By Noel Michaels
The National Horseplayers Championship lost its second legendary figure in the span of about a year this November 22 with the passing of one of the great personalities in the history of the game, J. Randy Gallo. As the year 2022 begins, let’s take a moment to look back at the life and times of J. Randy Gallo, and another recently departed legend, John Conte. These two players both made indelible marks on handicapping tournaments, and we will never see another two like them ever again.
Randy Gallo
Shock and sadness swept around tournament player circles this past Thanksgiving holiday season upon hearing of the passing of “Randy” Gallo at the age of 72 due to long-Covid respiratory complications. Gallo had been seen just three months earlier in August at the NHC, where he was holding court, as usual, in a room where he knew almost everyone, and almost everyone knew him. Randy is survived by three children and four grandchildren – several of whom have played in the NHC finals in Las Vegas. His bother Ross Gallo is also a decorated handicapper and tournament player, and was often by Randy’s side as the two would travel to tournaments far and wide.
Gallo was a gambler all his life, but found his public notoriety after the start of the NHC era of handicapping tournaments, where he became a fixture along with Ross and his son, “Little” Randy Gallo. Gallo was a six-time NHC finals qualifier dating all the way back to NHC I and NHC II in 2020 and 2021 at MGM Grand. He reached the Final Table in 2019 and led the tournament until the late stages when he eventually finished fourth for a cash prize of $100,000. Gallo was given a standing ovation when announced at that year’s NHC awards banquet in an outpouring that signified the esteem with which Gallo was viewed by his peers.
Not only was Gallo a part of NHC history as a player, he also played a role as a tournament organizer, as well. Gallo was the proprietor of the Better Racing OTB in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and hosted many NHC-qualifying tournaments in South Dakota through the years which attracted scores of players to those far-flung destinations on an annual basis. As a native of Plymouth, Mass, Gallo was also a regular at all of the Connecticut OTB tournaments at Sports Haven and the Bradley Teletheater, where he was known for organizing large social gatherings of horseplayers new and old. Randy always paid the check, and would never have it any other way.
Randy Gallo enjoyed several passions beyond handicapping tournaments. He lived in Jupiter, Florida with his partner of 30 years, Karen, and his beloved dogs. He was an avid golfer much of his life, a winning Jai Alai bettor, and had an annual tradition of traveling to the Kentucky Derby. Anyone who knew him, of course, knows that Randy’s other passion was the New England Patriots. Randy, Ross, and “Little” traveled to every one of the Patriots’ Super Bowls in the 2000s and 2010s.
Above all else, Gallo will always be known in handicapping tournament circles as one of the best there was in the game, and for the game, over the span of 20+ years. Randy will be remembered for his kindness and generosity by everyone who knew him.
John Conte
Known as one of the all-time great characters and racetrack personalities in handicapping circles, John Conte built a long career in and around the sport of horseracing as both a public handicapper and a professional bettor. Conte passed away on November 4, 2020 of natural causes at the age of 81. Conte was the winner of NHC X at the Red Rock Resort in 2009. He quipped that thanks to that year’s $500,000 grand prize, he had finally “almost broke even.”
Conte was a racetrack fixture for much of his adult life at tracks in New York and south Florida, and had built his reputation and larger-than-life personality into a career as a public handicapper. His “Grass is Greener” turf racing selections appeared in several publications through the years, including the New York Post, Daily Racing Form, and American Turf Monthly magazine. His greatest notoriety, however, came later in life thanks to his victory at the National Handicapping Championship in 2009.
“My whole life has been a series of wouldas, couldas, shouldas, but today I finally made it to the winner’s circle,” Conte said after his NHC victory.
Conte was the embodiment of the old-school Brooklyn wise guy all of us know from the racetrack. His trademarks were his slicked back jet black hair and giant magnifying glass, which he depended on to read the Racing Form as his vision declined later in life. His other trademark was the easy off-the-cuff sense of humor and razor-sharp comments that seemed to just roll of his tongue with the greatest of ease. He claimed he had to make a living as a professional bettor, because newspaper handicappers in the racing industry, “Get paid ‘weakly,’ very ‘weakly.”
Known for his entertaining wise cracks, it was no surprise when the Esquire Network came knocking on Conte’s door back in 2014 when they were casting their reality show, “Horseplayers.” Conte was the star of the show amongst a cast that included Kevin Cox, Christian Hellmers, Matt Bernier, Michael Beychok, and Team (Peter) Rotundo.
Conte was a seven-time NHC finals qualifier, dating all the way back to the first edition of the NHC at MGM Grand in 2000. Conte didn’t travel all over the country trying to qualify, and didn’t play online, he simply relied on on-track contests convenient to him, such as the contests at Belmont, Aqueduct, Saratoga, Monmouth, Meadowlands, and Gulfstream Park., and he had success at all of those places at one time or another.
Conte sits at No. 13 on the list of all-time money-winning players in NHC finals history.
After they made Randy Gallo and John Conte, they broke the mold. We will never see the likes of either of them ever again. In addition to being great handicappers, Randy and John were both great people. They were both my friends. Both Gallo and Conte will be missed by all who they came in contact with.