Death claimed Jack Talley, a well know figure in Delmarva harness racing circles during most of his life
, at age 68. Talley passed away after a lengthy convalescence in Salisbury, Maryland on Thursday.
Talley was a colorful, versatile, knowledgeable, vocal and opinionated person. He served as a race caller, owner, and trainer and for a time on the radio as a sports announcer. Talley usually made an immediate presence wherever he went.
Following a near fatal accident nearly 10 years ago when his truck-and-horse trailer was struck while driving near Middletown, Delaware, Talley was seriously injured and sustained a broken hip. Before a scheduled hip replacement operation, an infection of hip area resulted in disintegration of the necessary bone structure. For the rest of his life he was confined to a wheel chair.
Since his teens Talley has been a regular at racetracks in the East, first as a fan, then as a race caller and also as an owner-trainer. He seldom missed a race at Brandywine during the early 1960s. His friend and idol Hall of Fame racecaller Roy Shudt encouraged him to become a race caller and he quickly earned a reputation for excellence calling races at a number of tracks in North America. Among the tracks where Talley called races were Ocean Downs (aka Delmarva Downs), Harrington and Monticello raceways, Scarborough, Wheeling and Assiniboia Downs', in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada from the 1970s through the 1990s.
When not calling races, for a short time, Talley worked as sports broadcaster at radio station WNPV in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. He then began training a small stable of horses that he raced at smaller raceways in the North East. One of his horses, Zircon, won the Terminator Final at Monticello. Another of his favourites was the pacer Fays Valentine.
Surviving is his daughter Christine (Curtis Daniels), and grandchildren John, Jason, Jessica and Jennifer and a great grandson.
Funeral services are scheduled for Thursday, March 5 at Salisbury Baptist Temple, off route 50 at Hobbs Road across from the Shorebirds baseball stadium. A viewing is set for 6 p.m, and a service at 7 p.m.
(Dover)