Joe DeFrank, from those who knew him best

This is the first Hambletonian — or Hambletonian Day — where Joe DeFrank is no longer with us. The harness rawcing Hall of Famer passed away Dec. 12, 2020. I didn’t want to say “race secretary;” that would be like calling Wayne Gretzky a capable skater.

Joe did it all. Another Hall of Famer, Bob Quigley — the very first general manager in Meadowlands history — said, “Hiring Joe DeFrank was the greatest hire I ever made.”

There can hardly be an easier assignment than to ask someone to do a story on Joe DeFrank. The enormity of his accomplishments are all still evident today. Nobody’s DNA is in more places than Joe’s this coming Saturday (Aug. 7).

I am very proud to say I knew the man, but more from a distance. Joe had this way of letting people do their jobs. And if you did it well and really worked, there was nobody better to have in your booth — in the corner — than Joe. But, then again, he demanded that — in mostly a quiet way. The majority of those I talked to were either flat-out intimidated by him — some made sure they tiptoed quietly through the night — but all got the job done. He was a man you very much wanted to please.

In the almost 45-year history of The Meadowlands, nobody had a bigger presence than Joe.

Joe was the recruiter of the stars. The Meadowlands opened with names like Greg Wright, Ben Webster, Buddy Gilmour, Mike Gagliardi, Ted Wing, Jim Doherty. And that’s to say nothing of the biggest names in the sport like Dancer, Haughton, Miller, Garnsey, and, well, you name it. Bill O’Donnell was

denied stalls in New York in the winter of 1979 and quietly made his way to The Meadowlands. Joe was more than happy to have him.

One of the first things he insisted on was the 10-horse starting gate. And he demanded action. You came here to race, not to watch. If you worked hard and showed up, Joe was with you.

Joe was part of a dynamic team that included Sonny Werblin, public relations maven Allen Gutterman, and general manager Sam Anzalone. Bob Mulcahy came a bit later, and so did paddock judge Teddy Crowl and Joe Toscano. Everywhere you looked, there was a cohesive part of this machine in motion.

Right from the start, Joe envisioned big-money races — and everyone was on board. He got the ball rolling for the first Woodrow Wilson in 1977, which carried a then-record $280,000 pot and which No No Yankee won. (How proud would Joe be today that the six richest harness races ever held were all Woodrow Wilsons!) When Escort won the 1977 Meadowlands Pace — with $425,000 on the line, and in the wheelbarrows in the winner’s circle — helicopters circled above to capture it for the news outlets. Even if you weren’t yet a racing fan, you were quite aware that The Meadowlands was here — it wasn’t just Giants Stadium anymore.

Series cropped up. The New Faces was the very series that gave Cam Fella his first ever stakes win in 1982. Hot Lead parlayed that into Pace glory in 1996. The Su Mac Lad, for free-for-all trotters, allowed us to see a superstar like Magician win it three straight years. The Presidential started in 1978 and provided a stage for the best older pacers to battle through the winter months.

Red Bow Tie, Tune Town, Falcon Seelster — simply the best were on display. The Trendsetter allowed for potential late-blooming stars, and the Comforter did the same for the ladies. The Four Leaf Clover gave 4-year-olds who may not have been among the super elite a chance to shine on their own stage. Even those series that didn’t last long — like the Skyline Series — had their memorable moments, like when Vanston Hanover ended Tuff Choices’ record 13-race win streak in May 1985.

DeFrank’s vision led to marquee events throughout the 1980s as well. The inaugural ‘Million Dollar Babies’ card, in July 1986, offered over $5 million in purses, and was renewed for each of the following three years. The World Cup attracted the world’s best pacers from 1982 to 1985, including San Simeon, a Down Under pacer who may have set the all-time record for press coverage for a horse who did not win a race at The Meadowlands.

Genghis Khan and Beatcha fiercely defended their home turf, and after yielding to Toughkenamon in 1984 with a nod to Down Under excellence, On The Road Again said enough of this in 1985 and swept the series. From 1985 to 1989, the Statue Of Liberty attracted the best of the trotting world. The only reason we saw Meadow Road race twice — and set two Big M track records — was because of this series, which also attracted the great Mack Lobell.

Let’s move on to those who worked with and knew Joe the best.

Mike Lachance: “I knew Joe from 1968 at Batavia. To me — like, when I think of Keith Waples or Buddy Gilmour, I think of Joe DeFrank. One of a kind. Totally unique. He touched everyone’s life who has ever set foot on a racetrack in his or her life. He would talk to everybody — owners, you name it. I knew Don D’Andrea through Joe too. A truly great man who helped me whenever he could. In 1976 he wanted me there at the Meadowlands full-time.

“I won a race with Tenacious Chip on the second night (Sept. 2, 1976). At the time, I had the best stable at Brandywine. So my brother Pierre went to the Meadowlands for, maybe, a month. But my horses were tired. After I left with them and came back home, Joe told me I should have seen him first. Anytime I would want to come back, he was all for it. One time, after I returned in 1988, a paddock judge was giving me some trouble, singling me out for no reason. Uncomfortable. Joe talked to him and took care of it immediately. He had your back. He had powerful respect all over.”

