Comparing eras in harness racing

I’ve seen a lot of harness racing over the past 63 years…a LOT of races.

I’ve talked to a lot of horsemen, too. A LOT of them.

They might not have a degree from Harvard or Yale or Princeton, but the horsemen and women from yesteryear had a wisdom that is slowly draining from harness racing today.

Oh, David Miller and Wally Hennessey and Tony Morgan and Pete Wrenn and Rick Plano are still around from the “old school” but so many from that generation or generations before are gone or retired.

Herve, the Catman, Jiggling Joe, Stanley, Billy, Bob Farrington, Del Insko, Gene Riegle, Curly, Harry Burright, Frank Ervin, Delvin, Bob Williams, Jim Dennis, Tom Merriman, Bruce Nickells, Lou Rapone and a thousand more are gone from the game—you know, the guys who carried stopwatches.

I miss them.

They came from an era of conventional sulkies, leather hobbles, toe weights, elbow boots and what other paraphernalia (even knee spreaders) necessary to try and reach the winner’s circle.

They also came from an era, well, most of them did, when tracks were made of materials that, when it rained or snowed or sleeted, could affect the condition of track surface where winning miles were in the 2:20’s or 2:30’s and, in extreme circumstances, over 3:00 with 3:38 3/5 the “extremist extreme” found.

Yes, the horsemen in the bike back then were the ones who looked out for our $2 by glancing at their stopwatches trying to get to the three-eighths in 47 seconds attempting to put something over on their worthy opponents.

I haven’t forgotten the great women of yesteryear, either, like Grandma Burright, Edith Mouw and June Dillman, among others, but they were, maybe, slightly before those listed above where just about ALL races were in the 2:07-2:12 range and they didn’t really have to worry about things like trying to get to three-eighths in :47 or :48!

(But JoAnn Looney, Lise Turcotte, Lady ‘J,” Kelly Case and “Queen Bea” did!)

Of course, it’s a different ballgame today…but no different than just about every other sport.

There are no more wooden tennis rackets…or leather footballs. Racing bicycles, like they use in the Tour de France and other similar events, baseball bats and many other sports benefit from technology.

Bowling equipment and conditions today have improved a bowler’s average by 30 to 40 pins a game…at least…and the coveted 300 game of yesteryear (just like the 2:00 mile in our sport) is about as common as a 1:54 mile by a $4,000 claimer today.

From my old Brunswick Mineralite bowling ball back in 1960, when I shot my first 300 game, to today’s reactive resin and urethane spheres and live kickboards as the ball strikes the pins, it, too, is a whole new “ball” game.

The Bicycle Manufacturing Company manufactures a bike that weighs less than 2 1/2 pounds and has 400 times the tubular strength of steel.

Harness racing is no different.

Our breed, once known for durability, is now a breed for speed.

And racetrack materials and equipment benefitting from technology have pushed things right along.

When I first fell in love with the sport, a 2:00 mile was exciting and almost sacred. Today, a 1:50 mile is “ho-hum.”

But, again, it’s no different than, say, The Indy 500, where the average speed when Ray Harroun won the first one in 1911 in 6:42.08 figuring out to 74.6 mph and Marcus Ericsson winning the 2022 edition in 2:51:00—almost four hours quicker—averaging a bit more than 175 mph.

Back then, many owners of harness horses had to wait for a phone call from their trainer to get the results on how their horse raced. Today, sadly, an owner doesn’t even have to leave the couch to watch his horse race…much more “hands on.”

There is a lot more pressure on a trainer today as the competition is fierce and, understandably, no trainer wants to lose an owner.

But there IS a difference when someone has $2 or $200 on a horse’s nose to win.

I have spoken to a few well-known drivers from the “old school” this week and they are mindful of both the horse when they are in a race and the next most important thing—the bettor!

“When I go behind the gate,” said Wally Hennessey, “I, like many of us ‘old school guys,’ think the bettor is the most important aspect of the sport and I am driving to win a race for that bettor. For me, next comes the owner, then the caretaker, then the trainer and, finally, me.

“I can only be successful when an owner is successful, and the owner can only be successful if the person taking care of the horse treats it to the best care possible to make the trainer successful. When all of those things come into line, we all are successful. – Wally Hennessey

“If there is a broken link somewhere in between, it all goes up in smoke.”

Hennessey thinks that some rules are backwards, too.

He said, “If I am trying to win a race for the guy and gal who has placed their $2 on a horse and trusts me with that, I am going to use as much strategy as possible to get that done. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t, but I’m going to give it a go every time.

“The rule at most racetracks for a fine for a slow second quarter, to me, is wrong, as I am trying to conserve my horse as much as I can for the most important part of the race—the finish.

“Believe me, I understand about causing confusion back of me, but all of us are professionals and, if they sense a slackening of the pace, then they should get out and do something about it…but I am trying to win for my bettor with a trickledown effect to the owner and so on down the line.

“You never see any driver getting a ‘speeding ticket’ (fine) for going a suicidal :25 opening quarter leaving the vast majority of the horses gutless at the end of a mile…and it could hurt the horse, too. In the old days, we used to call it ‘corking.’

“I don’t even think there should be a timer shown on the track at every quarter. I think it’s OK to have the public know on the (tote) board or their televisions, but I’d love to see which drivers have a great sense of pace during the race.

“After all, in baseball, a pitcher keeps a hitter guessing on which pitch is next and in football, the other team doesn’t know which play is next.

“Then, you separate the ‘men from the boys,’ as they say.

“The speed explosion of today has made some horses exceed their natural ability and I’m not so sure that is a good thing.”

In an interview years ago, Billy Haughton once said, “You can’t make a horse great—either it has ability, or it doesn’t. But, on the other hand, it’s easy to ruin a good one in any number of ways including poor care or trying to make a horse go beyond its natural ability.”

And that holds true to this very day.

Big breeders have reaped the rewards—deservedly so—for improving the breed.

But the proof is in the pudding, as far as the betting public is concerned. Why, just a few nights ago at The Meadowlands, over $300,000 was bet into a $30,000 plus carryover in the Pick-5.

Do you think that those who bet into that pool were thinking about “time” when making their bets?

Doesn’t that mean that TIME really means nothing to bettors. After all, the payoff would have been $21,196.22 whether the race went in 1:53.2 or 2:01.3.

Might it be TIME to concentrate on enhancing our fan base instead of trying to break a world record by a fifth-of-a-second?

Back in the era when we had driver-trainers, some were better drivers than trainers and some were better trainers than drivers.

Today, the driver-trainer is at a definite disadvantage over the catch-driver—as the trainer-driver would be much more conservative and looking to the future, while the catch-driver is looking at the next one-minute and fifty seconds…or faster!

But the lifeline and backbone of the sport—the bettor—could care less about the time.

They just want to cash in on their winning ticket Time only matters when there is only one minute to post!

by John Berry, for Harnesslink