Harness: Seeking out the human side of the racing community

The world of harness racing is generally confined inside the fences surrounding the track and perhaps includes small glimpses into the paddock on race nights. What happens on the racetrack in the five-minute post parade and two-minute race does not nearly define the breadth of the 24/7 life of a horseperson.

Harness racing has plenty of stories about races, wins, horses, horsemen, and records. There are hundreds of thousands of photos of the sport from every angle, and more and more there are new types of videos surfacing from the regular race feed to the racing broadcasts and so on.

The value of this content cannot be overstated. Being able to reach people outside of the fences surrounding the track through social media is the most valuable asset for promoting racing and growing a fanbase.

Last year, the cameras from the perspective of the drivers really took off. In the Spring of 2025, I purchased a pair of Meta glasses so I could wear sunglasses on the track and listen to music with open ear technology that still allowed me to be alert to the races and my surroundings while shooting the races. One day, I decided to ask Brett Beckwith to try them out and the video gained a lot of traction on social media, with comments asking to hear the original audio as opposed to music overlayed on top.

As time went on, the videos grew more and more popular. The only downside was the three minute recording limit in which drivers had to physically turn the recording on before going to the gate – a task that proved difficult with some drivers, as if you don’t hold the record button long enough you would simply take a photo instead. Let’s just say, I have many photos of drivers legs in the bike.

After posting many of these videos, trainer Ivar Hyngstrom suggested I switch from the Meta glasses to the InstaGo3s and that changed everything. Drivers did not have to touch the camera at all and the recordings lasted for 30 minutes.

Going into the North America Cup last year, I had a plan to ask one of the drivers to wear the glasses and one of the drivers to wear the helmet cam, as I had named it. The one driver I had asked about the helmet cam did not feel comfortable in such a high-stakes race and the other driver I had asked about the Meta glasses, Braxten Boyd, didn’t feel comfortable starting the glasses while turning for the gate because of nerves. And so, Boyd became the driver to wear the helmet cam. His drive in that race with all of his colorful commentary as a 25-year-old going for the chance at a million-dollars purse, plus finishing second in that race, created a ton of visibility for the sport.

I ended up buying four helmet cams and they captured Sylvia Hanover’s world record at Plainridge and Corey MacPherson’s win in the Gold Cup and Saucer, and numerous other top moments in racing.

I still have them and I still use them, but this year I wanted something different. Every year I like to try something different to generate new fans and followers to the sport. And this year, I wanted something big and I wanted something personal that was in line to the message I always spread about racing with a focus on the community, the horses, and the horsemen.

The sport has always been full of personalities. It’s a big melting pot of people that come from all walks of life with all different kinds of backgrounds. I always like to emphasize the stories of the horses and their personalities and stories, but behind all of the horses – the races, the wins and records – are people with stories, rivalries, friendships, quirks, and a very particular sense of humor.

Thus, in addition to the stories and posts featuring the horsemen, the best way to showcase these people behind the races was to put them in front of the camera in a way that shows more than a photo or a proper interview ever could.

What started out as an introduction to the new season at Saratoga with each driver giving a set quote turned into “questions of the day” and “silly games and quirky trends”.

The idea of the video compilations is to portray the horsemen in a different light besides just being horsemen, besides just being a name on a program or on a leaderboard.

One interview video with multiple questions for one horseman is not a bad idea, but giving one question to multiple horsemen in one video really illuminated the differing – or even similar – opinions of the participants.

The first compilation reel, posted on March 1, drew in nearly 30,000 views and 600 reactions as I asked the drivers how they chose their colors. The drivers answered swiftly and easily, and with the interest in the content, the “Question of the Day” at Saratoga was created.

I come up with the questions off the top of my head, things that would spark interest to any inquiring mind about a driver or horseman regardless of whether they are new to the sport, a lifelong fan, or even a horseman. Sometimes the questions also come from people in the comments or through messages, or as part of a TikTok trend depending on what it is.

Some of those trends include the grip strength test, which I filmed in mid-March at Saratoga, as well as the walkout songs for drivers, which I filmed at both Saratoga and Yonkers. Speaking of Yonkers, the trip to that track was for the Charles ‘Do Bronx’ Oliveira Drivers Challenge and so, as a special treat, the question of the day for those drivers was: “Which driver would you take on in an MMA ring?”

