Journalist, historian Kelly dies

The Maryland racing community lost one of its most prominent members when

award-winning journalist and racing historian Joseph B. Kelly passed away Monday

at Stella Maris Rehabilitation and Hospice after a short battle with cancer. He

was 94 years old.

A lifelong resident of Baltimore, Joe Kelly covered horse racing for nearly

70 years.

He began his career at The Baltimore Sun in the 1940s then moved to

the now-defunct Washington Star in 1955 where he spent the next 26 years

covering racing. He won a national honor from the Thoroughbred Racing

Association for a story about 1968 Kentucky Derby winner Dancer's Image, a

Maryland bred and the only Derby winner to be disqualified from the top spot

because of a medication violation discovered in a post-race test.

Kelly is also the only two-time winner of Pimlico's Old Hilltop Award for

excellence in horse racing coverage, winning in 1979 and 2000.

"He is a true representative of the greatest generation and always someone

you could turn to for historical information," Pimlico and Laurel announcer Dave

Rodman said. "He was eager to share stories about Maryland racing, especially

the Preakness. Nobody loved Pimlico more than Mr. Kelly, who continued to drive

to the track almost every day. Coming to the races kept him very sharp. He loved

to talk about the horses and handicap the races."

On October 30, 1947 he was part of Baltimore's first live remote television

broadcast on WMAR-TV, when Kelly called the fifth and sixth races at Pimlico

with his then colleague Jim McKay.