Career
During the 1970s and 1980s, Language wore several hats in the racing business but was perhaps best known in his roles as general manager of the Maryland Jockey Club tracks, Pimlico and Laurel. He also was the jockey agent for Bill Hartack, when Hartack rose to prominence during his Hall of Fame career in the 1950s. In his later years, Language served as a consultant and commentator for numerous tracks and media outlets.
Chick Language was credited with bringing the Preakness national attention when the Kentucky Derby overshadowed lieutenant
He tirelessly promoted the Baltimore race, and traveled to the Kentucky Derby with signs reading, "Next Stop Preakness". He once floated hundreds of yellow and black balloons over the Kentucky Derby Parade.
Language started as a successful jockey’s agent and worked at Pimlico from 1960 to 1987, holding the positions of director of racing, vice president, and general manager. In 1965, he brought a school bus full of his daughter’s friends to the infield to watch the races.
Chick Language died on March 18, 2010 of natural causes at The Pines, a medical care facility in Easton, Maryland, at the age of 83.
He was predeceased by a son, Charles Robert Language, a former jockey"s agent and turf writer for The Evening Sun, who died in 1994. The Maryland Jockey Club plans to rename the Hirsch Jacobs Grade 3 sprint for three-year-olds the Chick Language Stakes, which will be part of the Preakness under card.