Innovative Woebkenberg stages Fair Judges Seminar

Mike Woebkenberg is at it again.  This time, the ever-innovative harness racing starter offered up a harness racing schooling seminar for county fair judges, held this past Saturday, June 10, at the Urbana, Ohio fairgrounds.

It was the second straight year Woebkenberg brought his idea to fruition, presenting a morning and afternoon session to some 25 county fair officials, clerks, presiding judges, associate judges, and fair board members.

“For a long time, I’ve felt we needed some kind of schooling for the judges at the county fair level,” Woebkenberg said. “What I try to do is to encourage discussion and brainstorming of ideas amongst these hard-working people. The issues that we discuss are typical to what can happen at the county fairs, which is often unique and unlike what happens at the pari-mutuel raceways.”

Items on the agenda included: closing of the perimeter gates; ensuring that horseman (drivers, those warming up, and outriders) on the track have a secured helmet, safety vest, and driving colors; the pros and cons of having drivers’ meetings at the fairs; use of the breathalyzer; identification of horses; safety concerns, such as EMT capabilities; paperwork; lack of vision on the final turn; accidents; legal race sulkies; and horse injuries and death.

“One of the first things I do is I talk to my trackman, so that he knows the protocol of racing, and doesn’t pull out in front of a field of horses,” Woebkenberg told the group. “Working the county fairs, we have a lot of limitations, and that’s why we’re here today—to educate one another.”

Rod Newhart, a long-time county fair judge, and administrator of Ohio’s Southern Valley Colt Circuit (SVCC) agreed. “It’s imperative that everyone who is working the races that day be aware of what’s happening,” he said. “That’s the key; be aware.”

“We simply don’t have the manpower at the fair to police everyone,” Woebkenberg stated. “We do the best we can and try to establish a strong relationship with our fair managers. Often times, the fair manager is also trying to figure out where to put the llamas, in addition to helping with the harness races. So, it’s important to secure trust with the fair people and work together with them.”

When it came to discussion drivers’ meetings and drivers being late onto the track at the fairs, a healthy discussion ensued.

“Drivers’ meetings just don’t work,” Newhart stated. “Often, it’s just not a feasible option. The guy who has four or six horses in to go and is warming them all up and getting them ready, he just doesn’t have time to come to a meeting. Also, you have to give those guys a break, as long as they tell the judge, hey, I’m back here by myself and will need a little extra time getting out onto the racetrack.”

“One thing that might help, is if the horsemen’s association would send out a text blast, reminding the drivers and trainers of the rules, and to be on time, and to have their safety gear in place,” offered Michelle Kopiec, racetrack operations and licensing manager of the US Trotting Association (USTA).

“Most drivers know the rules, and perhaps if you had them read a printed sheet, that each of them had to sign at the first fair of the year that they attend, that would help to instill in them that they were responsible for their actions on the track, so that if they are assessed a fine, they know why,” Roy Burns, a Milford Center, Ohio horseman stressed. “The horsemen all know the rules, and it’s always the same guys who are late onto the track no matter what fair you’re at…the rest of us are always waiting on the same guys.”

“My experience has been that the more you harp on guys to get out on the track, the slower they’ll be coming from the barn area,” Newhart said. “The less you harp on them, the better.”

“Ultimately, it’s up to the judges to enforce the rules; the horsemen know what they’re supposed to do,” Woebkenberg offered.

The USTA’s Kopiec explained that the clerks at the county fairs do have the ability to log in warnings and fines via their electronic system, E-track.

“It’s easy for the clerk to record a warning in our system,” Kopiec said. “For instance, the clerk could put in a warning notation at Ohio’s first fair—in this case Paulding—and that way, at the second fair (Circleville) the judge would see that this or that driver was late and had received a warning, and then if they’re late at Circleville, they’d receive a fine.”

Lisa Schwartz, circuit secretary for the Ohio Colt Racing Association, (OCRA) suggested listing the warnings, fines, and penalties for any driver or trainer making a start at a specific fair on the overnight and regulatory sheet which the judges receive prior to the fair.

Kopiec agreed and stated that, “The regulatory report/print out, will be only for those persons racing at a particular fair. It’s then the responsibility of the judges to review that prior to the races.”

“As the judge, you can also ask your announcer an hour to half an hour before the start of the races to announce to the barn area that horsemen will be fined and/or scratched if they aren’t wearing a helmet or a vest when warming up,” Newhart said.

“It would behoove all of the fairs to have a public address system that stays in the barn area. You don’t want the public to hear everything, but practicality is the key. The horsemen have to know that there are ramifications for their actions, or lack thereof, and the fairs need to be consistent with one another. It also is imperative to give the horsemen the proper time between the races to get back to the barn and get ready for the next race, but that only goes so far. Like Roy (Burns) said, it’s pretty much the same guys who break the rules at each fair.”

