Parx racing analyst Vince Reed dies

Vince Reed, a longtime racing analyst at Parx, died on Saturday at age 76.

Reed, whose actual name was Anthony Iacovelli, had bouts of light-headedness in the days before his death. He died at the Aria Health Torresdale Campus in Philadelphia after having fallen.

Reed, a Maryland native, worked at WBCB radio station in Levittown, Pa., since 1966, first as the news and sports director and later as a broadcaster. His specialty was high school sports.

He was elected to the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame in 2004 and to the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, Bucks County Chapter, in 2010.

Reed was hired as a mutuel teller at the South Philadelphia Turf Club offtrack betting site in 1992. He went on to host the Philadelphia Park Live television broadcast and the Phonebet account wagering show. He also did on-air work for the TRN Racing Network.

For the last several years, Reed was the paddock handicapper on Parx's simulcast signal.

Rich Romano, the head of the television department at Parx, worked with Reed for more than two decades.

"When he died, I couldn't walk down the hallway without someone coming up to me and saying what a shame it was, that he was such a good guy," Romano said. "That's how Vince was. He was a gentleman and a professional. Anyone who knew him, loved him."

Reed is survived by Barbara, his wife of 47 years, two sons, a daughter, and their families.

Viewings will be held Friday from 6-9 p.m. and Saturday from 8-9 a.m. at the James J. Dougherty Funeral Home in Levittown. A funeral mass is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday at Saint Michael the Archangel Church with burial to follow at Resurrection Cemetery in Bensalem, Pa.