Legendary Handicapper Jeff Siegel Passes Away

[Wandering Eyes]

Courtesy Santa Anita

The news late Saturday of the passing of Jeff Siegel, the legendary handicapper and longtime member of the Santa Anita Park family, hit with an unexpected weight. Not that his passing at age 74 was unexpected, as he had been fighting aggressive cancer since earlier this year. But the finality of the news brought with it the realization that Jeff was gone and the hole that he left behind is unlikely to be replaced.

“Jeff Siegel was, and will always be the epitome of Santa Anita Park,” said Nate Newby, SVP & General Manager. “He was incredibly respected, especially by his peers, which is somewhat unique in horse racing. He loved the sport, he lived the sport, and he was devoted to passing that passion along to everyone he met. He was the best of us.”

Jeff was a true multi-faceted, Damon Runyon character. A graduate of Fairfax High School, he began his career some 50 years ago, working at Hollywood Park and as a published handicapper throughout Southern California. In the mid-1980s, he and Barry Irwin formed Clover Racing Stable, one of the original syndicates for “regular people.” They had almost instant success, winning the Santa Anita Handicap, Breeders' Cup Turf and Arlington Million for their clients. Clover Racing begat Team Valor, which Siegel remained a part of for some time. Siegel continued to maintain a small stable that ran in his own name.  His last horse, the 2-year-old filly Surfin' U.S.A., debuted on Sept. 26 at Santa Anita in partnership with longtime LA Times sportswriter Eric Sondheimer for trainer Leonard Powell.

It was, however, his handicapping and analytical prowess for which he was best known. He was a featured part of “Inside Santa Anita,” a weekly magazine-style TV show that began in the early 1990s and aired originally on KDOC and then on Prime Sports. Siegel was also the featured handicapper on “Santa Anita Today,” a weekly, and then daily, live racing show that aired from 1994-2000 on Prime Ticket and then FOX Sports. He was a key part of “The Best of Santa Anita: 1999,” the 1999 Eclipse Award winner for Local Television.

Those shows led to the founding of HRTV in 2003 and Siegel was one of the original hosts, and the driving force behind several of the network's most popular shows. He remained with HRTV until it was sold to TVG (now FanDuel) in 2015. Next up was XBTV the following year, which was rebranded as 1/ST TV earlier this year. His analysis, picks and blogs were also integral to XBTV, 1/ST Bet and the Santa Anita Park website.

At an age when most have either retired or looking towards retirement, Siegel embraced a new challenge last year when he became the Morning Line Maker for the first time, prognosticating where the public wagering would place the final odds. It was a new puzzle for him to solve, not picking the winner, but trying to pick how others saw the race. He began first at Del Mar in the summer of 2024, and then with Santa Anita until his illness forced him to step down in March of this year.

There was a moment of silence observed in his honor in the Santa Anita Park winner's circle after Sunday's first race.

Jeff Siegel is survived by his sister Michele, his brother Barry, and their families, along with legions of friends, colleagues, and fans. Services are pending and will be announced at a later date.

California Trainers Remember Jeff Siegel

“I had so much respect for him. He had so much passion for the game. I loved talking to him about horses because he was so knowledgeable and watched everything. Every time I would break a maiden with a good horse, he would run to the paddock to talk to me about him. Like Justify. He came and said, 'You're going to win the Derby with that horse.' He just knew talent. With all those horses, he was always right. He would tell me things with like a horse's style. He'd say, 'That horse doesn't want to run like that.' He would give me tips. I'll really miss him. I would listen to his commentary. He was the best one out there.” Bob Baffert

“I go a long way back with him. Back in the early '80s, he had a horse in training in France with my dad (David Powell). The name of the horse was Land Lady. Jeff knew me when I was still wearing diapers. He was always very kind to me and very astute.”  Leonard Powell

“He was a great guy. A very intelligent handicapper, and even more so a great person. He was one of the early founders of syndicates with Barry Irwin and Clover Racing and so forth. He had a lot of success there. He was great to talk to. You could talk to him about anything, he was just a well-rounded person. I did television with him on HRTV. He was very sharp at that. I don't know anyone who ever said a bad thing about Jeff Seigel.”  Sean McCarthy

“I thought he was the greatest handicapper. Even if he was incorrect, his decision-making process was so good that you always learned something. I found him quite educational. He was my neighbor for many years. Not like we spent a lot of time together, but he was just a good guy and an intelligent man. We're going to miss him.” Vladimir Cerin

“Jeff to me was one of the best handicappers I've seen. And with Team Valor, he was able to pluck some really nice horses for them. He was one of the go-to handicappers on the West Coast for a couple of decades. I remember being a kid and listening all the time to whatever radio or TV show he would be on. It's a great loss.” Phil D'Amato

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