Classy Hirsch was fine columnist, even better person

The death of Joe Hirsch last week elicited heartfelt eulogies from those who were fortunate to know him. Hirsch was the executive columnist for the Daily Racing Form for more than 50 years. His writings will form the foundation of how future generations will look back on the sport.

I first met Hirsch while an intern in the Aqueduct press box in January 1979. I was a nobody. But he treated me with as much respect as he did the president of the track. As fine a columnist as Hirsch was, he was 100 times a better person.

I'll refrain from offering personal Hirsch anecdotes, about the fun dinners, mornings on the backside and afternoons in the press box. But I will say this about his body of work: If Hirsch were a general sports columnist, and not specific to horse racing, he would've been on a par with two other writing legends: Red Smith and Jim Murray.

I got to know and work with Smith, as lead sports columnist at the New York Times, and Murray, doing the same at the Los Angeles Times. Few in today's sports journalism write the same kind of rich columns like Smith, Murray and Hirsch did.

Plus, the three men shared a lot of the same character traits along with incredible talent. The words class, integrity and humility can be used to describe them without reservation.

Hirsch, 80, suffered from Parkinson's disease the latter part of his life. His mind remained sharp, but his body refused to cooperate. The last time I saw Hirsch was during the 2000 Triple Crown series. He was bent over severely but working as hard as ever.

The mental picture I'll keep of Hirsch was the dashing figure he cut back in 1979.

• CHURCHILL -- Churchill Downs named Englishman Mark Johnson to replace the late Luke Kruytbosch as track announcer.

Johnson beat out four other candidates for the position. He has called his country's greatest horse races, the Epsom Derby, Grand National and St. Leger. Now he will do so for the 2009 Kentucky Derby.

• QUALIFIERS -- The South Point and Red Rock will be offering horseplayers last chances to qualify for two big-money handicapping tournaments.

On Monday, the South Point will host a $150 contest to qualify for the South Point Finale on April 17 and 18. On Wednesday, Red Rock will host a "Last Chance" contest costing $500.

The top five finishers will qualify for the DRF-NTRA National Handicapping Championship on Jan. 23 and 24 at Red Rock.

• AQUEDUCT -- Aqueduct has canceled its Friday card due to extreme cold weather.

Richard Eng's horse racing column is published Friday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He can be reached at rich_eng@hotmail.com.