A “round table” with some old-timers

We’ve been warned about “global warming” for some years now and we all hope it’s not too late to do something about it.

But, meanwhile, beach erosion continues, glaciers keep melting and the earth warms degree by degree threatening our very existence.

Over the past several years—many years, in fact—we have seen warning signs that our grand sport of harness racing is suffering from a “global warming” of its own and hope its not too late to do something about the fact that it threatens its very existence, as well.

But, meanwhile, the erosion of our harness racing fan base continues, we’re seeing a reduction in our race horse population and many tracks rely on  “social security” in the form of casino funding and legislative help to stay open and provide viable purses for owners, which trickles down to trainers and drivers.

What’s wrong?

Harvard, Yale and Princeton graduates can chime in all they want but the ones who really can put a pulse on our problems are the ones that are NOT Harvard, Yale or Princeton graduates but, rather, the ones that have experience that stretches back decades and decades in harness racing—the very ones that started their careers watering, bathing and grooming their horses, shoveling manure and feeding them before becoming noted owners, breeders, trainers and drivers in their own right.

I corralled a few for a round table discussion on issues regarding everything from equipment, safety and speed.

The participants range from the age in the mid-70’s to around 90 and they have some startling observations about our beloved sport…and its future.

We also have one participant—a student of the sport—about to arrive at the beginning of his 60th year.

Since this grand panel universally agrees about these subjects—most of whom are still active in our sport—we have protected their identity and, in some instances, made their responses a bit clearer for your edification…after all, they are horsemen!

(HarnessLink) First and foremost, thank you for participating in this important topic. “J,” we’ll start with you. You’ve seen a lot over the years. Give us a little insight of your years in harness racing.

(J) Well, yes, I’ve seen a lot of things—both good and bad. For me, it was all about the safety for the horse and driver. In the (19)’50’s, they had soft caps and, from that, they went to the helmets—mostly plastic—so that was a step in the right direction…not perfect, but better.

Since then, the helmets have become much safer…a little late for those that have lost their lives or suffered debilitating injuries but, nevertheless, a step in the right direction in the area of safety.

After that, in the (19)’60’s, there were ‘spurs’ allowed on the whips (that was bad) and all a driver had to do was ‘ping’ it so it wouldn’t spin (THAT was really bad). They were finally outlawed…thank goodness. (That was good!)

Next, one of the best things for the safety aspect of the sport was the wheel disc on the sulky wheels. They were made mandatory in 1969 and I really believe that they prevented many injuries to horses an drivers.

(P) Let me add to the conversation on helmets. Of course, the soft hats with the bow ties of the past were dangerous and probably the most notable tragedy was “Pop” Gears way back in the ’20’s when he got killed on the very day honoring him at a fair from an accident.

But the real push for safety helmets came to fruition with the bad accidents that a took the lives of Shelly (Goudreau), Billy (Haughton) and some others but it took the most famous ones to try and make things better—and, by better, I mean the mandatory use of the Snell helmet or helmets of equal quality. The modern-day helmet has saved many a horseman from serious injury or worse.

(HarnessLink) There were some great horses of the ’60’s and ’70’s…horses that were champions with miles in 1:58 on the trot and 1:55 on the pace. So the question is “is speed an asset or a liability” for our sport.

(J) To me, it’s a little of both. The horsemen and horses are completely different these days and this transformation of sorts has taken place noticeably over the past, say, 30-40 years with Niatross leading the way. The great ones in the ’60’s like Bret (Hanover), Cardigan Bay, Adios Vic, True Duane and some others, were horses that were well rated by their drivers…I’m talking Dancer, Haughton, Herve (Filion), O’Brien, Ervin, Farrington…those guys.

There were hundreds of excellent drivers from back then that carried stopwatches and, I must say, they had stopwatches in their head. They’d look at the watch trying to get to the 3/8s in :48 in a mile that was expected to go in 2:03. I visited Dancer’s place one day and he said, “I’ll be back in a hoof beat or two. He was taking a three-year-old out and said, “I’m just gonna train him a mile in 2:08 today, so I’ll be right back. I got my watch out, gave it a click and glanced down at a the finish…2:07.84! That is a lost art in today’s world. It’s all go-go-go and I think it’s causing a shorter careers, which leads to shorter fields which leads to shorter prices on the board.

(HarnessLink) Well, the speed is exciting, you have to admit that!

