Harness: Profile of owner/breeder Joe Thomson

What kind of car do you drive?

2014 General Motors car.

Favorite dinner meal? Snack?

Steak, baked potato and salad; potato chips.

What is your favorite track to visit? Why?

Probably The Meadowlands. I like mile racing and it is a great place to watch racing. All of the horses have a chance, unlike smaller tracks where if horses don't draw well horses don't have a chance or drivers don't give them a chance. I also really like The Red Mile, but there is not enough of it because the purse money isn't there to support more racing right now.

What is your favorite big event in racing? Why?

I love the Hambletonian, Little Brown Jug, Meadowlands Pace, and North America Cup. I guess if I had to choose, probably the Jug because they get so many people and it is a lot of fun. I'd also like to add the Breeders Crown because it showcases the best in the sport at the end of the year for those that have survived the wars of racing.

How often are horses or racing on your mind?

I generally watch racing almost every night on RTN. I don't watch it all night long, but I generally watch at least a few every night.

What is your favorite thing to do outside of racing/breeding?

Spend time with my family, especially my grandchildren.

What is your favorite sport? Team?

I like college basketball and the Kentucky Wildcats. I also like the Philadelphia Eagles in pro football.

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

That I'm in the financial services business.

What is one word that describes harness racing for you?

Fun and exciting.

How did you get started in harness racing?

I was on an airplane coming back from Florida and I sat beside a guy who was big into it named Red Dodds. He got me to go to Liberty Bell. I went to a horse auction, raised my hand and ended up with a broodmare and a foal. That had to be the early 1980s.

What was your involvement in the Standardbred business from that initial time to when you bought Winbak Farm in 1991?

I was partners with Ed Gold in Whitehorse Farm. He and I were partners in the financial services. He still owns that farm, but we dispersed our horses in the early 1990s. I sold my interest in Pennsylvania and ended up in Maryland.

What drew you to the breeding side of the business?

My family owned a farm when I was young. We didn't have horses but we raised cattle. I'm from Kentucky and spent time at The Red Mile, so I was exposed to all that. Just being able to breed and see the babies develop was fascinating. It is really exciting when you go to the auctions and do well. It is not very exciting when you do lousy. In the 1980s they had a lot of partnerships that spent a lot of money on horses, but when President Reagan came along and changed all the tax laws, a lot of very good mares were available that weren't before because of pricing. A lot of mare partnerships dispersed, so Ed and I started to buy and build up a good operation.

How many broodmares does Winbak have?

Too many, squared.

In addition to breeding a large number of mares each year, Winbak is in many jurisdictions. Was that the goal from the start? If not, how did that vision evolve?

One of the reasons is because Maryland has always been more of a Thoroughbred state. They didn't have any casinos and the purses at Rosecroft and Ocean Downs weren't that great, so people that bought yearlings wouldn't pay that much for them. When New York and Ontario got casinos, those two places just kind of evolved for me. The Armstrong Bros. Farm was going out of business and Dr. (Glen) Brown and Dr. (Moira) Gunn were both friends of ours. They had an existing operation that seemed like a natural fit. It was easy to move in there and they had some stallions. The person that ended up buying the farm was Sue Grange and we ended up becoming her tenant. In New York, another fellow was in the Standardbred business and he decided to sell the farm around the time slots became available and we ended up buying that place. So a lot of it developed because of the slots and the Sire Stakes programs that came along with them.

Has Winbak exceeded your expectations?

It is certainly a lot bigger than we ever thought it would be. I convinced my wife that we would get into the horse business, have about five mares and mostly during retirement. So much for that. We are proud of what we've accomplished. As far as the Sire Stakes programs in New York, Ontario and Delaware, we've been one of the leading breeders every year. We always seem to come in behind Hanover in Pennsylvania, but we'll give them that if we can take the others.

By my count you are standing 32 stallions in five regions. What are the trials and tribulations you've experienced as owner of such a large breeding operation?

What you realize is that the stallion business is very difficult. People go where they can get the best value. We always want to breed for the Grand Circuit, but you need a fallback position so the people who buy your horses can have more opportunity to make money, cover their expenses and have some fun locally. That is why we always like to be in states with good Sire Stakes programs.

What do you think the future holds for Winbak Farm?

I see it getting a bit more streamlined. We'll try to be flexible enough to deal with the future. Hopefully we'll be able to continue what we are doing. I like my operation in Canada and New York, and we raise most of our yearlings in Maryland. It is a great place to raise a horse because of the climate, the rainfall and the grass. We've always done well here and the farm has already produced three Horse of the Year winners.

How did Winbak fare at the fall sales considering COVID-19?