Rod Allen: “A visionary that exceeded horsemen’s wildest dreams. He created races that overshadowed the Grand Circuit. He made The Meadowlands the place to be without slot machines. He brought in young drivers and catapulted them to superstars. He brought together a team that promoted racing like the sport had never seen. There were race cards that were big-money eliminations where, out of 10 races, you likely had to win to make the final. It meant bringing in foreign horses to compete with a dominant horse to put on a show. That’s what he did. He treated owners, trainers and drivers like royalty. Draws for big races were celebrated. Trophies were grand.”

Veteran photographer Hugh Ducey: “Joe always gave a ‘good job’ when he thought you did something special. A great guy to know and to work for. But he didn’t like helicopters. We had a draw for a big race one year in the helicopter and Joe was scared. We couldn’t use any of the photos because the whites of his eyes were as big as saucers!”

JoAnn Looney-King, the first female driver in East Rutherford: “He was a true leader. Prominent. Open-door policy to all horsemen. The word ‘great’ would definitely encompass this man. They just don’t make ’em like Joe anymore.”

Ginny Whipple Berkner, one of the first two women hired to work in the offices in 1975, prior to the opening of The Meadowlands: “Yes, Eileen Barrett (later Quigley) and I worked at the Landmark, where we had the offices while the track was still being built. We wore hardhats every time we went over to the facility. Joe was larger than life. Dynamic. Everything got done. A monumental task to do so — remember Joe had to uproot to come to New Jersey. Beryl joined us shortly thereafter. Joe’s office — I can see it now — had aluminum foil all around — a bridal suite. But things got done, no two ways about it.”

Linda Toscano: “I was intimidated by him early on. I felt like I was going to the principal’s office. I remember I had a trotter named Hornby Duke. We paid around $60,000 or a little more for him, but there was no class to race him in. There was a $50,000 claimer. I went to Joe and asked him if he could make it a $60,000 handicap also. He did. ‘I can do that for you,’ he said. He would write the class to fit your horse. The late closers that we know today were basically invented by Joe.”

Dave Palone: “I remember talking to Joe about coming up to The Meadowlands with a few. I might have been 22 years old. I was terrified. He couldn’t have treated me nicer. I was a young kid from Washington, Pa., with no real stock to speak of. Sure didn’t need me. The first time I went into his office, he knew my name and he plugged me in with Magic (Bill O’Donnell) and John (Campbell). Starstruck.”

Rick Kane: “I wish I had the opportunity to have worked in his company.”

Blair Burgess: “I only dealt with him from afar. He was a legend. I feared the few times I had to call the Big M race office. I was a young trainer intimidated by the aura of the track, and he was its persona. The Meadowlands Pace was definitely its signature race. The Pace epitomized the track — a million dollars on the line, and the very best assembled to do battle. It really was bigger than the Hambletonian at the time, in my opinion. The race of the summer. He recruited all the great drivers that came there — even if they weren’t great when they got there.”

Bruce Riegle: “Joe was the race secretary in Cleveland when I first knew him through my father. Great guy. If he liked you, fantastic. If he didn’t, well … The first year at The Meadowlands, my brother Alan drove most of the horses. Joe wanted me to stay there full-time, but I was working with my father and I had an allegiance there. But he always welcomed me whenever I was there.”

Joe Pavia Jr. “I was young, and he had the big office and the big desk in the back office. He was like the President. You didn’t really see him without an appointment or unless he wanted to see you, and most of the time, you didn’t want that to happen. You dealt with his people in the front, who were all very good to deal with. He was ‘the boss;’ he had a presence.”

Mark Jordan: “A great race secretary. I raced under Joe at Windsor Raceway.”

James Bernstein, who won a couple dozen races in the first couple years The Meadowlands raced in the late 1970s: “I met Joe in 1976. I had two horses racing at Yonkers, (including) a horse named Royal Spectator, who I claimed at Hazel Park. He couldn’t handle the turns at Yonkers, and one night, Joe Marsh Jr. said to me I ought to see Joe DeFrank at The Meadowlands to see if he would let you race

there. I drove over and walked into Joe’s office. He was totally gracious. He said, ‘Drop him in the box, Jim.’ I was so impressed that he would just treat a two-horse stable trainer-driver so well. A great human being.”

Historian John Berry: “In my eyes, Joe DeFrank played the most powerful role in the success of every single owner, trainer, driver in our grand sport. His only ‘favorites’ were the ones on the tote board. He gave us all an equal opportunity for success. Just a giant in our grand sport.”

Steve Katz, from The Meadowlands, Lana Lobell, Sports Eye and Walnut Hall: “Joe and The Meadowlands were synonymous. He established the first-class culture that established the track as the sport’s leader from the get-go. He ran the greatest race office in history. He was a man of vision and was still able to focus on the details. He was very award of all the aspects of the track operations.”

Bob Boni, Northwood Bloodstock: “The expression was not yet in vogue, but Joe was truly a game-changer and definitely the right man at the right time. He knew what he was doing, what he wanted, and how to get it done. The elements of many of today’s stakes bear his footprints.”

Tony Ventriglio, owner of horses which have competed at The Meadowlands: “Always good with me. Classy man.”

Peter Blood: “The best race secretary, promoter and organizer the sports business has ever seen.”

Larry Rolla: “The man that was given a big job and did it well. He recognized the right people for every position and put them there. He also knew the good guys from the bad ones, but he always gave you a shot to redeem yourself. He was a fair and principled man.”

by Bob Heyden for the Hambletonian Society