Harness: Losing a trio of fine men

It was a Grand Circuit meeting at The Red Mile in the mid-eighties. For a Roosevelt and Yonkers Raceway regular to find himself in the bluegrass was a rarity, but how else could one get a grip of what was going on behind the scenes. Lexington offered the ability to get inside the mind of owners, breeders, trainers and drivers on a most casual basis. It was during this time that I first came face to face with a young and aspiring trainer.

Jimmy Takter had a very small stable at the time but a big personality. It was on one of those nights after the races had ended and the sales were complete that Takter befriended me to some degree. We were sitting at a table in a bar somewhere when Takter began talking. It didn’t take very long to find out what was on his mind as he went on for quite some time telling me exactly what was wrong with American racing and what needed to be done, specifically to correct it. There were no questions asked, at least on my part, but Takter went on for some time in detail of the things that bothered him about how racing was constructed in the United States.

Perhaps others would have been put off by his brashness or a perceived know-it-all nature, but I was fascinated enough by what he was saying to listen intently.

As I look back now more than 30 years later it has become crystal clear that Takter had a brilliant insight and a capacity to make corrections. Though the sport has changed radically since then, Takter’s ascension up the ranks and Hall of Fame career are by-products of a strong-willed personality and desire to see everything made perfectly.

As Takter closed the most recent chapter of his training career and embarks on whatever the next will be, there’s this feeling that his best work over the course of time has come in taking exceptional horses and making them even greater. Moni Maker wasn’t the best sophomore filly in her class but under Takter would become an international champion. Always Be Miki wasn’t the best freshman or sophomore of his class but once under the care of Takter would become a champion. He would rank not just as the fastest pacer of all time but among the greatest as well.

In his final year he carefully crafted the career of Tactical Landing from underachieving expensive yearling to Breeders Crown champion and beyond.

Takter was indeed outspoken, as I found out on that initial meeting, and often weighed in with me on matters he lacked expertise in. There was a brief time he lectured me on how reporters questioned trainers and drivers in Sweden. The implication being that he didn’t much care for what was coming from my mouth. At the same time, he never wavered from a question or refused to answer.

The sport lost another imported superstar when Noel Daley accepted a new assignment and returned to his native land last week. Daley, who cut his teeth originally with trainer Brett Pelling during a dominant period in the sport, had maintained a level of excellence on his own for quite some time. A careful look back shows he came for a short stay and managed to make a 25-year career out of it.

“It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a long time,” Daley said on TVG Finals night, just four days before going home to Australia.

He rose to fame on his own with the $3.5 million winning Mr Muscleman and when capturing the 2011 Hambletonian with Broad Bahn a few years later. He was able to bring along his trotters with patience and reward owners with late-season success. The Trixton-sired Princess Deo finished second in the Goldsmith Maid as one of Daley’s last U.S. starters, closing out her season with nearly $290K banked, richest from her sire’s first crop.

The retirement of Takter and relocation of Daley leave opportunity for others to fill the gaps. On the trotting side, young Marcus Melander has shown the focus and precision to get the job done on the biggest stages. His victories this year with horses taken under his care for short time are perhaps a glimpse of a brilliant North American future. Crazy Wow’s surprise in the Maple Leaf and Cruzado Dela Noche’s performance in the International Trot will certainly give Melander the street cred he deserves and likely will spill off into more opportunity.

Daley’s departure paves the way for the returning Brett Pelling to improve the quality in his stable. Pelling will likely be training Caviart Ally when the daughter of Bettor’s Delight returns for her 5-year-old campaign, as well as a few others from Daley’s 2018 stable.

For Takter and Daley, the changes and improvement in their horses never came overnight. The two had patience and gave horses the time necessary to develop in the stable and on the racetrack. Horses didn’t enter their stables and make dramatic turnarounds in seven days as some of today’s conditioners with far less experience have managed. Daley had agreed to sell Delightful Dragon, the 2013 Three Diamonds winner he acquired in 2015 after she was done racing, to Barbara Matthews as a broodmare. “That was some deal,” Daley said. Instead of retiring her, Daley raced her through the end of this year and the Bettor’s Delight mare earned about $500K in the process. “She was very kind to me,” said Daley of the new owner.

The sudden passing of publicity man extraordinaire Marv Bachrad, 82, last week left a void that won’t likely be filled. Obviously from another era, Bachrad did whatever he could and more for everyone involved in this sport. He never stopped doing what he did best and only in the last months when that became physically impossible did he step aside. Originally a mainstay at the quaint Brandywine Raceway and more recently over the last 20 years at Dover Downs, Bachrad would handicap the races and interview the winners. His passion for the sport was unmatched.

Rest In Peace Marv.