Harness: Profile of Meadowlands Racing Secretary Scott Warren

What kind of car do you drive?

Toyota Rav4 Hybrid.

Favorite dinner meal? Snack?

A good steak; I have a sweet tooth for about any kind of dessert.

What is your favorite all-time track to visit? Why?

My favorite experience is being able to go to Lexington to The Red Mile and Keeneland. Keeneland is a social outing with the majority young people at a racetrack. Who would have thought? They even have one parking lot dedicating to tailgating.

Do you enjoy handicapping or betting?

I would consider my work as a Race Secretary as a form of handicapping.

What is your favorite big event in racing?

Now as the Race Secretary at The Meadowlands it would be our big races throughout the year. I had actually never attended the Hambletonian or Meadowlands Pace prior to working here.

How did you get started in harness racing?

I got started at Ocean Downs. I worked as the Announcer and Assistant Race Secretary for a couple summers before being asked by Rick Bonekemper (Race Secretary at Ocean Downs) to go to Rosecroft in the Fall of 1995 when Bally's took over Ocean Downs and Rosecroft. I actually got the announcer gig by the end of my first week at Rosecroft, also.

What is your favorite sport to watch? Team?

Favorite sport I would say would be hockey and it is the Washington Capitals. While working at Rosecroft our program director at the time Jan Gilmour and her husband Lloyd had a horse or two for Dale Hunter. He would come to Rosecroft from time to time and that is how I got interested in hockey. Hockey is way better watching in person then it is on TV. After a lot of heartbreaks we finally can say we won the Stanley Cup!

What is one thing about you most fans/bettors don't know?

That I have and still on occasion announce races. I'm a pretty laid back person (aka not a people person) and really don't talk a lot. So I get, 'is that really you up there announcing?' I always say I have a face for radio. I'm in the booth by myself. I may get into the race a bit too much at times announcing.

What is one word that describes harness racing for you?

Enjoyable.

Do you have a favorite horse from your time in the sport?

As an owner at one time, my favorite horse would be Kellie Cameleon. He was by far the best horse that my father and I owned. He made nearly $600,000 lifetime. Another horse that I followed and is one of my favorites is Pilgrim's Fiery. He was just a war-horse that showed up every week. He competed around the same time as did Kellie Cameleon.

What is the best advice you've ever gotten about harness racing?

It would be the last thing that would have come out of the mouth of my late great assistant at Vernon, John "Brownie" Brown.

What was your favorite moment in harness racing?

Too many to pick just one. Recently it would be the most recent $3 million night in handle.

You are currently Director of Racing for Vernon Downs and Racing Secretary at The Meadowlands. Which track is tougher to put a card together?

Meadowlands is a lot tougher from the aspect that it is under a microscope because we have a much greater handle and pressure to put forth as many full fields as possible.

You are nearing two years as the top dog in The Meadowlands' racing office. What has the experience been like? Easier or tougher than you thought?

My experience has been great because of my team members. In the Race Office I have two of the best in Doug Defrank and Laurie Blomquist. They both know the place like the back of their hand and have a great relationship with the horsemen here.

Recent cards at The Meadowlands have been very competitive. On January 23 only three favorites won in 14 races. Is there an art to putting together races?

Every draw we try and put forth the best racing product as possible. It just works out better sometimes than others. As a Race Secretary you want every race to have a 3/1 favorite, but there a lot of times we will have a heavy odds-on favorite and they will bet the race like crazy. I don't know if it's because they want to key that favorite with other horses or they think the horse is a vulnerable favorite.

Handle has been on quite a roll with numerous $3 million-plus Saturday nights. Do you take extra pride in that since you put together the product?

Yes, it gives you a good feeling to know that positive results occur after putting together those races on a Tuesday morning. Even on a smaller scale, soon after I was at Vernon, Jason Settlemoir gave me the duty of hanging post times. There was significant increase in handle there after I took over that duty and it made you feel like by and large you were doing things right.

You tend to card multiple races with uncoupled entries from the same barn each night. Do you like this practice? Is it simply that the positives (bigger fields) outweigh the negatives?

I like that it allows us to have full fields and yes the positives outweigh the negatives.

The Meadowlands will host the Breeders Crown in 2021. Does that require much preparation on your end? How excited are you to host it?

Yes it will require a lot of preparation and I'm sure there will be a few hiccups along the way. At least I have the experience of having the Hambo and Meadowlands Pace under my belt to help me with the process.

Have you noticed any changes or gotten any feedback since the whipping rules were strengthened at The Meadowlands?

Personally I haven't gotten much feedback. Seems like it is still a work in progress as far as the drivers.

If you had the power to change one thing in the sport, what would it be?

It will never happen but I wish, for example, tracks on the east coast could work together on getting higher-end horses raced on a consistent basis. If I don't fill a race because of having to have a full field they scatter to other tracks. I wish there was a way for tracks to share these good horses. But it will never happen because other tracks race different days of the week, some horses can't get around a half-mile track, etc.

How do you view the future of harness racing?

Hopefully bright because I'm not old enough to retire yet.

Time for the stretch drive:

Best Horse You Ever Saw?: Muscle Hill.

Best Driver Ever?: I will take Ron Pierce anytime when the money is down.

Best Trainer Ever?: During my time in the business I would say George Teague Jr. He has come up with a lot of great horses while not spending a lot of money at the sales on them.

Favorite TV Show?: I watch a lot of TV on the DVR so not one particular one.

Trotters or Pacers?: Whichever one was the most recent beaten favorite.