Giwner: Fifty Harness Racing reasons to be thankful

Recently I participated in a family project with my youngest daughter. She was asked to complete a list of 100 things that she was thankful for in her life. The task seemed worth importing into the harness racing world.

It is not easy to come up with a list of 100 without being a little childish in terms of what is important. Sure, my daughter came up with some good ones, like being thankful for family, nature and veterans, but steak and John Cena also made her list. Most importantly, horses and horse racing was on her list, so at least I know the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Without further ado and in no particular order, let’s try the exercise and see if we can reach at least 50 things I’m thankful for in harness racing.

1 – Bettors – Without you there would be no sport.

2 – Owners – See above, bettors. People love to argue which is more important, but they are both equally necessary.

3 – Everyone who answers my calls – Along with my team, we call drivers, trainers and owners quite often. I’m very much thankful for everyone that answers the calls and graciously provides their time even when they don’t like the questions.

4 – Joe Faraldo and Jeff Gural – They don’t get along but each has done important things to help the sport. I’m additionally thankful for the lack of any public skirmishes between them.

5 – McWicked – I’m not sure he has my vote for Horse of the Year as of this writing, but he has my respect. We need more top-notch 7-year-old (and older) horses on the track in the major races.

6 – Foiled Again – It’s been so much fun watching you compete week-in and week-out over the last dozen years. In these days of “managing” horses and crazy-fast speed, I highly doubt we’ll ever see another quite like you.

7 – Readers – Where would I be without YOU! I’d like to thank each of you for visiting DRF.com/harness and reading the newsletter each week.

8 – Stakes Races – I love racing in general but few things get me charged up like a power-packed card of stakes races. May through November are truly the best months of the year.

9 – Wintertime – As much as I love racing, everyone needs some time to recharge their batteries. I love December!

10 – Drivers that press the pace – You know who you are! I understand that “racing hard” might not be the best for the horse in certain situations, but races are more interesting and exciting when everyone goes all out.

11 – Diamond Creek Farm – For designing a great hat that fits my head perfectly.

12 – Casie Coleman and S S G Stables – For announcing that they’ll bring McWicked back in 2018 as an 8-year-old.

13 – Connections of Tactical Landing and Six Pack – For entering their star 3-year-old trotters against older foes in the TVG Open Trot.

14 – Every entity that advertised with us in 2018 – We value your support.

15 – DRF – For allowing me to lead the harness division of DRF.

16 – Murray Brown, Jay Bergman, Adriano Sorella and others – For speaking out and expressing your often dissenting opinions. I don’t agree with everything many of these people say, but it is of vital importance to have an opposing point of view.

17 – New Jersey Purse Subsidy – Maybe I’m getting a bit ahead of myself here, but I’ll take a positive view and expect it to happen in the coming weeks.

18 – Aaron Merriman – The guy has over 4,150 starts in 2018, had 4,692 in 2017, 4,286 in 2016, 4,204 in 2015 and 4,646 in 2014. I’m thankful for anyone who works that hard.

19 – Ronnie Iovino – For taking Peter Iovino and I to the track 25-plus years ago and starting our journey in the sport.

20 – Yonkers Raceway Open Handicap Trot – This event in the early 1990s where Scenic Regal, Fish Story, Dr Trotta, Magna Hawk and others regularly competed, got me going to the track on a regular basis and piqued my interest in the sport.

21 – Cooperation – Our daily activities and the industry as a whole works so much better when we work together.

22 – Owners that show up – If the people that love and participate in the sport don’t show up in the winner’s circle, doesn’t that say something? So kudos to owners like Adriano Sorella, who has shipped all over North America with Jimmy Freight, Christina Takter, and the many others who make it their business to support the sport in person.

23 – Drivers and trainers that show up at press conferences – Why should press show up at a press conference if the people they might interview don’t attend? Let’s hear it for guys like Yannick Gingras, who drove in a qualifier at Harrah’s Philadelphia in the morning and still raced up the NJ Turnpike to make the Yonkers International Trot presser just past noon.

24 – Tracks that conduct draws on social media – Is there any reason in this day and age to not stream every draw? Why should owners, trainers and drivers have to wait hours for this information?

25 – Every track that streams in HD – How many people still watch TV in standard definition? Yet for the most part tracks expect you to watch a grainy signal where it is difficult to decipher which horse is which.

26 – Lexington – There is something special about the Grand Circuit meet and Lexington Selected Sale. For me it is the coming together of nearly the entire industry in one place.

27 – Gimpanzee, Warrawee Ubeaut, Woodside Charm – For providing all of us with something to dream about this winter as we wait for stakes season to start again.

28 – Captaintreacherous and Sweet Lou – For giving us a spectacular first crop of 2-year-olds.

29 – Caretakers – They are often the person in the winner’s circle or paddock that you have seen repeatedly but have no idea who they are. Without their love and care for each horse, where would we be?

30 – Ken Weingartner – This guy churns out a tremendous amount of content. Where would all of us be – DRF, HRU, etc. – without a little help from Ken.

31 – Off And Pacing – For giving me something to do during the down moments in life and providing another outlet for Harness Racing to grow.

32 – Post Time with Mike and Mike – Mike Bozich and Michael Carter put out a great weekly show that is always topical and informative.

33 – Breeders – Big and small, where would we be without the hard-working people that replenish our horse population each year?

34 – DRF Harness staff and writers – I couldn’t do it all without you.

35 – Problems in the sport – Without some problems there would be less to write about and discuss.

36 – People who provide solutions – Few things are worse than someone who complains without brining something positive to the table.

37 – Tracks and organizations who try something new – It doesn’t matter if it works out. We can’t move forward if you don’t take chances.

38 – Patience of my wife and daughters – They put up with my watching races and going to the track on a constant basis. Without their understanding, the DRF Harness content wouldn’t be the same.

39 – Moira Fanning – Have you noticed that she is everywhere and doing everything? Plus it is always a treat to chat with her.

40 – USTA Strategic Wagering – If guaranteed pools provide the incentive for even one person to bet, the entire program is worthwhile. It is also nice that free pps come along with the package.

41 – Hambletonian Day – It’s a showcase of everything that is great in the sport.

42 – Sam McKee – Gone but never forgotten. Just thankful to have known him.

43 – Strong yearling sales – It’s comforting to know that if you breed a good horse you’ll get paid. Perhaps we’ve seen the bottom and are on the way up.

44 – Positive handle numbers – Average handle per race is up 3.87% in 2018 and total handle is basically flat year over year despite a 3.89% cut in racing dates. Those numbers are solid. Total handle over $1.2 billion is nothing to sneeze at.

45 – Food at Fasig-Tipton – If only I could get a sandwich that good at my local racetrack without venturing into the casino to find a restaurant.

46 – Everyone who participated in my On The Backstretch series – It is vitally important that we erase the lines between the backstretch and the grandstand. Hopefully my little Q&A provides some insights into the lives of the on-track performers.

47 – Wiggle It Jiggleit – Yeah, I know he isn’t racing, but it was fun covering him when he was on the track. People love that horse and I hope he can make it back.

48 – Yonkers International Trot – It’s the one race that provides a powerful reason for foreign horses to visit North America.

49 – Social media – As much as it makes it harder to be the first to report news, it also pushes us to be faster, work harder, and provide more insight in what we report.

50 – Thanksgiving – For providing us with a day to embrace family and of course a topic to write about this week.