NEWBORN, ISSAC (ISI) MANDELL (July 1908-7 Aug. 1972) enjoyed national repute as the horse racing handicapper of the CLEVELAND PRESS. A native of New York City, he came to Cleveland as a boy and graduated from Glenville High School. After earning his college degree from Miami Univ. of Ohio, he joined the staff of the CLEVELAND NEWS in 1929 but moved over to the Press sports dept. within a year. Although he also covered professional hockey for much of his career, his reputation was firmly rooted upon his accuracy in predicting winners at the racetrack. In 1953 he was the only newspaper handicapper to pick the long-shot Dark Star to beat favored Native Dancer in the Kentucky Derby. After repeating the feat with his selection of Venetian Way in 1960, he was awarded a silver tray as a "Champion Derby Picker." Newborn disseminated his expertise in 3 books: Common Sense at the Races (1945), If You're Going to Play the Races (1949), and Helpful Hints for Horseplayers (1961). "Play the horses only for fun and recreation," and "Never bet more than you can affrord to lose," was the essence of his advice. Newborn was a competitive tennis player and collected old streetcar transfers as a hobby. Stricken with a fatal heart attack while on the job at THISTLEDOWN RACE TRACK, he was memorialized by the annual Isi Newborn Memorial Handicap race at that track beginning in 1976. He was survived by his wife since 1937, the former Norma Clapp, and 2 sons, Monroe and Norton.
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