Former Star-Telegram horse racing writer who covered Lone Star Park dies at 53
Mary Rampellini, a North Texas horse racing reporter who covered the sport for the Star-Telegram at the dawn of Lone Star Park, died Saturday at age 53.
The Daily Racing Form said she died of complications from sepsis at a hospital in Grapevine. She had been a full-time reporter and handicapper for the Racing Form for 24 years, the publication said.
Ralph E. Rampellini, her younger brother, offered a remembrance of Mary in the Racing Form.
“My sister found her calling, and her pen made a lasting mark on the Sport of Kings,” he wrote. “Mary made the wheel turn in the sport by connecting countless people and keeping them informed. She had a plethora of knowledge, shared it with the world, and gave all she had to the sport she loved.”
Mary Rampellini grew up around the sport under the tutelage of her father, Ralph F. Rampellini, who managed the racing stables of Nelson Bunker Hunt and John Franks, the Racing Form said.
She developed a love for writing and started working as a freelance reporter for the Star-Telegram leading up to the opening of Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie in 1997. She also began freelancing for the Racing Form during that time and joined the publication full-time in 2002.
Rampellini offered daily coverage of Lone Star Park and Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas, along with other tracks in the Midwest and South.
She later published children’s books about horse racing.
“Without a doubt, Mary was the nicest person I have ever met — not just in racing,” Jody Swavy, editor in chief of Daily Racing Form, said. “You would be hard-pressed to find a better co-worker. She was kind, compassionate, and always willing to lend a hand. This is a devastating loss for all of us.”
Rampellini is survived by her mother, Patricia; sisters Anna and Christina; and her brother, Ralph, the Racing Form said. Her father died in 2023.
