Harness racing’s “Tale of Two Cities”

Charles Dickens published his historical novel “A Take of Two Cities” back in 1859 and, to this very day, continues to be encased in literature classes throughout our educational system.

Harness racing has its own “Tale of Two Cities,” as well, which have come to the front of the class just this week—the two cities being Oak Grove, Kentucky and Pompano Beach, Florida.

Both are known for harness racing now—Oak Grove becoming a young, vital heartbeat in the sport with, hopefully, a grand future and Pompano now known only for its quickly fading 70-year history.

Yes, Pompano was just a small, mostly unrecognized dot on the map when Frederick van Lennep and his wife, Frances Dodge van Lennep, came to town in 1953 and built one of the greatest training facilities attracting many of the top stables and future champions in the sport.

The pari-mutuel track opened on February 4, 1964, and, as we all know, became known as “The Winter Capital of Harness Racing.”

The track’s demise was long and very painful to so many. And it continues today with the destruction of the Clubhouse and Grandstand.

Those who professed their love and devotion to the sport buckled to the almighty dollar when the “cash” was put on the table putting an end to the fabled training facility as the turn of the century approached.

Promises to the voters and horsemen to protect the industry here in Florida by voting to give permission to build a casino were broken.

Voters were denied the use of their collective voices as the Governor and his legislative cronies, all of a sudden, locked the voters out of the process.

We did have with one ally, Dan Daley, but he, alone, was just unable to hold back the avalanche of a Gov’s legislative cult in signing the “decoupling” bill.

So, it began with the once tall and magnificent palm trees lining the entrance to Pompano Park being mercilessly slaughtered from the landscape…and the fabled building, which should have become an historical landmark, began to be slaughtered, as well.

Horsemen and women—many thousands of them—were upended with unemployment.

Sadly, the closest thing to saving Pompano Park were the endangered owls…but they, too, didn’t matter.

The contributions of Frederick van Lennep and Mary Dodge van Lennep, the couple that made the city of Pompano Beach, didn’t matter.

They didn’t matter to Pompano Beach City Commissioner Barry Moss when he said, “the horses have got to go” or any of the big wigs in the City or County or State…and, finally, it didn’t matter to a Governor who is supposed to be all about agriculture.

It’s all rubble and dust now…just rubble and dust.

From Tom Merriman, the leading trainer during that first season to Wally Hennessey…all we have are the memories.,

From the yesteryear days of Haughton and Dancer and Bill Popfinger, Lew Williams, Delvin Miller, Howard Beissinger, Glen Garnsey and Bruce Nickells, to name a few,..to last year’s stars inclduing David Miller, Rick Plano, Kevin Wallis, Dave Ingraham with youth served by Braxton Boyd and Joe Chindano, Jr., the wounds are deep and hurtful…and all we have are memories…Mickey and Ricky, too…and let’s not forget Jimmy Mac and Mike  Deters and Joe Pavia, Jr.

But the hurt goes much deeper…just ask Clarke Bowman.

Chances are you’ve never even heard of Clarke…but it hurts him as much as all of the above mentioned as his family history goes back several decades, as well.

Clarke is the son of longtime horseman Touchdown Teddy Bowman who, in turn, is the son of the late Veral Bowman, one of the staples here at Pompano for…well, forever!

Clarke just finished a “drone” expose’ of the track and described the effect on the family saying, “Look, there are thousands just like me that are having problems coping with this tragedy…and it IS a tragedy!

To see the drone footage, click here.

“Maybe 35 or 40 years ago, Grandpa Veral asked my dad if he wanted to race horses this winter in Pompano Beach.

“My dad replied, ‘I don’t know where that is…but it sounds a lot warmer than Buffalo, N.Y. so, that winter, they came down here and absolutely loved it., so much so that they moved down here permanently, and Pompano Beach became ‘home.’”

The talented Veral Bowman quickly became a household name at the track with Clarke fondly remembering those early Saturday mornings.

“We’d all get there around 5 a.m. and I would help with cleaning stalls and giving baths and carrots to the horses…Don’t Pass The Mustard was a favorite of mine and, when the late night races were over, we’d get back to the stable and give the friendly stray cats a belly rub.

“It was just a healthy, family environment.

“To this very day, I can hear the hooves of the horses striding along on the track…it’s ingrained in my brain.

“And I certainly wouldn’t have met Brittany Bowman had it not been for fate bringing us down to Pompano Beach.

Even our local ABC News affiliate, Channel 10, had a footage clip entitled “Stunning drone video shows demolition of legendary Pompano Park.”

“It’s a sad time…but I have to remember and know that I am not the only one grieving about this. There are thousands just like me!”

On the other side of the coin, racing in Kentucky is booming with Oak Grove Racing enjoying record handle and healthy purses as the Bluegrass State keeps investing in agriculture, with a stipend or two for the betting public.

Two things really jumped out to propel this storyline—the first being in the first race on May 9 and the second in the finale of that Tuesday program.

The opener was one of four $50,000 Kentucky Sire Stakes for four-year-olds as their program in the Bluegrass State stretches beyond the traditional two and three-year-old seasons. (They also had a $24,000 Open Pace on a card offering almost $300,000 in purses.}

That race was won by Yanaba as this daughter of Trixton went an ultra-game mile (plus a few extra yards) in setting a track record of 1:52.

John Macdonald was in the sulky for trainer Jack Rice (with winner’s circle smiles courtesy of Maria Rice.)

Yanaba was kind of a late bloomer with an 8-0-0-0 scorecard as a two-year-old, earnings of $4,000 and a “Q” mark of 1:57.4 over the large Vernon Downs oval.

Last season at three, she won $146,475 and took a Big M mark of 1:53.1 with a consistent 4-3-4 tab in 15 starts.

She’s two-for-two this year with $50,000 in the bank for owners Ann-Mari Daley, Jared Daley and Oleg Ivutin.

By the way, Ann-Mari is the “dam” of the aforementioned Dan Daley, Esq., the fierce fighting Florida legislator trying to help re-establish harness racing in Florida.

The last race was yet another grand event courtesy of the United States Harness Driving Club (USHDC) and was won by the 13-year-old war horse Feelin Like Winner, driven by long time Amateur Club driver Tony Dinges.

The gelded son of Feelin Friskie won for the 49th time during his career approaching 300 starts and wired his competition in 1:55.

Now a $623,231 winner, Feelin Like Winner, with a mark of p,1:49.2 was less than that “race time” away from being carted off to a kill pen when current owner, Jacob Fox, bought the gelding off of the truck for $5,000 and sent him to his (step) grandfather, long time trainer Mike Murphy.

“No horse—especially a horse of this caliber—should face a final ending like that,” he said.

Since that heroic moment, Feelin Like Winner has won several times for Fox-Murphy connection.

It was the second heroic feat on the Jacob Fox resume’ as he saved his grandfather’s life by donating his kidney—a million-to-one long shot match—a few years back.

A second USHDC event was held on that card and Meant Tobe Shooter captured that in 1:54.2—notable because the winner was driven by Adarryl Gates, one of a handful of young amateur drivers paying their tuition in USHDC events.

Gates, 22, has six lifetime wins with this being his second pari-mutuel win—his first with Best Bolt at The Red Mile last season.

Denarius Dorsch and Travis Williams, Jr. are two other drivers on the USHDC roster that are in their early 20’s with Club President Dein Sprigg saying, “This sport needs 1,000 more great guys—and gals—like Darryl, Denarius and Travis to insure the future of our great sport.

“And ‘time’ is running out!”

by John Berry, for Harnesslink