Harness: New year's resolutions for the Harness Racing industry

It's my last column of the year and while that is usually a good time to do some reflecting on the year that was, I've had my fill of 2020 and instead would like to take a New Year approach. Let's call this my New Year’s resolution for harness racing. Some of the items are realistic, others are not, but it's the holidays, so let's dream a bit.

First, an item that isn't going to happen any time soon, but it is something that I miss. Bring back the Winter Series' at The Meadowlands! I know, more than most, the difficulty of bringing back these races. When the winter series were at their apex, it was a chance for younger horses who were not up to the best of their generation, to race for enhanced purses. With the advent of slot-infused purses at surrounding racetracks, the late closer series' lost their appeal. After all, why race for a $12,500 purse in preliminary legs, just to face some really good horses, when you can go for the same amount (or more), in the same condition, at a nearby racetrack. But, I still remember being a first-year law student and writing an appellate brief while watching the Super Bowl, White Ruffles and Clyde Hirt Series at The Meadowlands. As a teenager, I used to love to go through the nominations of those series' and try to pick what the final would be before they even drew the races.

A Wednesday in January back in 2006 featured 58 young trotters competing in five divisions of the Super Bowl series. The series would culminate in a $65,000 Final won by the mare Bancroft Hall. With sports betting now in full-swing at The Meadowlands and a purse allocation fund in which Governor Phil Murphy reportedly endorsed for the future at a recent meeting with members of the New Jersey racing community, perhaps the time is right to bring back some of these series. With The Meadowlands not strapped for cash and the legs of the series being supported by overnight purse account funds, having $20,000 legs and a $50,000 Added Final for a few Winter Series could be possible. Some of these races could have overwhelming favorites and admittedly, this is more about nostalgia than anything else for me, but those mid-week winter nights were better when those series were taking place.

Second, stop the infighting through the harness racing media. Rather than authoring an op-ed piece regarding an industry leader's position on a certain issue, which prompts that individual to pen a rebuttal in the form of an "open letter," just talk to one another. I am not suggesting that people hold hands and sing "kumbaya," but just writing press releases about the disdain you have for one another helps no one. I just feel that it is counter-productive. The industry would be much better served if someone simply picked up the phone and had a conversation.

Third (gulp), stop the post-time drag. Gulfstream Park, one of the premier thoroughbred racing venues in the country and champion of the longest post-time drag in that industry, suddenly and unexpectedly, stopped dragging its posts. There was no press release announcing the decision. Nobody was warned. When their meet began on December 2, a note appeared on the crawl of its feed that simply said "Horses will load at listed post times for all races."

But they can't do that! The handle will fall off a cliff! That is the argument we have always heard about the importance of the post-time drag. Not only has the handle not fallen off a cliff, but on Saturday, December 5 Gulfstream Park saw $14.6 million sent through its betting windows for the annual Claiming Crown racing series. That marked the most money wagered in that event's history. So much for the theory that without the post-time drag, you lose handle.

Lastly, Jackpot wagers. Recently it was announced that New York had approved a Pick 6 Jackpot wager for harness racing in the state. I cannot emphasize this enough, jackpot wagers do not help horseplayers and do not help the long-term sustainability of horse racing. Jackpot wagers feature exorbitant effective takeout rates, in the case of Pick 5's or Pick 6's, the wager ties up wagering dollars for a large portion of the card and thus, limits the horseplayer's ability to churn their bankroll.

You may believe that Jackpot bets attract money from gamblers beyond your traditional horseplayer. Perhaps that is true because "bet a little to win a lot" is a catch phrase that the gambling industry has been selling for years. But, over a long period of time, the more money that is tied up in Jackpot pools, the less the horseplayers have in their pockets to churn. If there is more than one winning ticket, even the horseplayers that share in that secondary pool are sharing a pot that is far less than what it should be. Had the wager simply been a normal, straight-up wager, the return would have been far greater.

Lastly, when a player hits the jackpot for six-figures, it's not as if that money is cycled right back through the windows. That money is, in all likelihood, either paying down debt or going into savings. So a Jackpot pool has tied money up, reducing the ability of horseplayers to churn their wagering dollars and the winner doesn't put the money back into your pools. Saying a player wagered two dollars and won $100,000 sounds great, but the reality is a different story.

I also wanted to mention the passing of Hall of Famer Joe DeFrank. Without Joe DeFrank, The Meadowlands would have existed, but not in the same way. DeFrank brought many horsemen, including John Campbell, to The Meadowlands (imagine The Meadowlands without the greatest driver in history). DeFrank created The Meadowlands Pace and those million-dollar babies' nights.

Sonny Werblin, the man behind The Meadowlands Sports Complex, tabbed Bob Quigley as the man to run The Meadowlands Racetrack. Quigley, whose career was more aligned with thoroughbreds at Atlantic City Race Course, recognized that he needed someone for his racing department that knew the game of harness racing. Enter Joe DeFrank from Windsor Raceway.

Quigley cited DeFrank as the greatest hire he ever made. It was DeFrank who told Quigley that whomever he hires for the job, make sure you get a 10-horse starting gate. DeFrank would say in an interview that in the first driver's meeting held at The Meadowlands, he made his wishes clear, "No backing off to the half, no sitting in. If you're on the outside, just keep going. If you get beat, you get beat, but get beat trying."

I suppose in the end it's fitting that harness racing has said goodbye to Quigley and DeFrank in the same year.

It's been a difficult year for everyone. I wish you all an enjoyable holiday season. Stay safe, stay well and here is to hoping that 2021 is much better for us all. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year. See you next year!