Jock Jocoy last competed in 2001, in M75 sprints.

Jock Jocoy, a race-horse doctor and former masters decathlon record-holder who competed into his mid-70s, died Saturday at his home in Southern California, says this report and old friends. In the mid-1980s, Jock set a world record in the decathlon for 58-year-old men at 4,238 points, according to an article in The San Diego Union. “He couldn’t make the World Masters track championships in Rome this year because it came in the middle of the Del Mar meeting,” the story said, “but he’ll be going for the gold in Australia next year. ‘Fitness,’ says Jocoy, ‘is my way of life.’ ” Funeral arrangements were pending, said the news report. When I learn details, I’ll pass them along.

Former San Diegan Steve Robbins, the M65 sprint champion, wrote me:

Jock, Ed Oleata, and I made a number of trips together from San Diego up to the L.A. area for masters meets. Jock would entertain us both up and back with amazing stories of the people he met and worked with as a vet to some of the top thoroughbreds in the country.
He spent a lot of time at the Del Mar track hobnobbing with the rich and famous. Jock was a gracious and classy guy. He’ll be missed by a lot of us with San Diego ties.

Ed Oleata offered these memories:

I first met Jock Jocoy in 1982 when the first WAVA decathlon was held at SDSU. I was 45 and Jock was 56. He had been a “physical culturalist” all his life. But he had confined himself to running 10Ks and weight lifting.
He found out about masters track and decided to do the decathlon. After training only a few weeks, he entered. The M55 division was won by Jack Greenwood and Jock finished far down the line. He was amazed about how good Jack Greenwood was and was determined to better himself.
Someone suggested he train with me so he came over and introduced himself to me and we started training at least once a week from that time on until he had a massive stroke four years ago.
He ended up finishing in the top three many times in the USA championships and won at least once. He also won a couple of other national championships in the indoor 1000 and the two mile. He was also a member of a 4×1 relay team that set a world record with Greenwood, Watanabe and Hart.
He won many All-American certificates and at the time of his stroke he was training to try and make the All-American standard in the 100 and 200 the next year when he turned 80.
He loved all sports, especially track and field, football and boxing. He competed in the first two in high school and in boxing while in the Navy during WWII. He grew up right on the beach — two houses north of the Mission Beach amusement park. He went to La Jolla High school and was a lifeguard at Mission Beach before going into the Navy during WWII.
When he went through boot came right here at NTC San Diego he was such a good swimmer that the Navy wanted to keep him right there to teach other sailors how to swim. A cushy job right in his home town.
“No way,” said Jock. “I want to go overseas and fight.” So that is what he did. He loved the Navy and his Naval service.
During his undergraduate years at Colorado State, he was on the rodeo team and picked the toughest event, which was bull riding. He did confess to me that he never stayed on a bull for the full 8 seconds.
During our many workouts, we had many a heated discussion about politics, current events and sports. He was a fun guy to be around and knew more about horse racing than anyone you’ll ever meet. I’ll miss him.

Some extra info from the archives of his local newspapers:
From September 7, 1988:

Del Mar veterinarian Dr. Jock Jocoy, who is 62 but looks 48, was singled out in the September United States Track Athletic Congress publication as tops in three divisions.
A gifted athlete all of his adult life, Jocoy is listed in the age 60-64 division as excelling in the long jump, the pentathlon and the decathlon.
The magazine credited him with a 15-0 in the long jump, with 3,118 points in the pentathlon and with 6,347 points in the decathlon.
Jocoy has been the track veterinarian at Del Mar in recent years and maintains a breeding kennel in Del Mar featuring Jack Russell dogs. He has a champion sire from England named “Bouncer” and also has other fine breeding stock.
“Jack Russell dogs are ratters and almost immediately endearing to their owners,” said Jocoy.

From August 1985:

A native and lifelong resident of Del Mar, track veterinarian Jock Jocoy is the man who has the final say about whether a horse runs.
After 33 years as a practicing vet at Santa Anita, Hollywood Park and Del Mar, he went into semi-retirement and works only at Del Mar because he “found there was more to life than racing.”
In his professional life, that means “looking into the health and racing soundness of the horse,” says Jocoy, whose field has become so specialized it’s now known as equine sports medicine.
Jocoy arrives at the track to work with the animals as early as 6 a.m., and doesn’t leave until after the day’s notes have been recorded, which may be 8 p.m.
Familiar with the horses, he checks their gait as they walk and gallop toward the starting gate. If he sees something he doesn’t like — for example, an odd stride or excessive sweating — he’ll radio the outrider to bring over a horse for inspection. He then can scratch a horse, although there are times, he says, when jockeys override his veto.
“Most of the time,” he says, “jockeys are happy because they don’t want trouble. And the public is ensured of getting a decent run for is money; they don’t want to see any disastrous results. Sometimes they’ll yell at me if a horse has been scratched. Most of the time I’ll give them courteous answers.”
Occasionally there are breakdowns. “When you’ve got 1,000-pound animals running at 25 miles per hour,” says Jocoy, “you can’t control every step.”
There have been several spills already this year, and four horses have had to be humanely destroyed.
“To this day,” says Jocoy, “I don’t like to see broken legs or horses in pain.” All it takes to put a horse to sleep is 100cc, or about three tablespoons, of a barbituate injection. “When it comes to euthanasia I always have depression, sometimes even get sick to my stomach. These are beautiful animals. There are some strong similarities between them and human athletes.”

From February 1985:

Dr. Jock Jocoy, official veterinarian for the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, has been named Senior Athlete of the Year by the San Diego Athletic Assn. Jocoy, a trim athlete at the age of 59, won the 55-60 division in the National Masters Decathlon meet last June in Indianapolis, Ind.