It’s been a long time since I wrote a list out to Santa, in fact, when I was little I don’t think I ever even wrote an actual list. We pretty much just told him what we wanted when we visited him at the mall for our annual picture, and that was that. Whether we actually got those very gifts three weeks later was probably a bit of a hit-and-miss, but we always did get some pretty good gifts so no one was complaining!
So really, I guess that this might actually be the first list that I’ve ever written out to him, so as I see it, the fat man owes me.
By the way, this is actually my harness racing wish list for Santa, just to clarify, and is in no particular order of importance.
For our business I’m wishing for:
INGENUITY: We’re not doing bad in some areas but need to keep pushing. We can never just accept the status quo and think we’ll be ok. A shout-out in this area goes to the people in the Mohawk Park race office that came up with the idea of the new POP-UP Series. Starting in late November, for horses that are n/w of $25,000 in 2021, this series is proving to be a great way to build full, competitive fields, during a time of year when that can be hard, while giving horses that had a tough year for one reason or another, a chance to race for some good money on a big track. Bravo!
PHILANTHROPY: This just flat out keeps our industry in a positive light in the public eye. Like it or not we’re dependent on government funding these days and things like the Breeders Crown Charity Challenge (Katz & Libfeld), Harness The Hope (The Dustin Family) and the Driver’s Challenge in support of Toys For Tots (Western Fair), all make us look good and feel good while making a real difference in a fractured world. Cheers to all of you that have worked for, and/or given to charity on behalf of our industry. Keep it going.
AFTERNOON RACE CARDS: I realize that our niche, to a degree, is racing under the lights, and I’m not suggesting that we make huge changes in this area. We’d be crazy to try and go up against most Thoroughbred tracks that race in the daytime, on a regular basis, when our handles are often stronger at night. Some more afternoon cards than we currently have however, would be a welcome thing, especially when a decent percentage of our patrons are older and don’t always stay up past 10pm. Kudos to the Hambletonian Society and The Meadowlands for the two Saturday afternoon Breeders Crown cards they blessed us with in late October - cards that both produced great handles!
HIGH DEFINITION RACING PRODUCTIONS: We’re getting there, and I know that it’s not cheap to do, but in this day-and-age there’s really no excuse to flip on a racetrack and see a blurry screen. We’re in the entertainment business and that means to some degree we’re up against Netflix, Crave and HBO. Thank you to all of those who have worked hard to upgrade our product with the times.
SUPERSTAR COLTS: We’ve been blessed for many years now with some fillies and mares that have provided us with racing highlights and memories to cherish. There have obviously been some great colts too - just not enough for my liking. Look at just these five superstars fillies from 2021 for example: Test Of Faith, Venerable, Niki Hill, Prohibition Legal and Adare Castle. In 55 combined starts these five superstars have missed the top-two just ONCE (when Venerable ran). They’ve won 47 of 55 starts between them and been second the other 7 times. Well done ladies, and thank you for the thrills.
CINDERELLA STORIES: Something that happens in our sport more than it does in most others, and something most of us will never get sick of. Yes, Leicester City did it in the Premier League in 2015/16 - in one of the greatest sporting stories of all time - but our sport has the capacity to do it somewhat regularly. Fashion Frenzie, Adare Castle and Desperate Man all come right to mind. And speaking of the Desperate Man story, his owner/trainer Kathy Cecchin recently said to me, “I really think people are getting sick of seeing us and hearing about us.” NO WE’RE NOT Kathy!
EMOTION: Show it. Share it. Own it. Be proud of it. We’re a passionate bunch in a passionate sport. Lots goes wrong, so when something goes right feel free to shout it from the rooftops, because most of us will be really happy for you when you do.
And on that very note, not to be a hypocrite, my biggest wish from Santa is that you do this: Love your horses and love your fellow horsepeople. We all piss each other off at times, both people and horses alike, but life is short and we all share this passion together. Embrace it every day and live your lives to the fullest.
Good luck and good health to all in
2022 and beyond!
Dan Fisher
[email protected]