DEL MAR: Sid Craig, co-founder of weight-loss empire, dies

Entrepreneur and racing enthusiast was well-loved

By RUTH MARVIN WEBSTER - Staff Writer | Tuesday, July 22, 2008 7:43 PM PDT ∞

DEL MAR ---- Members of the horse-racing community are mourning the death of racing enthusiast and weight-loss entrepreneur Sid Craig, who passed away at his home Monday night after a long battle with cancer. He was 76.

Craig and his wife, Jenny, were the founders of Jenny Craig Inc., one of the world's most successful weight-loss companies. The couple had been married for nearly 30 years.

"I've learned that everyone has a soul mate somewhere, and if we're lucky enough to find them to share our live with, then we are more fortunate than most," Jenny Craig said in a statement released Tuesday. "I thank God every day for allowing me to find mine. Sid has enriched my life in more ways than I can count."

Sid Craig was a popular figure at the Del Mar racetrack, where his horses were at times spectacularly successful.

"Sid will certainly be missing in the racing world," said Joe Harper, president of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. "As a friend, he will be missed by us all too. He was just one of those great guys who was happy and upbeat all of the time. Everything about Sid was fun."

At its peak, Jenny Craig Inc. had 780 centers with revenues exceeding $350 million. Eighty percent of the centers were company-owned, with 20 percent franchised, according to a book by Gregory Ericksen for which Jenny Craig was interviewed.

Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, but raised in Los Angeles, Sid Craig was a one-time child tap dancer who graduated from Fresno State University with a major in business and psychology.

While still a senior in college, he taught dancing at night for an Arthur Murray studio. After graduation, he joined the company, finally ending up owning several franchises and serving on its board of directors.

Craig then went onto work for a chain of women's fitness salons called Body Contour Inc. In the process of taking the company national, he hired a woman named Jenny Guidroz Bourcq as director of the New Orleans center.

The couple married in 1979. It was the second marriage for both.

After Body Contour grew into 200 centers nationwide, it was sold in 1982 to NutriSystem.

Because the buyout carried with it a non-compete clause in the United States, the Craigs moved to Australia to start the Jenny Craig weight-loss company there.

The company because a great success and, after the non-compete clause expired, the Craigs brought the operations to Southern California, choosing Del Mar for their corporate headquarters.

In 1992, Jenny Craig Inc. went public with an offering on the New York Stock Exchange. Until recently, Sid Craig served as chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the company, with his wife as vice chairman and spokeswoman.

The couple sold the majority of their interest in the company in 2002. Nestle Inc. purchased the company in 2006 for $600 million.

Sid Craig was introduced to the Del Mar racetrack when he was 22 and serving in San Diego with the U.S. Navy. Craig became friends with Hal King, who was also in the Arthur Murray Dance studio business, and together they began frequenting the track.

King later became Craig's trainer and was his racing manager until he died in 1991.

Over the years, the Craigs had been actively involved in horse racing and had owned a number of successful Thoroughbreds. In 2003, their horse Candy Ride won six races in a row, including the Pacific Classic Stakes, setting a Del Mar track record for 1 1/4 miles.

In 1995, the Craigs purchased a 237-acre Thoroughbred horse-racing stable, breeding operation and training center in Rancho Santa Fe called Rancho del Rayo.

"A number of years ago they bought Gene Klein's old ranch," said Harper. "They fixed it all up --- it was just beautiful."

"(Sid Craig) was one of those individuals who enjoyed everything he did and was a prime example that if you love what you are doing and are energetic and smart, you will be successful," said Harper.

Jim Watkins, a Del Mar resident for 40 years, played tennis with Craig twice a week for the last 12 years.

"The guy was a delightful, down-to-earth individual," Watkins said. "He was a guy who never forgot his friends ---- he would hire his old high school buddies ---- and he was a fierce competitor on the tennis court. He did not like to lose, but he always did it with a sense of humor."

Watkins said that Craig, actor Dick Van Patten and their other regulars "were not going to the U.S. Open or Wimbledon," but they enjoyed their regular tennis mornings, going to the Americana restaurant in Del Mar for coffee afterwards "to solve the world's problems."

Craig was a keen businessman, said Watkins. "He was very shrewd and very honest," he said. "He was also extremely generous person."

The Craigs were also involved in many local philanthropic causes including the San Diego Hospice, Easter Seals, and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. In 1992, they committed millions to Fresno State University for its School of Business and Administrative Services which was later renamed the Sid Craig School of Business. And in 1996, the couple committed $11 million to the University of San Diego, a large chunk of which was used to build the Jenny Craig Pavilion, a sports facility dedicated in October 2000.

Sid Craig is survived by his wife, Jenny, their five children and 13 grandchildren.

Contact staff writer Ruth Marvin Webster at (760) 901-4074 or rwebster@nctimes.com.