Rick Lang, well-known handicapper, dies

Rick Lang, a longtime racetrack personality best known as the lead handicapper for the New York Post in the 1990’s, died Sunday of cancer. He was 62.

Lang, a 1971 graduate of the University of Miami, went to work that year for trainer Arnold Winick and worked at racetracks in the Northeast in some capacity for more than 30 years. He worked as a chart-caller for the Daily Racing Form in the 1980’s before moving to the Post. At Monmouth Park, he hosted a popular weekend handicapping seminar.

For several summers, Lang was the co-host of “A.M. Saratoga,” a weekend show during the Saratoga meet produced by New York City Off-Track Betting Corp. For the last couple of years, Lang was helping manage a restaurant in Parkton, Md.

“He was one of the characters of the racetrack in a good way,” said Bob Kulina, the former vice-president/general manager for Monmouth Park. “He was just a good person. I don’t think that anybody could say anything bad about him. He was a good guy, and he truly loved racing.”

Lang’s cancer was first diagnosed in 2000 but after multiple treatments, the cancer went into remission. In Nov. 2002, Lang won the Aqueduct Fall Handicapping Challenge. Three years earlier, Lang won the Sports Haven Handicapping Challenge in Connecticut.

Lang is survived by three brothers – Bob, Chris and Donnie – and 11 nieces and nephews. The family is planning a memorial service for him later this month in New Jersey.

“He loved golf, ice hockey and the horses,” Bob Lang said. “Those were his three passions.”