It was a very difficult year for us. Lexington is a destination place and it didn't have the amount of people there that there was in the past. The demand wasn't there. People could bid online, but that is more facts and figures and mechanical than being live at the sale.

Harrisburg moved to Timonium this year and when the tent we were in fell down on my head, I thought that was a good ending to 2020. It was indicative to what the year has been all about. I have a great team that got me and all the horses out of there. Fortunately no one got seriously hurt. Elizabeth (Cheesman) went to the hospital but thankfully she was fine.

It hasn't been an easy year in the financial services business, either. There has been a lot of volatility. So, overall, it has been a very challenging year.

You've utilized online means for selling yearlings and broodmares. Is that the future or at least a bigger part of the future for the industry?

I think so. Eric Cherry deserves special recognition for going out on a limb with the online sales. Racehorses, stallion shares and weanlings seem to lend themselves to that type of sale. It is a great way for people to cash out on horses really quick. I don't think it has the same emotional ties as being at a sale in person in terms of falling in love with a horse or bidding wars, but with older horses most people will know them pretty well and it is easier to make bids.

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

The first loss is the best loss.

What was your best moment in harness racing?

When I got elected to the Hall of Fame was a special moment. We've bred three Horses of the Year and that is special in itself.

Is it more fun to breed a champion or own a champion?

It is more profitable to own a champion, but it is fun to breed one also. Sometimes you wonder how it happened and the decision process of picking those two animals to mate. Sometimes it is plain ol' luck.

Which is the best horse you've ever owned?

Probably Classic Wish. She's the dam of Bettor's Delight and had a whole slew of good horses including Horse of the Year No Pan Intended. As far as the horses we've raised and sold, it would be Bettor's Delight or Muscle Hill.

Are you amazed with what Bettor's Delight (now 22) has done late in his stallion career?

We sold five horses on one of the special nights at Harrisburg, it was a "silver" night or something like that. Bettor's Delight was not as big and robust as the others, but he was really muscular. I think they paid about $65,000. He went on to win over $2 million and then they syndicated him for $4 million. Tom Grossman bought him and syndicated him. He calls him the horse that continues to give.

What is your role as part-owner of The Red Mile?

If you don't volunteer for a lot than you don't get a lot of jobs. I'm an active participant on the board. I've got two really good partners (George Segal and Frank Antonacci Sr.). We've been partners for a really long time and I don't think we've ever gotten into an argument.

Can you talk about the importance of The Red Mile for the sport?

There is tradition there. I think it was Bill Perretti's idea to buy it so it could be preserved. To me it has always been a special place. It was run by Castleton and John Cashman's group. They ended up selling it to a new group of 10 people that Perretti picked as partners. I was in the group that sold it and the group that bought it. I actually cashed out on one side and put money back in on the other.

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

There are a few things. You need uniformity in the rules and regulations. Licensing is a disaster because when you are trying to get groups of people on a horse together they have to get fingerprints in multiple states and it costs each person, even one that is in for a few percent of a horse, a fortune. Uniformity with medication across states, though they are trying to get that figured out. We should be trying to promote the sport on television more. I have RTN, but other people have no idea what that is and where to watch. If you don't promote the sport and get a following, you won't get as many bettors or growth in the industry. I agree that if you don't have the bettor then you don't have a sport, but if you have a robust sport with more people following it, you will have more bettors as well.

How do you view the future of harness racing?

I think we need more guys that understand promotion and marketing. I think we can get more people involved in the sport if we didn't make it so difficult to get into it. Those of us who are already involved in the sport, we just accept things, but it needs to change to get more people involved.

If you go back 15 to 20 years, purses are much better today. If we have the right type of promotion, pushing open space and fighting the battle from that side as well as entertainment, then you could see the sport grow.

Do you see Winbak expanding further to strong Sire Stakes states like the emerging Ohio market?

No. I think I've gotten too old.

Time for the stretch drive.

Best Horse you ever saw: Muscle Hill, Bettor's Delight or Rainbow Blue.

Best Driver: John Campbell. We are also very fortunate to have him at the Hambletonian Society now as well.

Best Trainer: Jimmy Takter, Billy Haughton, Howard Beissinger and Ron Burke. What Ronnie does is amazing. He must have a computer brain to keep up with all of his horses.

Lasix -- Yes or No?: Yes -- I think we've bred our horses to give you everything they have. We need to do what we can to keep them as healthy as possible.

Favorite TV Show?: Yellowstone.

Trotters or Pacers?: It is a lot easier to sell a pacer than a trotter and a lot easier to train a pacer than a trotter. But I think if you have a good trotter it is a lot of fun.