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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
As many of you know by now, I love the history of this grand sport of harness racing. From the Narragansett Pacers of the 1700’s to the arrival of Messenger in 1788 to the first 3:00 mile recorded by Yankee in 1806 to Conquerer’s epic 100-mile world recorded in 1853 (in eight hours, 55 minutes
I had a good, long conversation with an old-time horseman the other day. He came from an era where drivers were trainers, carrying stopwatches in races trying to put something over on the competition by trying to get to the half in 1:03 by “clocking” in at the three-eighths pole in :47 and a piece.
Some 40 years ago, Clyde Hurt, a journalist serving the harness racing industry via Sports Eye, had many a controversial column on the state of the standardbred industry. One feature for which Hurt became synonymous, along with his signature bow tie, were his “impertinent questions” columns, examining many facets of the sport. Well, I, too,
A few days ago, a cable television news network had a five-minute expose’ on the recent equine deaths at Churchill Downs, Pimlico and Belmont Park. It was an agonizing five minutes for me as they started detailing the 12 horses that died during Kentucky Derby week and ended with the death of a thoroughbred one