Jules Watson, longtime DRF clocker, dies at 90

Jules Watson, who witnessed the morning developments of such greats as Secretariat and Spectacular Bid during a lifetime of clocking horses in New York and south Florida, died of natural causes Tuesday at his home in Hallandale Beach, Fla. He was 90.

Watson was a clocker for Daily Racing Form at the New York Racing Association tracks for more than 35 years before moving to Florida in the early 1990s. He commanded the highest respect from horsemen and colleagues during a racetrack career that spanned more than a half-century.

His son, Andy, said Thursday that his father died peacefully and content.

“He said he’d made it to 90 and couldn’t really complain,” he said.

Jules Sudja Watson was born in 1927 in Paterson, N.J., and grew up in Brooklyn. A U.S. Navy veteran and a 1949 graduate of New York University, he worked briefly in radio before moving to the Form.

Besides his son, Watson is survived by his wife, Eileen; two daughters, Marsha and Joni; and five grandchildren.

A private service is scheduled for this weekend in Hallandale Beach. The family requests that memorial donations be made to the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association.