(J) To tell you the truth, you can’t take a 2:00 mile to the bank anymore…and, if you are timed in 1:53 and finish back of fifth, what good does that do you? Nada! Nothing! And, I’ll tell you something else, the only reason that fans like our sport—of the ones we still have that haven’t died—is the fact they can BET ON THEM! If your horse is 10 to 1 on the (tote) board and wins, he’s gonna pay $22 or, maybe, a little more…and that’s if the winning time is 2:10 or 1:50. Bettors could care less about time. They care about cashing! Ours is a spectator sport and drivers should be obligated to those fans that put $2 or $200 on a horse’s nose. The guy who has bet $10 or $20 on a “4” claimer ain’t too happy to see the driver get down to a first quarter in :26 and change.

(HarnessLink) So speed, to you, isn’t all that important.

(J) Speed does nothing for the people that keep the sport alive. In fact, it, in the long run, it hurts the sport because, in ‘time,’ speed eventually shortens fields and can destroy pari-mutuel prices.

(HarnessLink) HarnessLink had a Mane Attraction column some time ago showing that exact premise with the “median” price in a 10 horse field would be about $17.80 or $18.00 while, in a six horse field, the “median” price would be around $9.60.

(J) Well, there you go!

(W) Let me say something here. The guys on the racetrack are professional drivers. They make their living sitting in the sulky. We have rules on the books where a driver gets FINED for driving a horse to win by rating him and saving him. I understand the issue of causing confusion…but these guys are supposedly PROFESSIONAL with a keen sense of pace. If they feel something happening up front, they should pull on the right line and go. It’s part of the game…winning is what it’s all about.

I sure haven’t seen any driver get a speeding ticket getting a “6” claimer over to the quarter in :25 and change or :26. The bettor who has his money on that horse can tear the ticket up…with three-quarters of the race to go. And what happens then? We have lost another fan. We have to realize that our fans are precious for our survival. And I’ll tell you something else, many of these cheaper horses do have issues and can take a bad step anytime during a mile, especially getting pushed to a hot opening quarter. I got quite a scare not too long ago and was very lucky to escape with only cuts and bruises. It could have been a lot worse.

(HarnessLink) So, who is to blame?

(P) Let me chime in on this one. Who is to blame? Everyone and no one. Everyone is trying to beat the system and make a profit. That’s the long and the short of it. Some have found a way to beat the system and some haven’t. Breeders want to make a profit and have improved the breed and changed it from one of durability to one of speed. They are breeding their horses for a short run of one or two…maybe three…seasons, so they don’t have to worry about longevity as a new crop comes in every season. Champions are champions for a year or two and displaced by another. They squeeze the water out of the sponge until it’s dry and then get another sponge and toss the old one away. It’s the nature of the beast.

I just read a recent article (in HarnessLink) where horses raced in their (age) ’20’s with some making 70-80-90 or more starts in a season. In today’s world, maybe 10-12 starts is enough for a two-year-old. That, in a way, is great. But, after the age of four, the shrinkage begins. Of course, the casino industry has taken advantage of the situation by realizing that racing won’t be able to survive without help so they kind of put the fishing lure in the water as a way to get $100,000,000 or more a year in revenue from a casino with the expense of $15 or $20 million for racing…that is, before they found a way, politically, to squeeze their way out. Thank goodness for Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky…we’d be dead in the water without them. Having said that, I hope it’s not too late to save our sport from oblivion…kinda makes me feel better about being older and getting older.

(HarnessLink) There are some VERY good racehorses that have retired and are lucky to get five mares to build a reputation.

(P) I am familiar with that scenario.

(P) Getting back to the helmet situation, without question, the sport was made safer for the drivers and trainers with improved helmets. I remember the plastic helmets that came in after the soft hat era and, after a training session we’d go out and get a case of something (beer?) and toss it in the back of the truck. One day, we tossed the case and it split the plastic helmet right up. The mandatory use of the new, improved helmets definitely helped in the safety aspect of the sport.

(HarnessLink) There was a pretty great group of drivers that raced back then…Dancer, Haughton, Herve (Filion), O’Brien, Ervin, Bob Farrington, Bob Williams…

(O) Don’t forget Lou Rapone, one of the best gate men in the business. Heck, Del Miller used to have Louie catch-drive for him. And Frank O’Mara…he was one of the most methodical trainers in the business. He had that great trotter Nite Shirt, you know. There were countless terrific drivers back then…Riegle, Ted Taylor, Jim Dennis, Butch Paisley, Chris Boring, Snake (Willis), Buddy (Gilmour), The Red Man, Shuter, Pletcher…many more!.

(HarnessLink) So you go back a long, long way…

(O) My first job was on a farm at age eight and I brought the horses to the watering hole when the bell rang at noon. I wound up in Chicago—you probably knew that from the guys I mentioned—and came down to Florida in the mid-1960’s.

(HarnessLink) I guess you could say you got a master’s degree in “horsemanship!” Moving on, you also saw some pretty darn great horseflesh and drivers in your day.

