Revered SoCal handicapper & writer Gordon Jones dies at 95

Gordon Jones, perhaps the last of his generation of Los Angeles-area turf writers and handicappers, died Friday, according to the Southern California News Group. Jones had turned 95 on Monday.

From the ’60s until the mid ’80s, a familiar byline in the Los Angeles Herald Examiner sports section was Prof. Gordon Jones, a paean to his early days as a college journalism teacher.

“This follows by a bit more than a year passing of Jerry Antonucci,” retired Daily Racing Form writer Jay Privman wrote on X. “They were 1-2 punch for terrific racing coverage in L.A. Herald Examiner.”

Jones, who grew up in Whittier, Calif., also wrote two books, was a TV and radio analyst and the host of racing seminars at California racetracks well into the 21st century.

Before he was recruited by former students to begin his turf-writing career at the Herald Examiner, Jones taught at USC, Oregon and Arizona State.

“One year, a student of his would run bets over to Turf Paradise,” Whittier-based sports writer and media advisor James Escarcega wrote on X. “That student’s name was Al Michaels. RIP, professor.”

In a family statement forwarded Saturday by Santa Anita, Jones was called a pioneer of speed and pace handicapping. His 1976 book Gordon Jones to Win inspired his popular pre-race handicapping seminars that were attended by legions of racegoers. He brought his numbers to the track at a time when people would laugh at him, and he would hide his spiral notebook. Now speed numbers are a common barometer.

He graduated from Whittier College, where his father had been president. He went on to get his master’s degree from the University of Oregon.

Jones was honored with Top Banana awards by USC students who voted him as their favorite professor.  Many of his students went on to say he was the reason they went on to successful careers as journalists.

When the 1984 Olympics came to Los Angeles, it was all hands on deck in the Herald Examiner sports department, and Jones was sent to cover some of the more obscure events. Jones laughed about it for years, because each event he attended yielded gold medals for the U.S., and he continued to get the front-page story in the paper.

His popularity transcended the sport. Jones was given a small role in the Ryan O’Neal movie “Fever Pitch” and did voiceover work on the award-winning Indie film “George B.”

His devotion to his students on campuses and at the track was lifelong. Jones continued to receive correspondence from students as far back as the 1960s. His words and teachings were impactful, and his articles resonated with so many, bringing in many new fans to the sport.

Oaklawn always was a favorite track for him. He applied his speed and pace method and called it a “berry patch.” He wrote about Oaklawn in the Herald Examiner, and that article was framed and hung in the Oaklawn executive offices.

During the draft for the Korean War, Jones placed first in math and third in science in the required military testing. They would not allow him to fight but put him instead in an office at Fort Monmouth in New Jersey.

Jones taught his daughter Joanne how to handicap, and so began a long career for her in television and radio covering the races from coast to coast.

He is survived by daughters Joanne Jones and Brienna Jones, grandson Ethan Jones, longtime partner Margaret Davis, former wife and close friend Kathy Jones, brother Dr. Alfred Jones, sister-in-law Dr. Elyane Jones and niece Elizabeth Jones.

Plans for a memorial service have yet to be announced.