By Bloodhorse.com
Devout racing fan, savvy horseplayer, and owner Gerald “Jerry” Benowitz died July 8 following complications associated with kidney failure, according to his family. He was 75.
A native of Texas, Benowitz was a former stockbroker who embraced the analytical challenge of handicapping and eventually parlayed his enthusiasm into ownership. His wife, Sandra, shared his passion for horse racing and they, in turn, passed the racing bug onto their children.
“My sister Alison and I live in Encinitas, but we were so fortunate that after my Dad and Mom retired to Las Vegas that they came back every year to Del Mar,” said Jeff Benowitz, who said Del Mar had been a regular summertime destination since the family moved to California in the late 1970s. “He loved to be here with family, go to beach, and then go to races, every single day. He was a fixture in Box 606. He was looking forward this year to being in and around the San Diego area even though he couldn’t go to the races.”
After graduating from the University of Tennessee, Jerry and Sandra Benowitz moved to New York where Jerry caught the racing bug. The Benowitz eventually became involved with a chain of pre-kindergarten and child care centers named Mini-Skools. He was president of the company that was one of the largest day-care operations in the North America, operating in eight states and Canada. The business was eventually bought by KinderCare.
They tested the waters of ownership in the 1970s and early to mid 1980s when he walked away for awhile. The ownership itch subsided until 2013 when Jerry Benowitz paired up with up-and-coming trainer Leonard Powell to start claiming horses. The second horse they claimed together in May 2013 was a dark bay California-bred gelding named Soi Phet. The son of Tizbud went on to win or place in 14 black-type stakes, including a third in the Awesome Again Stakes (G1). Soi Phet became a fan favorite on his way to earning $1,023,917.
In 2018, Soi Phet became the oldest stakes winner in Santa Anita Park history when he captured the Crystal Water Stakes as a 10-year-old. The gelding, campaigned with Mathilde Powell and Paul Viskovich, finished his career with 15 wins, including eight stakes.
“Soi Phet allowed us to go from a very small operation to paying it forward,” said Jeff Benowitz. “We were able to get Fatale Bere, our first grade 1 winner, and now have 15-20 horses. He was beaming when the Soi Phet Stakes was run a couple of weeks ago at Los Al. Leo Powell has been unreal to our family; my Dad thought of him like a son.”
Powell said he loved how Benowitz and his family shared the fun of racing with everyone at Del Mar.
“There were always friends around his box at Del Mar,” Powell said. “He loved that people would follow Soi Phet and that he became the people’s horse.”
Benowitz was a regular at the Rampart race book in Las Vegas. It was there he celebrated one of his biggest scores as a horse player—a $200 win bet on 2002 Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Sarava, who won the classic at odds of more than 70-1 and ended War Emblem‘s bid for a Triple Crown title.
“He called me that day and told me who he liked. Sarava? I told him he was crazy and didn’t have a penny on the horse,” Jeff Benowitz recalled with a laugh. “He and my brother were cheering that horse at the race book when everyone else was devastated the Triple Crown didn’t come in.”
Benowitz is survived by his wife; children, Jeff, Brian, and Alison; and six grandchildren. The Benowitz family has asked for anyone interested in honoring Jerry do so by making a donation to Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Farms near Georgetown, Ky., where Soi Phet resides.