From Santa Anita Publicity
ARCADIA, Calif. (Jan. 16, 2021) — Nat Wess, a popular and highly respected racing publicist who began his career in racing in 1964 at Santa Anita, died Thursday at age 81 from complications related to a recent fall.
In a story written by Steve Andersen at DRF.com, Andersen reported that Wess, who retired in 2009, held a variety of jobs in racing, including management positions at Canterbury Park in Minnesota, Bay Meadows, Hollywood Park and with the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association.
As director of publicity at Hollywood Park, he oversaw the implementation of the wildly popular Two Dollar Pick Six in 1980, which helped the Inglewood oval become the first track in America to average more than $5 million in daily handle, which was bet entirely on-track.
As general manager of the CTBA, he was part of a team that developed the concept of California Cup Day, which debuted during Santa Anita’s Oak Tree Meeting in 1990.
A man of boundless energy, Wess had a love for racing and fresh outlook that enabled him to succeed wherever he went. An example of this was cited by Daily Racing Form’s Jay Privman this morning on his “Thoroughbred LA” radio show.
“When I first started covering racing, Nat was the publicity director at Hollywood Park. I was still in school and very green, but he treated me like I was Jim Murray.”
Nat Wess is survived by his wife of 58 years, Ellen, children Deborah and David, and four grandchildren.