OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Bob Coglianese, the longtime New York Racing Association track photographer whose iconic head-on shot of Secretariat’s 1973 Belmont Stakes win still resonates nearly five decades later, died Friday in Boynton Beach, Fla. He was 88. According to the New York Racing Association, Coglianese had been ill for several months after a fall that required surgery. Coglianese in 1962 founded Coglianese Photos which, now under the leadership of his son Adam, remains the official photographer at NYRA, which operates Aqueduct, Belmont Park and Saratoga. During his time at NYRA, Bob Coglianese shot legendary horses such as Kelso, Dr. Fager, Affirmed and Cigar in addition to Secretariat. It was his shot of Ron Turcotte glancing over his left shoulder near the finish line of Secretariat’s 31-length Belmont Stakes victory that Sports Illustrated dubbed the greatest racing photo of the 20th century. In a 2018 interview with the NYRA press department, Coglianese described getting the shot as just part of his job. ‘It was a big race, it was the Belmont Stakes, and there was a photo stand over there and I was on it, shooting the race and it just so happened I got that shot,” he said. Another of Coglianese’s iconic shots was of the 1980 Tremont Stakes at Belmont Park, where he caught the head-on shot of Great Prospector savaging eventual winner Golden Derby. “Bob Coglianese was a giant in the world of racetrack photography, with his images among the best ever taken of thoroughbred racing,” Dave O’Rourke, NYRA President and CEO, said in a release. “Bob combined an extraordinary work ethic with a knack for innovation and a passion for the sport. He was a master at the craft and a mentor to countless photographers working today. NYRA offers our condolences to Bob’s family and friends, and we look forward to honoring his memory in the months ahead.” Coglianese earned two Eclipse Awards for excellence in racing photography, in 1972 and 1980. He worked full time at NYRA through 2013 and thereafter would often be seen in Saratoga and on big days at Belmont Park. He also shot at Gulfstream Park in South Florida. Barbara Livingston, the multiple Eclipse Award-winning photographer for Daily Racing Form, said one of the first photos she cut out of a newspaper was one Coglianese took of the horse Sip Sip Sip published in the New York Times in 1971. “It was due to that Coglianese photo and its subject with the fun name that Sip Sip Sip became my favorite racehorse,” Livingston said. “Fifty-two years later, he still is. “Bob Coglianese was our photographic benchmark in New York for decades, creating consistently excellent work,” Livingston added. “Hearing of his death feels surreal. His name has always been part of our lives. Bob gave racing the gift of his photography for over a half-century – from recording our sport’s all-time greats like Secretariat to capturing a brilliant, singular moment such as 'The Savage.' I am forever grateful for those images, of course, as they helped form the photographer I am. But I am far more grateful to Bob for teaching me so much about photography in his quest for the perfect image.” Coglianese is survived by his wife Rosalind, son Adam, grandson Ethan and daughter-in-law Tia Sozzi. In lieu of flowers, the Coglianese family asks the horse racing community to kindly consider a donation to the Belmont Child Care Association, the Backstretch Employee Service Team or the New York Race Track Chaplaincy.