Tommy Roberts, a radio and television pioneer who packaged the first full-card simulcast signals to be sold to Las Vegas casinos, ushering in the first modern age of racing, died on Aug. 14 at his home in Banner Elk, N.C., after a recurrence of cancer, according to family members. Roberts was 96. Roberts was often called “The Father of Simulcasting,” due to his work in the early 1980s obtaining the rights to racetrack television signals so that they could be broadcast in Las Vegas sports books. That development, which relied on the transmission of racing signals via satellite, paved the way for simulcast racing to become the dominant revenue provider for racing companies around the U.S. by the late 1990s. “He was a natural promoter, and he was a great visionary” said his son Todd, who runs Roberts Communications Network, a company formed in the late 1990s out of his father’s former businesses. “And because of those two things, he was always at the forefront of whatever it was that he was trying to promote.” Roberts first facilitated a live simulcast between two New Jersey tracks in 1983. Seeing the potential for the business, he moved to Las Vegas, received a license from the gambling commission, and began the first large-scale effort to simulcast horse races in March of 1984. The practice skyrocketed from there, starting with single races and eventually evolving into the full-card simulcasting business model that is common throughout the world. Born in New Jersey, Roberts entered the radio business shortly after graduating from college. He was then drafted into the Korean War, where he was assigned to a South Korean radio unit producing shows for troops. Upon his return, Roberts transitioned into the racing industry and began producing live radio shows featuring races from tracks in the New Jersey and Philadelphia area, calling the races himself. That work evolved into television productions of horse races in the late 1950s, again with Roberts as the host and announcer. In the 1960s, Roberts continued to build his resume by launching a radio station and continuing to produce both radio and television broadcasts. In 1971, the germ for simulcasting was planted when he formed a company, Independent Television Network, to broadcast live races to television stations around the U.S., including that year’s Washington, D.C. International, which went out to more than 100 stations in the U.S. All the while, Roberts continued to call races for his weekly racing radio program, including all three races of Secretariat’s Triple Crown in 1973. “One thing a lot of people forget about my father is that he was a great race caller,” Todd Roberts said. “That came from all his experience in radio, where he knew he had to paint a picture of what was happening, because his listeners couldn’t see it.” In 1976, he got his first management job in racing, at Hialeah Park in Florida, where he introduced a telephone-betting service for the track during his three years there, another development which was far ahead of its time. After facilitating the 1984 debut of full-card simulcasting in Nevada, Roberts continued to scoop up simulcast rights to broker the sale of the signals. Competitors sprang up, along with different models in which racetracks themselves took over many of the duties and responsibilities for the simulcasts of their signals. Roberts was looking to retire in 1999, so, working with Todd, they rebranded ITN as Roberts Communications Network, which is today the leading wagering and data communications company in racing.  Todd Roberts said that his father was diagnosed with liver cancer in 2008. Following treatment, the cancer went into remission. But the cancer returned in April of this year. “He had been playing golf two times a week up until then,” Todd said. “He basically got a 16-year mulligan on life.” Todd Roberts said he visited his father two weeks ago, after his father had decided to refuse treatment. “He told me he had had a great life, more than anyone could ask for,” Todd said. “And then he said, ‘I want it to be over.’ And that’s how it ended. On his terms. Which was perfect.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.