since 2020. He was recently inducted into the Washington Racing Hall of Fame.

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In a statement issued by Santa Anita, White said he has considered retiring in recent years, and wants to do so now to travel with his wife, the racing journalist Tracy Gantz. Of course, chances are the journeys will include a trip to the races.

“I’ve been to 65 tracks all over the world and am really looking forward to adding to that number in retirement,” White said.

Aside from the morning-line, White was a longtime television commentator on Santa Anita’s in-house simulcast program and for HRTV earlier this century. Other than DRF, White has contributed to many Thoroughbred publications on the West Coast and nationally.

For DRF, White called charts for such memorable races as the 1987 showdown between Ferdinand and Alysheba in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Hollywood Park, a race he rates as one of his all-time favorite.

White began working for DRF in 1974 at Playfair Racecourse in Spokane, Wash., his hometown. He left DRF in 1993 to begin work in television.

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