Charles John "Chick" Lang Jr. (1926 – March 18, 2010) was an American businessman 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. The Jockey Club was founded more than 30 years before the start of the Revolutionary War and is chartered as the oldest sporting organizat ...

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 The 1921 Kentucky Derby was the 47th running of the Kentucky Derby. The race took place on May 7, 1921. Behave Yourself was the upset winner of the 1921 Kentucky Derby over his stablemate, Black Servant. Full results *Winning Breeder: Edward ...

. His maternal grandfather was Thoroughbred trainer John P. Mayberry who won the

1903 Kentucky Derby The 1903 Kentucky Derby was the 29th running of the Kentucky Derby. The race took place on May 2, 1903 and offered a purse of $6,000. Full results * Winning Breeder: Johnson N. Camden Jr.; (KY) Payout * The winner received a purse of $4,850 ...

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 an area of 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 London V ...

and

Laurel Laurel may refer to: Plants * Lauraceae, the laurel family * Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel People * Laurel (given name), people with the given name * Laurel (surname), people with the surname * Laurel (mus ...

. 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 insuranc ...

for

Bill Hartack William John Hartack Jr. (December 9, 1932 – November 26, 2007), born in Colver, Pennsylvania, was a Hall of Fame jockey. Colver is in the northwestern part of Cambria Township, 7 miles (11 km) northwest of Ebensburg, the county seat. ...

, when Hartack rose to prominence during his

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

career The career is an individual's metaphorical "journey" through learning, work and other aspects of life. There are a number of ways to define career and the term is used in a variety of ways. Definitions The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defin ...

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

consultant A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization. Consulting servic ...

and commentator for numerous tracks and media outlets. Chick Lang was credited with bringing the Preakness national attention when the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

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, 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 vice president is on t ...

, 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 transport students to and from school or school-related activities, but not including a charter bus or transit bus ...

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 distinct ...

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 15,945 at the 2010 census, with an estimated population in 2019 of 16,671. 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, Onta ...

; a sister, June Rossi, of

Coral Gables, Florida Coral Gables, officially City of Coral Gables, is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city is located southwest of Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 49,248. Coral Gables is known globally as home to the ...

; 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 final disposition of a dead body through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...

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