Charles John "Chick" Lang Jr. (1926 – March 18, 2010) was an American

businessman A businessperson, also referred to as a businessman or businesswoman, is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial ...

and

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

of the

Maryland Jockey Club The Maryland Jockey Club is a sporting organization dedicated to horse racing, founded in Annapolis in 1743. It is chartered as the oldest sporting organization and is currently the corporate name of the company that operates Laurel Park Racecours ...

Family

Chick Lang's father, Chick Lang, was a Canadian-born jockey who became a U.S. National Champion jockey and winner of the 1921 Kentucky Derby. His maternal grandfather was Thoroughbred trainer John P. Mayberry who won the 1903 Kentucky Derby.

Career

During the 1970s and 1980s, Lang wore several hats in the racing business but was perhaps best known in his roles as general manager of the Maryland Jockey Club tracks,

Pimlico Pimlico () is a district in Central London, in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by Lon ...

and

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. He also was the jockey

agent Agent may refer to: Espionage, investigation, and law *, spies or intelligence officers * Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another ** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuran ...

for

Bill Hartack William John Hartack Jr. (December 9, 1932 – November 26, 2007) was an American jockey. Early life and career Referred to by the media as both "Bill" and "Willie" (Hartack detested being called "Willie") during his racing career, Hartack gr ...

, when Hartack rose to prominence during his

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in the 1950s. In his later years, Lang served as a

consultant A consultant (from "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice or services in an area of specialization (generally to medium or large-size corporations). Cons ...

and commentator for numerous tracks and

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. Chick Lang was credited with bringing the Preakness national attention when the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...

overshadowed it. He tirelessly promoted the Baltimore race, and traveled to the Kentucky Derby with signs reading, "Next Stop Preakness". He once floated hundreds of yellow and black balloons over the Kentucky Derby Parade. Lang started as a successful jockey's agent and worked at Pimlico from 1960 to 1987, holding the positions of director of racing,

vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

, and general manager. In 1965, he brought a

school bus A school bus is any type of bus owned, leased, contracted to, or operated by a school or school district. It is regularly used to Student transport, transport students to and from school or school-related activities, but not including a charter ...

full of his daughter's friends to the infield to watch the races.

Death

Chick Lang died on March 18, 2010, of

natural causes In many legal jurisdictions, the manner of death is a determination, typically made by the coroner, medical examiner, police, or similar officials, and recorded as a vital statistic. Within the United States and the United Kingdom, a distinc ...

at The Pines, a medical care facility in

Easton, Maryland Easton is an incorporated town in and the county seat of Talbot County, Maryland, United States. The population was 17,101 at the 2020 census, with an estimated population of 17,342 in 2022. The primary ZIP Code is 21601, and the secondary ...

, at the age of 83. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, the former Nancy Christman, a daughter, Deborah Tessier, of

Monkton Monkton may refer to: Places ;United Kingdom *Monkton, Devon, England *Monkton, Kent, England *Monkton, Pembroke, Wales *Monkton, South Ayrshire, Scotland *Monkton, Tyne and Wear, England *Monkton, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales ;Canada *Monkton, Ontari ...

; a sister, June Rossi, of

Coral Gables, Florida Coral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida and is located southwest of Greater Downtown Miami, Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

; six grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by a son, Charles Robert Lang, a former jockey's agent and turf writer for '' The Evening Sun'', who died in 1994. According to Mrs. Lang, "Chick's wishes were to be

cremated Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a corpse through Combustion, burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India, Nepal, and ...

and to have his ashes sprinkled in the winner's circle at Pimlico."

Legacy

The Maryland Jockey Club plans to rename the Hirsch Jacobs Grade 3 sprint for three-year-olds the Chick Lang Stakes, which will be part of the Preakness under card.

References

1926 births 2010 deaths General and operations managers {{US-horseracing-bio-stub