Longtime county fair judge Tony Brigano stressed to the group, “Fining is the way to go.”

Announcer Doug Ballinger agreed with Newhart. “Unless the rules are enforced, they’re useless,” he said.

“As a judge, you’re getting paid to oversee the races, so do your job,” said Greg Thomas, another longtime Ohio county fair judge. “If horseman need to be fined, you find them.”

Horseman and county fair judge Jim Pollack noted that utilizing a breathalyzer at the fairs to spot check various drivers, works as a deterrent to prevent an intoxicated individual from going onto the racetrack.

“Having it in hand is certainly a deterrent,” Pollack stated. “You can buy them on Amazon for a nominal price; it’s something the racing commission could provide for the fairs. And you wouldn’t want to test the guys in the first race, you’d also want to randomly test a few in the later races as well.”

Woebkenberg explained that at some county fairs, the judges’ viewing stand is placed in such a fashion that makes seeing the final turn difficult, which also provided for a lengthy debate.

“One thing about the county fairs is that you don’t have to stay glued to the judge’s stand,” Thomas admitted. “You can send your associate judge down to test or ID a horse, or stand in a spot that has limited visual opportunities, if need be.”

“Greg (Thomas) brings up a good point,” Woebkenberg interjected. “In that last turn, you could send an associated judge down there with a chair throughout the races. In a lot of cases that final turn is lower than the rest of the racetrack and you can’t see that from the judge’s stand—a lot of drivers can come to the inside and gain an advantage by going into the grass.”

The subject of accidents, and a downed horse, also evoked discussion among the attendees.

“Fairs are not prepared to deal with a horse death or a broken leg,” Ballinger offered.

“One thing that is imperative, is that we be respectful of the horse,” Woebkenberg said. “If a horse dies, we’ve got to see that the horse is treated respectfully and taken away with respect. There’s a lot of 4-H youngsters and horse-loving little girls at those fairs, and we don’t want them telling their friends what bad people we are, because of the way we treated a horse who’s passed away.

“At a lot of the fairs, I try to utilize the fair board members as much as possible,” Woebkenberg continued. “They need direction, and are more than willing to help, in most cases. At some fairs we have a designated person with a truck and a trailer, in the case of a downed horse, or a horse in trouble who needs to get off the racetrack pronto, and there’s a way to handle it in front of the public that doesn’t make us look like terrible people.”

Identification of horses was another topic of discussion.  “We need to be proactive in checking these horses and making sure the right horse is racing in the right race,” Woebkenberg said. “It’s a lot easier to try to fix a situation before the horse races than after he’s finished first or second, and we find out he isn’t the horse he’s supposed to be.”

“This is another case where the associate judge can be out of the judges stand,” Thomas stressed. “Besides IDing the horses, have them check the ambulance and the EMT personnel. Do they have the proper equipment? I know that there are seven or eight counties in Ohio that don’t have a paramedic, so those fair boards have to hire a private paramedic company for those race days.”

Kopiec then presented a hand-out with E-track abbreviations, and scratch reasonings as designated by the USTA, and offered her services as a resource for county fair judges.  She then presented USTA videos of various racing infractions, and the group commented on each upon the video’s completion. The videos included situations of drivers going inside the pylons, breaks at the head of the stretch, breaks at the wire, and a ‘no contest’ video.

“The no-contest situation really needs to be discussed further,” Woebkenberg acknowledged. “For instance, we had an incident at Harrington a week ago, where there was a downed horse and driver in the first turn, and it was all over social media of how badly the situation was handled.  I disagree. From where I stand, those folks at Harrington did everything right. The starting car blocked the field as they came back around and prevented them from causing further injury to the horse or the driver—who were both okay. But we got crucified on social media, and that was just so unjust.”

The group then broke for a hearty lunch provided by Woebkenberg’s sister, and when they reconvened, there was a consensus among the attendees that rules are in place to make county fair racing safe and equitable for everyone involved, and that judges should be encouraged to enforce the rules and use the tools of the trade—such as warnings, fines, and suspensions—when reasonably necessary.

“The rules which are in place at the pari-mutuels all apply to the county fairs,” Woebkenberg concluded. “We hope that our horsemen are responsible and that all of them play by the rules and look out for one another. Our job, as judges and officials, is to protect the bettors, and to protect the public.”

OCRA’s Lisa Schwartz perhaps said it best: “We’re all working for the outcome, not for the income,” she declared.

by Kimberly Rinker, for Harnesslink