Talking horses and races with veteran trainer Mike Polhamus is not so different than talking with Sparky Anderson…except, his horses have four legs, not two, and the race lasts two minutes and not six months. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
After years of writing major league baseball, the transformation to writing about harness racing, and horses, has come as a surprise to many, including myself. But the reasons why are as natural as the hit and run, only you can’t say ‘run’ with this gig…or hit and ‘trot’ with baseball.
Columbus, OH — As one walks down the length of the massive paddock at Scioto Downs, probably 200 yards long, stall after stall is passed.
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And it is so tempting to stop when one of the magnificent standardbred horses is standing with its nose over the gate, observing its equine world.
One has to stop to pay a quick visit and ask that age-old corny joke, “Hey, why the long face?”
Hall of famer Hal McCoy writes OHHA racing exclusively for Press Pros Magazine.com.
The nose is long and the dark eyes are beautiful on these wonderful products of Mother Nature, most of them as gentle as a fluttering butterfly.
That’s until they are led to the track and do what they are bred to do — make those spindly legs pace or trot with the speed of an old man driving his Buick, while pulling a sulky with a human body aboard.
Unlike thoroughbred jockeys, who average about 110 pounds, aren’t as tall as a horse’s front legs and are fairly young, standardbred drivers come in all shapes, sizes and ages.
They are as skinny as a carrot or as pudgy as a Halloween pumpkin — but all that matters is if they can handle and guide 1,000 pounds of muscle traveling 30 to 35 miles an hour.
And it isn’t just sitting along for the ride. There are usually eight or nine others on the track, all maneuvering to be first across the finish line.
Why all this?
A couple of fillies I’ve met along the way…the people and horses couldn’t be nicer!
Two years ago, I thought horseshoes were for tossing at a stake at a family picnic. Oh, I knew they are nailed on the bottom of a race horse’s feet.
And I knew a little bit about thoroughbred racing, just enough dangerous knowledge to drop $100 (or more) at the windows.
Standardbreds? What’s that. Oh, harness racing? Never saw a race and didn’t care if I ever did.
Then, last year the publisher of this website, Sonny Fulks, approached me with an incredibly stupid idea.
“Hey, Hal, we are going to start covering harness racing,” he said.
“Yeah, so what?” I answered.
“How would you like to cover it and write about it?” he said.
“How would you like a kick in the testicles?” I answered. “The only thing I know about horses is that the tail is in the back…I think.”
Well, he talked me into it and it was with great trepidation that I walked into the paddock at Dayton Raceway.
It was obvious I didn’t know first-over from in-the-pocket from boxed-in from catch-driver from hobbles.
I was a neophyte. Still am.
Some of my first interviews were with drivers like Chris Page, Cameron McCown, David Miller and Kayne Kauffman. And I’m certain they caught on quickly that I didn’t know the difference between trot and pace.
But they were so nice – so co-operative. In two years, I have discovered that nearly all the people in the harness industry are down-to-earth folks who love what they’re doing.
And they’re eager to share it.
I’m still a neophyte, still have a lot to learn about the sport…yet, it’s a sport I’ve come to love.
My great friend, Brad Schmaltz, formerly covered the standardbreds for the Columbus Dispatch. And he is an expert.
Harness drivers will tell you that the view never changes. But it is a beautiful sport.
He’s retired, but remains a keen observer of the standardbreds. And I call on him often for help and he critiques my efforts and points out the (many) mistakes I make.
The big one that he jumped on me about was from the git-go.
“Standardbreds do not run,” he said. “They trot or pace. Harness people do not like the word ‘run’ associated with their races.”
That’s a tough one. “Running down the stretch or running from beyond,” still slipped into my pieces. Thanks to Brad, I avoid ‘run’ in my stories like broccoli on my dinner plate.
And a whole lot more.
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What I’m trying to say here is that I have fallen in love with harness racing and I love writing about it — mistakes or no mistakes.
I’ve covered the Little Brown Jug in Delaware, Ohio, twice and enjoyed it. Several races at the county fairs.
Most of the county fair grandstands and barns are just the opposite of the palatial Scioto Downs property. At most county fair venues, the grandstand and barns look as if a zephyr would blow them over.
But the racing is fun and interviewing the drivers is fun whether it’s fair racing, the ‘Jug or my first experience with the World Series of Harness Racing over the weekend.
It is called the Breeders Crown…and, yes, I blew that one a couple of times after admonishment from Schmaltz. The thoroughbred version of the Breeders Crown is the Breeders Cup. And a couple of times I referred to the Crown as the Cup. Big difference.
For two days at Scioto Downs, I got to rub elbows with driving legends and rub the noses of the best and fastest pacers and trotters in the world — Big Ranger, Blue Ranger, On To Norway and many more.
I had already met and written stories about the legendary David Miller and Chris Page, regulars at Scioto, Dayton and Miami Valley. For a man so accomplished in the sport, a Hall of Famer, David Miller could not be nicer. He speaks to me every time we cross hoof prints.
But this weekend I got to meet the Babe Ruths, the Lou Gehrigs, the Ty Cobbs and, yes, the Pete Roses of the sport.
The superstars like Dexter Dunn, Tim Tetrick, Yannick Gingras, Todd McCarthy, Scott Zeron and Ronnie Wrenn Jr.
Australian driver Todd McCarthy lives in Sydney. Ironically, he’s never raced at the Sidney fair…or heard of it.
I was particularly impressed with McCarthy, Zeron and Wrenn. They all treated me like a veteran harness writer and put up with my inane questions with a smile and an answer.
I did a piece on McCarthy after he won a big race in the Crown on Friday. Then, after he guided Diabolic Hill to a mammoth upset over Big Ranger, and Apex in the biggest race of the weekend on Saturday, he saw me near the door of the paddock.
He came over, shook my hand, and gave me great quotes for my piece. He’s typical of the entire harness family.
And after covering Major League Baseball (and still do) for 53 years, you know what I love most about covering the standardbreds?
Not one horse has ever said, “Neigh (uh, nay), you misquoted me. I’m not snickering at you ever again.”
Hey, I’ve even become accustomed to the, uh, pungent odor in the paddock.
And I’ve learned how to walk between the stalls without stepping in something.
The Dave Arbogast family of dealerships proudly sponsors OHHA harness racing on Press Pros Magazine.com.