Pat Mahony, 3rd-generation mutuels expert at NYRA, dies at 78

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NYRA / Coglianese Photo

The New York Racing Association mourns the passing of Pat Mahony, who spent more than 50 years in the racing industry, many leading NYRA’s mutuels department. He was known nationally as a leading expert in wagering operations, protocols and rules.

“New York’s racing community is deeply saddened by the passing of Pat Mahony, whose contributions to the fabric of NYRA and Thoroughbred racing will be long remembered,” NYRA president & CEO David O’Rourke said. “As vice president of mutuels, Pat’s love for the sport and unwavering commitment to integrity and excellence helped shape the industry. NYRA extends our thoughts and prayers to his family and loved ones during this difficult time.”

Mahony, who followed his grandfather and father into the pari-mutuel business, retired from NYRA in 2016. He died Thursday evening in Florida. He was 78. To honor Mahony’s long and distinguished career, NYRA in 2019 launched the Mahony Stakes at Saratoga for 3-year-olds at 5 1/2 furlongs on the turf.

Mahony once estimated he spent 14,000 days at the track, watched more than 130,000 races and was responsible for more than $20 billion that moved through the betting windows at the tracks he supervised. As a member of racing’s first Family of mutuels, he followed his father Riggs and grandfather Mort into the business. Together the three generations worked at tracks across the country for more than a century.

“We were in the betting rings, year in, year out, through world wars and the Depression,” Mahony said of his family. “That is something to be proud of.”

The patriarch of the family, Mortimer Mahony lived from 1874 to 1949. He got his start in the late 19th century working in the betting ring with bookmakers at Morris Park, Brighton Beach, Sheepshead Bay and the rest of the New York racing circuit during that era, which included Saratoga. He would go on to become the pioneer of modern pari-mutuel wagering and Totalisator operations throughout much of the U.S. and Canada.

Mort Mahony was in charge of the first Totalisator system in America when the Australian Tote made its debut at Hialeah Park in 1932. He was the mutuels consultant to Harry L. Straus, founder of the American Totalisator Company, helping to install the first system at Arlington Park in 1933. Along the way, his Mahony pari-mutuel college trained scores of people who went on to manage mutuel departments at many of the country’s top tracks.

Before joining NYRA, Mahony managed mutuel departments at race tracks in Florida, New Jersey and Massachusetts. Shortly before his retirement, Mahony reflected on why he chosen to devote his life to racing and the pari-mutuel business.

“I never wanted to do anything else,” he said.

Plans for a memorial service have yet to be determined.