Each track I travel to I tailor the questions to that track for that event. For International Women’s Day at the Meadowlands, I asked each woman driver to give not only a walkout song, but also to give advice to the next generation of girls. At Clinton Raceway for Legends Day and the National Driving Championship, I asked the legends to talk about their past in racing and their favorite memories and I asked the NDC drivers to talk about their opportunity to represent Canada, how they chose their colors, and which of the legends that they would go to for advice. And for one more example, at the Hambletonian this year at The Meadowlands, I asked various people for their Hambletonian experiences and I asked a few of the drivers in the Hambletonian to talk about what it’s like to get into the marquee race.

Every holiday, event or related occasion, I incorporate each horseman as part of a compilation video, too. For instance, on the anniversary of Hunter Myers’ passing, I asked each horseman to say Hunter’s phrase, God Bless. On Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, I asked the horsemen to either say a personal word to their own family or to say a general statement for the occasion. Even after Brett Beckwith’s accident on April 12, I had each horseman say a few words of encouragement for him. The only time this idea failed to come to fruition was after the tragic barn fire here at Saratoga on June 16. I had wanted each horseman to give some words of comfort or support, but truthfully, there were no words that could be said.

After that barn fire, it did take me a long time to get back into filming the fun content in the paddock. It took me a long time to go back to the paddock at all. A few weeks before the fire, I remember receiving compliments for making racing at Saratoga look like so much fun. The last “question of the day” was on June 14, a joke question: “Which driver would you not let your daughter date?”

After that fire, I couldn’t imagine making any fun content. I was writing stories for the horses and horsemen, eulogies for each horse, filming the tributes to the horses, helping raise money, creating artwork and shirts, and more. I just could not imagine posting anything with humor or of that nature.

On June 21, I did go ahead with the Father’s Day video for respect of the holiday. I produced a video of the official memorial ceremony on June 28 for the barn fire and realized that we all needed some of the good and happy content back. Slowly but surely, three weeks after the fire, I returned to the paddock. I asked the horsemen, “What is your favorite harness horse name?” I went through my regular horsemen that I always ask, but I avoided driver Chris Long. I didn’t want to put him on camera after what had happened. and then after Wally Hennessey had the mic, he turned and handed it to Long to answer. to which he replied, “No I can’t. I have 11 names I could give you though” for the 11 horses he lost in the fire, a comment that was gut-wrenching. But, later, he found me again and said he wanted to answer. His answer was Uncle Rat, a horse that won three straight races for him after the fire and after an on-track incident, a horse that didn’t have a spectacular name, but was a shining light for him in what was the worst time in his life.

And so, the “Question of the Day” was brought back with new installments each week at Saratoga and on the road to other tracks for their races, too.

The horsemen see the camera and the mic now and they know what is coming, but it’s all in good humor and good fun. If anything, this year at Saratoga has been a reminder of how short life is and how quick something can happen, so these videos have brought everyone together even more and kept everything lighthearted and fun.

At the end of the day, the videos are only a few seconds or a few minutes long. They might make someone laugh while scrolling through their phone, give a fan a glimpse of a horseman they have always wanted to know more about, or capture a moment that would otherwise disappear as soon as everyone walks away.

For me, that’s the best part. I get to stand on the other side of the camera and watch people who are usually defined by what they do on the racetrack simply be themselves.

Sometimes they’re serious. Sometimes they’re competitive. Sometimes they’re unexpectedly sentimental. And sometimes they say something so completely ridiculous that I know before I even stop recording that it is going into the compilation, or at least the blooper reel.

Those moments may not show up in the race results, but they are part of the story of this sport, too. So I’ll keep asking the questions, hitting record and occasionally putting horsemen in situations where they wonder what they agreed to. Whether it’s a genuine “Question of the Day” or a silly game of Thumb Wars between grown men, it’s all in good fun. Sometimes, it’s just fun to see what they’ll agree to!

Because the best part of making these videos isn’t just getting the answer. It’s getting to know the person giving it.