60 years of great friendships

As mentioned in the past, my first REAL visit to see harness racing was August 22, 1959.

I was barely 16 years old and was corralled there from a bowling alley in Chicago after winning a “pot game” at the Bryn Mawr Bowl and winning $15.

After that match, a gentleman approached me and offered to give me some money that he had won (unbeknownst to me) betting on me against some very solid keglers in their days.

“Luke” took me to to Sportsman’s Park (unbeknownst to my parents) and had a box over there —41A—and sat near many of the top names in the sport…Riegle, Graham, Pletcher to name a few…and I got an education right off the bat meeting some of these great horsemen.

It, probably, took me no more than 2:06 4/5—the time of the first race—to begin to fall in love with the excitement of harness racing and, by the time Dr. Hyslop won the seventh race for Jack Hankins in 2:04 4/5, I was hooked.

Senator Frost set a track record that night in the American-National Maturity Stake (2:01 3/5)  and Su Mac Lad won the finale for trainer-driver John Peat in 2:02 1/5, quite a respectable trotting mile back then. (It was then that Su Mac Lad changed hands to trainer Stanley Dancer and eventually wore out three sets of Free-For-All trotters in his grand career.)

Over the years, my love for the sport became insatiable as I met more and more great horse people and enjoyed many conversations with them.

By 1961, I had met one of the all-time greats, Curly Smart, and become friends with some wonderful folk that told me story after story to further my interest and admiration for harness racing.

They didn’t have to be a champion to be an idol in my eyes—they just had to be a horseman or women.

Bob Farrington, Bob Williams, Joe O’Brien and Lou Rapone became friends…but Cliff and Opal King and Edith Mouw meant just as much to me.

I jogged horses many a Saturday morning with Gene Vallandingham…and the great Edgar Leonard, Harold Snodgrass and Charlie Goins were friends, too…all treasures in my life in those hey-days of harness racing.

From Jack Hankins winning with the aforementioned Dr. Hyslop…or Bobby Williams winning with Morenci Chief or Lemuel…or Buck Minniear handling Yankee Madam, horses and drivers didn’t have to be the icons of the sport to be icons in my eyes.

Memories go back, now, 60 years…since the first thing I wrote was published the Horseman and Fair World—the very week Pompano Park opened its doors for pari-mutuel racing.

Over the next years—until this very day—I have been lucky enough to “rub shoulders” from horsemen “A” to “Z”…some stars…some not…but ALL horseman and women!

Abbatiello, Burright, Cameron, Doherty, Ervin, Fontaine, Goins, Hankins, Insko, Johnson, King,

Looney, Minor, Nickells, O’Mara, Popfinger, Quinn, Rapone, Shuter, Thompson, Ursitti, Vallandingham, Williams, Xanthos, Yohn, Zawistowski…

And to have become friends with many of the great announcers, well, that’s been great, as well.

Stan Bergstein, Phil Georgeff, Gil Levine, Tony Salvaro, Ed Gorman, Tom Durkin, Frank Salive, Gary Seibel, Jerry Glantz, Jack E. Lee, Peter Galassi, Roger, of course…too many to remember.

And, of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t mentioned my press box and journalist cronies who covered all angles of the sport—again, going back more than a half century with many gone these days (but not forgotten)…George Rowe, John Tinsley, Phil Pines, Walter Latzko, “Weed” Rorty, Les Ford, Pete Lawrence, George Smallsreed, Ed Keys, Mark Hall, Mark Bachrad, Dean Hoffman, Phil Pikelny, Leon Zimmerman, Kim Rinker, David Carr, the Littles—Dave and Debbie— and last, but certainly not least, Steve Wolf, whose treasured friendship began 40-some-odd years ago in a press box up near the Liberty Bell!!

Of course, friendships continue to this very day with my newest cast of friends at Harnesslink—from “Ace” to J.C. to Garnet to Trey to Brad to all others carrying the torch forward.

Like I said, they didn’t have to be famous…they just had to love our sport as I do!

Working with Gabe Prewitt for nine grand years…incredible!

(In those nine years, we never prepared one single script for our television shows…not one!)

In recent years, say, the last 20 or so, Wally Hennessey has become a very close friend…Mickey McNichol, too—each keeping a watchful eye on me during my plight with “end stage” kidney disease.

The have proven to me that many horsemen are more than just horsemen, if you know what I mean!

Over these past 60 years, there have been many stories of euphoria and many of sadness.

My journey began, as you might have guessed, in Chicago and continued to New Jersey before landing in Florida.

I have been lucky enough to play many “instruments in the orchestra” for our great sport—from the written word to taking our sport to rehabilitation facilities to malls to charitable events and given seminars in several States. From the race office to the announcer’s booth…from the sales ring to the television studio…from being a handicapper to the accurate morning line maker (PPk’s “magic number” was 123), I have had the pleasure and honor of doing it.

