Harness: Profile of USTA Executive VP Mike Tanner

What kind of car do you drive?

I have a black, 2017 Volvo S90 sedan. I've enjoyed every one of the nearly 80,000 miles that I've put on it.

Favorite dinner meal? Snack?

I grew up in New Jersey, so anything Italian does the trick for me. The Veal Parmigiana at Il Villaggio near The Meadowlands is about as good as it gets. As far as snacks go, I try to stay away from them, often unsuccessfully, but I'll admit to sharing Gabe Prewitt's and Dave Brower's addiction to Swedish Fish.

What is your favorite track to visit in the U.S.? Internationally?

I'll give the nod to the Red Mile during the Grand Circuit. Such an old-school feel and the sightlines from the grandstand are outstanding. Internationally, it's hard to beat Solvalla (Sweden).

What is your favorite event in racing?

The Little Brown Jug. The history, access, and electricity of the crowds on the fairgrounds make it a unique event that can't be replicated. And I don't have to hop on a plane to get there. Bonus points for that!

You travel a lot in your position as Executive Vice President for the United States Trotting Association. How many tracks do you estimate you've visited in your life?

The count is somewhere north of 100, I think.

Does the travel wear on you as the year moves along?

Not this year, for sure, but if I have two or three business trips in a row, with only a day or so at home between each leg, that gets me. The flip side is that I've gotten to see so much of the United States and parts of the world while enjoying harness racing, and I've met an array of wonderful people along the way. It’s not lost on me that my job has some amazing perks.

If so, has the time during the COVID-19 shutdown given you time to refresh?

No doubt. I'm sleeping and eating better, and exercising on a regular basis. I also binge-watched three seasons of Ozark in less than two weeks. That was a first for me.

How often is racing on your mind?

Constantly. It's hard to find the "off" switch.

What is your favorite thing to do outside of racing?

I love just hanging out with my wife, Gail, any and all sports, independent film, live music, and playing season-long fantasy baseball. I'm also an inveterate reader, mostly non-fiction and historical biographies or memoirs. People fascinate me.

What is your favorite sport to watch? Team?

For me, I love watching hockey. As for a team, I'll stick with my alma mater, the University of North Carolina Tar Heels, in any sport, but especially basketball.

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

I almost became a clinical psychologist. I had completed two years of graduate school at Bowling Green, written my master's thesis, and was seeing clients under supervision at the school's student health center when the old Detroit Race Course asked me to be their Publicity Director. I said yes and never looked back, although I did later obtain an MBA from Ohio State.

What is the one word that describes harness racing for you?

Tradition.

How did you get started in the sport?

My dad was a two-dollar bettor, and when I was a kid in the late 1970s/early 1980s, there were nine tracks within a 90-minute radius of where we lived in South Jersey. I would tag along with him whenever I was allowed and fell in love with racing. My mother thought it was a phase. She's right about most things, but not about that.

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

Tomorrow's another day.

What was your favorite moment in harness racing?

Seeing the first-race-field at Harrah's Chester (now Harrah’s Philadelphia) on Sunday, September 10, 2006 get underway. It was the first race in track history and I had been hired a year earlier as the venue’s Director of Racing Operations when there wasn’t even an oval, a grandstand, or a staff. I was part of a great team that worked very hard to bring harness racing back to the Delaware Valley, and that moment will be etched in my mind forever.

Have you owned any horses? Do you own any now?

My wife owned parts of two pacers, Emanence Front and Shooter McGavin, a few years ago. I was involved in naming them both, so that has to count for something, right? 'Em' won 10 races and now is retired; Gail keeps him at a farm a few miles from our house and works with him every day. 'Shooter' was faster and has raced for new connections the past few years in New York and Massachusetts. Neither Gail nor I own any racehorses right now.

Do you enjoy handicapping? If so, do you get the chance to take a day at times just to be that "Average Joe" in the grandstand?

