In The Money Telegraph
Thursday, July 9, 2026 · By ITM Staff
A hard week for the racing family — and a moment to remember one of its very best — before the Spa comes back to life.
Remembering Mary Rampellini
The racing world lost one of its warmest voices over the weekend. Mary Rampellini, a reporter and handicapper at Daily Racing Form for 24 years, died July 4 in a Grapevine, Texas hospital from complications of sepsis, surrounded by her family. She was 53.
The daughter of accomplished horseman Ralph F. Rampellini — who ran the stables of Nelson Bunker Hunt and John Franks — Mary grew up on the backstretch, working as a hotwalker, foaling mares, and serving as her father’s assistant trainer before turning a lifelong love of the sport into a career in the press box. She covered Oaklawn Park, Lone Star Park, and tracks across the Midwest and South, and colleagues across the industry remembered her this week for a kindness and generosity that are rare anywhere, let alone in a deadline business. In recent years she’d turned that spirit toward the next generation, writing the “Ollie the Oaklawn Owl” children’s books to bring young new fans to the game she loved.
For those of us at ITM, this one is personal. From PTF: “She was always incredibly nice to me. When I started at DRF she went out of her way to welcome me, and she was a great guest on our early podcasts — someone who always made a point of appreciating the work we were trying to do bringing racing to a new audience. She was a great ambassador for the game and a better human being, and she will be sorely missed.”
Mary’s family has asked the racing community to share a prayer, a memory, or a story about her. Read the DRF remembrance →
Around the Sport
The Spa returns today. After its long holiday-weekend break, Saratoga is back with an 11-race card (first post 1:10 p.m. ET), kicking off the Thursday-through-Sunday weeks that run through July 26. There’s no stakes on today’s program, but Friday brings the first one back, the Grade 3 Victory Ride.
An honor for a beloved horseman. NYRA is renaming the Grade 1 Sword Dancer (Aug. 15) the Christophe Clement Turf, honoring the trainer who died last year at 59 and won the race a record five times. Clement is part of a Hall of Fame class — to be inducted Aug. 7 — that also includes the late John Shirreffs and the late David Whiteley. More at TDN →
On ITM
Inside a monster score. On the latest And the Tournament Winner Was, John Gaspar talks with Marc Racenstein, who turned a $200 starting bankroll into $16,324 to win last weekend’s $300 NYRA Bets contest — outlasting 244 entries for a BCBC seat and better than $12,000 in prizes. ▶ Watch on YouTube →
Start Your NHC Journey: LRF Cares Feeders
A cheap way to chase a big prize for a good cause: HorsePlayers.com runs low-cost ($14) Pick & Pray feeders into the LRF Cares Charity Challenge Qualifier — an on-ramp toward Little Red Feather’s July 18 LRF Cares contest at Del Mar, which benefits Thoroughbred aftercare and puts a path to the 2027 NHC in play. Fresh feeders post regularly, so check the board every day. Find the LRF Cares feeders on HorsePlayers.com →
ITM Plus
Nick’s Notebook Is Here for Saratoga
Churchill Downs morning-line maker Nick Tammaro brings his Saratoga notebook to ITM Plus — detailed written analysis and angles every day of the meet, alongside exclusive podcasts and premium selections right through to the Breeders’ Cup.
More all week at inthemoneypodcast.com, with daily previews on the ITM YouTube channel and premium tips on ITM Plus.
