Harness: Profile of trainer-driver Sam Beegle

What kind of car do you drive?

Ford Explorer.

Favorite dinner meal? Snack?

Steak and Baked Potato; Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

What is your favorite track to race at?

Brandywine Raceway. I was third leading driver there one year, maybe about 1984, behind Eddie Davis and Ross Hayter.

What is your favorite event in racing?

Probably Earl Beal night at Pocono. I also had a lot to do with that race. We get all of the good horses for it and it is in early summer, so they haven’t been beating up on each other yet.

How often is racing on your mind?

All day. I live it and breathe it. In Pennsylvania I’m President of the Horseman’s association and now that our Governor has said he is going to do all this (come after the horsemen’s funds), it is on my mind all the time because I’m working to make sure what he is trying to do doesn’t happen. But I prefer to be in the background.

What is your favorite thing to do outside of racing?

Watch my grandchildren wrestle.

What is your favorite sport to watch? Team?

Wrestling – I follow it really close. Penn State has a great college wrestling team and are usually ranked first or second every year.

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

I love to read.

What is one word that describes harness racing for you?

Competitive.

How did you get started in the sport?

I married my wife (Kathy) and her dad had racehorses. I was always horse-crazy as a kid. I was born and raised on a dairy farm. So when I got to help her dad, it just came naturally to me.

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

Make sure you never piss off the Presiding Judge or Racing Secretary. That was the first thing my father-in-law taught me.

What was your favorite moment in harness racing?

Probably watching Arctic Warrior win the North America Cup consolation (2009). I bred and raised him, and was a co-owner, too.

Which is the best horse you’ve ever trained or driven?

Gabby Glide. When Chester first opened he broke the world record twice down there. He was a great horse. We had him sold across the ocean but he was never sound. Finally I had to put him down because he had degenerative joint disease in his stifle. The day he set the world record at Chester, Cat Manzi thought he looked a little lame and as Timmy (Tetrick) went by Cat in the stretch, he said, ‘How does he look now, Cat?’. He went like (1:)52 2/5, which was a world record on the five-eighths.

You stopped training a large stable about a half-dozen years ago but still keep a few horses and they all are named “Ginger Tree”. What’s the deal with that?

I have a partner named Carl Vizzi and he likes the Ginger Tree. I don’t care what they are called standing in the winner’s circle.

Do you still have a strong passion for the sport?

We actually have 12 (horses) this year. We spend quite a bit at the sale. Maybe not to some people’s standard, but to ours we do. I like doing it. I have my son-in-law and daughter, and that amount is just enough for my family. I look forward to getting up every morning and training them.

Did you accomplish what you wanted to in the sport?

Yes. I’ve done and I’m still doing exactly what I want to do.

What was the most interesting thing to happen to you on the track?

I drove a horse a couple of years ago that already had all the big shots drive without success. So I went down to drive myself and circled the field with him. One of the catch-drivers said to me that I better drive him every week and I said, ‘if I’m going to make any money I better drive him.’

How long have you been President of the Pennsylvania Harness Horsemen’s Association?

I took over when Earl Beal Jr passed away (2010) and also served as President for eight years previously.

As President, are you worried about the recent announcement from Governor Wolf that he wants to raid horsemen funding?

I’m concerned, but we’ve been through this before and we’ll go through it again. When people ask me what we can do, we need PAC (Political Action Committee) money.

Are there things you’d like to do at Pocono and Philadelphia that you haven’t been able to implement?

I would like to be able to get bigger crowds. I don’t know how to accomplish it though.

Where do you see Pennsylvania Harness Racing in 10 years?

Still headed forward like we are now. I think we are going to be in a good place. I’m a very positive person.

What are your thoughts on Pennsylvania offering some of the highest takeout rates?

I understand the other side of the coin (lowering takeout), but we did try it with the Breeders Crown and it didn’t work for those nights.

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

I think we are our own worst enemy in this sport. We talk about all of the bad stuff and very little of the good. When I first got into the game you never heard one track commenting on another track and now it seems like some people, that’s all they want to do is beat up the other tracks.

So you would want to see more cooperation in the sport?

Absolutely. We always try to work together here in Pennsylvania.

How do you view the future of harness racing?

We have to stop bickering and fighting. We need to be more positive.

Do you think it is possible for everyone to work together?

No, but we are going to try as hard as we can to do it here in Pennsylvania.

If you had one wish in life, what would you wish for?

I’ve been happy doing what I’ve been doing my whole life. I like being in the sport. Money never meant anything to me. It was always about enjoying what I’m doing and I’m doing that.

What’s the first thing that comes to your mind?

Best Horse Ever: Always B Miki.

Best Driver Ever: Mike Lachance.

Lasix – Yes or No?: Yes, very strongly.

Best race you ever saw: Sugarcane Hanover beating Mack Lobell (3rd) in the 1988 March of Dimes Trot at Garden State Park. Also when Always B Miki went parked the mile and won the Ben Franklin (2016).

Favorite TV show: Young Sheldon.