I love handicapping the races, and used to do it frequently in my younger, unmarried days. I thought I was pretty good, but over time, my ROI (return on investment) and my bank account proved me wrong. Live and learn. I don't get to do it much, but dressing down and hanging out with friends in the grandstand while playing the races is one of life's great pleasures. That’s how I took in last year’s Hambletonian at The Meadowlands.

How badly has COVID-19 affected the USTA from a business standpoint?

Revenue could be down almost a million dollars this year, and we furloughed about 20% of our workforce in March. Those of us that remained took pay cuts. The whole industry is hurting and the USTA is no exception, but we'll be okay.

You’ve been at the USTA for quite some time. What projects are you most proud of completing?

At the top of the list has to be Online Entry and initiating and introducing what developed into the Standardbred Transition Alliance. We also worked hard over the past two years to make the entire USTA operation capable of functioning remotely in the case of a disaster or physical emergency. We never imagined that it would be an international pandemic that would bring about that challenge, but we were ready for it. Service delivery has continued without interruption.

Is there anything new on the forefront in the near future?

The development of investigative services to be funded by money raised by Hanover Shoe Farms' integrity challenge grant has to be a priority for us right now. It's a great opportunity for the sport and I want to see the USTA help facilitate its growth. I would like to see us expand our online entry platform to include more services, including the creation of a horsemen’s bookkeeping function that our members could utilize, and perhaps an interface that can process and organize staking payments. There are hurdles to both, both logistical and political, but we're exploring those options.

One of the hot topics is always the issue of free past performances. Is there a feasible solution?

I don't know, although several tracks – I'm thinking of The Meadowlands in particular – already has negotiated agreements with TrackMaster to provide free data and see that as a competitive advantage. Most ADW players already are getting free past performances, and I expect that that trend will grow as more and more handle shifts to those platforms.

Another talked about topic is a commissioner for the sport. Do you think that having one would help? Is it possible?

In a perfect world, a top-down structure in which all industry participants would cede certain rights for the greater good of the sport would be a very beneficial thing. That's a pipe dream, though. Hall of Fame horseman and breeder Alan Leavitt wrote a great piece a few weeks ago in Harness Racing Update that explained why it will never happen. We’re a federalist nation and the states have powers, and one of those powers is to oversee and regulate racing. They're not giving that up.

The USTA often gets criticized on social media. How personally do you take those attacks?

Not as much as I used to. It comes with the job.

If you could have a mulligan from your time in the sport, what would it be?

That’s a great question. I'll go back to my Harrah's Chester takeout rates, which were, on average, set way too high. I should have known better.

How has COVID-19 affected you personally?

It's hit me psychologically. I’ve known five people that have passed away from coronavirus complications and at least a dozen others that have been afflicted but survived. It's made me think a lot more about death and my own mortality than ever before. I'm 53, with far fewer years ahead of me than behind. We have a great team here at the USTA – while I'm still in this chair, I’m asking, what are those things that I can do to help build them up and take the Association in a positive direction?

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

Tracks and horsemen, and not third parties, would jointly own and operate a single-entity, breed-specific ADW while collectively holding and managing the rights to the secondary distribution, their own video signals. A vertically-integrated structure like that would be a game changer.

How do you view the future of harness racing?

For decades now, I've been reading about the imminent demise of harness racing. I don't believe that, but I do think that we need to be cognizant of threats from outside interests and I also believe that there will be consolidation of some sort as dictated by market forces. Being vigilant and able to adapt is of paramount importance.

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

That I could bring everyone along on this ride.

Time for the stretch drive.

Best Horse Ever: Niatross

Best Driver Ever: John Campbell

Lasix – Yes or No? Yes!

Best race you ever saw: Wiggle It Jiggleit over Lost For Words in the 2015 Little Brown Jug final.

Trotters of Pacers? I'm a heretic. Pacers.

Favorite TV Show?: This Is Us