I’ve been hired…I’ve been fired…but, through it all, my love for this sport has never waned…not even for one-fifth of a second!

I was fortunate to win the national John Hervey Award for journalistic excellence, be elected to our Communicator’s Hall of Fame and accomplished things as a handicapper and morning line maker that have never been done before—and which I will not expound upon here.

One of the great things that happened to me was back about 40 years ago.

That’s when the late, great Allen J. Finkelson called me with an invitation to be in Pompano Park’s media race.

When I arrived at the track, I bumped into guys like Billy Haughton, Mickey McNichol and Frank O’Mara, among others…and a gentleman by the name of Mike Murphy.

Mike had donated the services of his horse, Top Line Collins, for the race, who was “bred to be a good one,” a fact echoed by trainer Mike, Billy, himself, and Mickey.

I got a proof from Lenny Calderone, who worked the press box back then, and he, too, said, “he was bred to be a good one…by Steady Star.”

Now I remembered Steady Star as a very fast free-legged pacer who set that 1:52 mark at The Red Mile a few years back, which was considered a miracle mile.

Lenny told me to get a hold of “Murph” and get more info about him…and that’s exactly what I did..

Mike Murphy was a wonderful gentleman who gave me all the low-down on Top Line Collins…Mike’s wife, Barbara, was just a nice as she could be and strongly reiterated the fact that “he was bred to be a good one!”

“Way-ill,” Murph drawled, “he drawd the rail and he can leave a bit but been drawing bad.”

“You know, he was bred to be a good one, you know, he’s a Steady Star, and he can leave a little so you’ll be all right!”

(Murph then got a phone call from someone, and I overheard him saying, “Ya know this horse has drawd bad for so long and he finally drawd the rail in a MEDIA! Can you believe it!”)

But Murph, being the gentleman that he is, gave me great instructions on how to handle him.

I snuck a look at the proof again…nine starts…no wins…no seconds…no thirds…earnings of $323…and no change…in “5” claimers!…but he did have a couple of “bubbles” on his lines.

Murph and I probably had something else in common at the time…but didn’t know it just yet…kidney disease.

More on that later.

Mike told me to leave with him and, when any challenge developed, just hang ‘em out to dry like wet laundry.

I’ll never forget his words,,,”Just get down to the quarter in :32 and half in 1:05 and he’ll get you home!”

My other “coach” that night was Billy Haughton

Billy gave me some great advice in the paddock that night…”Just leave right out of there…and keep improving your position. I checked him over for you and I can tell you that he was ‘bred to be a good one!’” (In hindsight, I should have suspected something right there!)

Top Line Collins had these “peek-a-boos” on so, in the paddock, I peeked into them myself and gave him a pep talk.

Did his ears perk up?

No!

So, the starter called us to the gate and Top Line seemed quite aggressive, so I put his nose on the gate and, when the wings folded, I sent him and got down to the quarter on top in :31.4…pretty much on target.

When a challenger approached during the second quarter, I “chewed him up and spit him out” (or so I thought) on the way to a half in 1:05.4.

Two taps on the rump on the backside—both Top Line’s backside and Pompano’s backside—and we go off by two or so and get to the third station in 1:38 with another challenge developing.

I really felt confident there but the challenger went by like I was standing still and I wound up third.

That friendship with Mike Murphy was rekindled when I rejoined Pompano Park in 2004 and, by that time, we both knew we had something in common besides horses and, yes, it was “end stage” kidney disease.

Mike beat odds of 1,000,000 to one when he found a donor in a non-blood grandson—Barbara’s son from a prior marriage—and, yes, it was Jacob J.W. Fox, who selflessly offered to give his matched kidney to his grandpa.

The transplant worked perfectly, and Mike Murphy has enjoyed a spectacular second chance at life graced with some great horses including Tater Twister, Four Socks and Just For Trix, among them.

It hasn’t been all a bed of roses as tragedy ended the career of Four Socks but, Just For Trix became the only sub-1:50 in the sport last year—1:49.4—giving Mike Murphy his first performer at either gait to break that barrier.

J.W. has done pretty well for himself since the transplant, as well, enjoying his two best seasons as a trainer in 2022 and 2023, enjoying success at Hoosier Park, Oak Grove and The Meadows, among others.

As for me, I am on dialysis and just happy to be alive!

My friendship with Mike Murphy is one of the most cherished that anyone could enjoy…and it goes back, as I mentioned, over 40 years.

Oh, one other thing about the horse that was “bred to be a good one,” Top Line Collins.

The morning after our media race at Pompano Park, I was talking to Ted Malloy, the great trackman there, and he was telling me about a “bit” that a was found on the track right about the three-quarter pole.

Funny thing…that’s about the spot where Top Line Collins “spit his out.”

May The Horse Be With You!

by John Berry, for Harnesslink