(O) Yes, there were some really great drivers back then that could rate a horse and be within a fifth of a second in a training mile. When Bruce Nickells and Del Insko and Tom Merriman and Joe Marsh, Jr. are “afterthoughts,” you know how great the drivers were back then…complete horsemen…trainer-drivers…something you don’t see much of today.

(HarnessLink) How about some of those great horses…Bret (Hanover), Cardigan Bay, Adios Vic, True Duane…Meadow Skipper, too.

(J) Then, in the ’70’s, Albatross, MHF (Most Happy Fella, Mountain Skipper, Fresh Yankee, Speedy Crown, Steady Star…after that Niatross, Nihilator, and Cam Fella, to name a few…

(HarnessLink) Right…but we’re getting off the beaten path of the future for our sport. It’s great to remember the past but it’s just that—the past! The Campbell, O’Donnell, Doherty, Benny The Whip, Cat, Jackie Mo…those days are, pretty much, history…with an uncertain future for a great sport with so much history.

(HarnessLink) The equipment has changed over the years, as well.

(J) Oh, yes! From sulky design to all of the equipment from breast plates to hitches, it’s made the horses faster, no doubt about it.

(HarnessLink) Hub rails are, pretty much, history, these days.

(J) The hub rail was dangerous and gave the driver no place to escape if something unforeseen happened. I believe Saratoga was the first one to do away with it. I think it was Bob Morris who was on a trip overseas to see that they had a “guide” instead of a hub rail. I thought it was a great idea but was made of cement because of the threat of bad weather. That was an issue because you couldn’t go inside. Then came the Styrofoam sticks. At least, that was a start! Then came the passing lane, which some loved and some did not! Depended on where you were turning for home. I thought it was a great asset on half mile tracks.

(HarnessLink) Another issue is “both hands handling the lines!” Any opinion on that?

(J) Oh yeah! I believe that both hands handling the lines makes racing much more dangerous. With both hands handling the lines, when you tap a horse, the lines become loose. It only takes a split second for a horse to take a bad step and the driver has no control in that situation. Just about all great drivers can drive as good with one hand. We learn to put your fingers in the lines and that is learned at a young age. This is a judges call—not the publics call. If a judge sees the whip move more than three times, they call it excessive. Most great drivers might hit a horse one time and, if they don’t respond, that’s it…ball game over.

Years ago, this wasn’t a problem—in the Haughton and Dancer days. Back then, they called the track vet to look at the horse and, if they weren’t “striped,” that was the end of it. I don’t think the judges should be more concerned about drivers talking on the track than watching the post parade to make sure a horse is sound! I’ve been in situations where I have told another driver to watch out for another horse that looks kinda “iffy!” And vice-versa! It seems like some judges are more concerned about drivers talking on the track and pylon violations than other more important things. Safety should be the number one thing on their minds! They should be paying attention to the post parades and scores!

(HarnessLink) Finally, Mr. “B”…you haven’t said a word here. What do you have to say about this whole situation?

(B) Well, since we’re discussing the future of the sport, what I have to say is not pretty. Personally, I don’t see a long term fix for our sport for a number of reasons. First, the first nail in the coffin was years ago when tracks eliminated their backsides and became ship-in racetracks. That gives tracks more of a reason to cancel in bad weather. If the horses are stabled at the racing facility, they don’t have to travel 40 or 50 miles on wintry or wet or icy  roads to get to the racing facility. Second, once you realize that we are our own fans that support the sport, we then can realize that we lose live patronage that buy programs and food and whatever else while enjoying the races. We’ve lost them.

Next, we’ve made it too easy to be able to NOT GO to the track. Simulcasting, in my eyes, is an economic disaster. The wagering dollar is split into single pennies per dollar bet and it’s a lose-lose situation and casinos watch their bottom lines very closely these days.

Next, speed has played a big role in the sport’s impending demise. When the cheapest of claimers go quarters in :27 and are feeling the stress of an entire mile in 1:52…or, even, 1:54, that’s faster than Bret Hanover ever went and the horse population can do nothing but go down, down down. Betting will then recede further, field sizes will be shorter and payouts to lure the betting dollar will shrink even further. I see no path forward and have seen no programs to incentivize new participation. The top 10 stables gather all the future champions up in sales, take a huge bite out of the purse distribution per year and few new people can be roped in when the rewards are diminished from day one. I am sorry to say this…but, in reality, there is no path forward. We might be around for another generation or two…but that’s it!

(HarnessLink) Hopefully, “global warming” can be avoided for many generations to come…for both our world and the world of the standardbred sport.

May the Horse Be With You

by John Berry, for Harnesslink