Veteran Turf Writer Rampellini Dies at 53

Veteran turf writer Mary Rampellini, who covered racing in Texas, Arkansas, and throughout the Midwest, died July 4 in a Grapevine, Texas, hospital due to complications from sepsis, according to Daily Racing Form. She was 53. Rampellini was a full-time reporter and handicapper for DRF for 24 years. She is the daughter of accomplished horseman Ralph F. Rampellini, who taught her much about the industry as he worked as racing manager for Nelson Bunker Hunt at his Circle T Ranch in Texas and John Franks in Louisiana. Growing up, she worked as a veterinary assistant, helped foal mares, worked as a hotwalker, and was an assistant trainer for her father. According to her family, Rampellini showed an early love of writing. She worked for her high school newspaper and then at 19 started her own paper in the Dallas/Fort Worth area called the Tri-City Herald. She started as a freelancer for DRF in 1997 to cover the opening of Lone Star Park and then was promoted to a full-time position in 2002, according to DRF. Ralph E. Rampellini, her younger brother, told DRF that his sister was devoted to racing, horses, her Catholic faith, and to the people who make their livelihood in the sport. "She treated everyone with respect and dignity," he told DRF. "And she tried to present everyone in their best light. That's not easy to do in the world she worked in." Rampellini is survived by her mother, Patricia; sisters Anna and Christina; and her brother, Ralph. Her father died in 2023. Funeral services are pending.