Murray Brown
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Articles by Murray Brown
Thoughts and observations pre and during first day Harrisburg
View our full coverage of the sale here by Murray Brown I’ve been and continue to be a fan of Anthony MacDonald’s TheStable‘s daily posts on YouTube. I agree with most, but not all of his thoughts. One opinion that he expressed on his way to Harrisburg resonated greatly and is one with which I am in total agreement.
The Cutover: A new system hums into life
Telecom Tower - Telephone Exchange, Main St.Peter Patten/Manawatu Heritage A new system hums into life. That was the situation in November 1983 when 91 years of manual telephone operations came to an end in Palmerston North.
New York at Harrisburg
by Murray Brown In the same manner as Harrisburg is somewhat comparable to the London Classic Yearling Sale in the depth and quality of its number of Ontario yearlings, so is Harrisburg somewhat the same vis-a-vis Lexington as far as New York eligible yearlings are concerned. In terms of New York eligibles, Harrisburg, attracted a near comparable number of 142 New York eligibles to Lexington’s 137.
Ontario in Harrisburg
by Murray Brown The Standardbred Horse Sales Company yearling sale in Harrisburg, PA is known for having everything. The backbone of the sale and its greatest number of yearlings come from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. But there is significant representation from all jurisdictions. Two of those with significant numbers are the state of New York and the Canadian province of Ontario.
Mission impossible, trotting edition
by Murray Brown Last week, I accepted the challenge to foresee a quality broodmare band made up of 10 yearling pacing fillies scheduled to sell in Harrisburg. They are indeed an impressive group. As impressive as the pedigrees of those pacing fillies are, it’s my opinion that the trotting fillies in this second part of the challenge surpasses them in overall quality of pedigree.
Mission impossible, pacing edition
by Murray Brown The mission, if we choose to accept it, is to build a broodmare band from the yearling fillies on offer at the upcoming Standardbred Horse Sales Company yearling sale in Harrisburg, PA. Pick 10 fillies from each gait in order of preference. Price is not a factor. We will begin this week with the pacing fillies and continue next week with the trotters. The necessities in order of preference: 1. Being a sibling to a great or near great racehorse.
Another round of foolishness
by Murray Brown On July 9, 2023, I wrote what, when looking back, was a very foolish column. In it, I was forecasting the winners of that year’s Dan Patch awards. In early July, I apparently thought I was wise enough to adequately forecast the year-end results. Perhaps the only thing sensible about it was that I left out all the 2-year-old categories. Even as daft as I can be, I was not going to pick the top 2-year-olds when the majority of them had probably not even raced.
Ken Jackson is front and center in Kentucky’s renaissance
by Murray Brown Ken Jackson is a man wearing several hats in what I refer to as the renaissance of harness racing in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The truth be known, it is not renaissance at all. The term renaissance denotes a rebirth of an entity. What is now taking place in Kentucky never was, certainly not to near the degree of what is taking place now. Everything relating to harness racing is up and growing in Kentucky. Purses are at a level far surpassing what we have ever known.
Rex King wouldn’t trade his time in harness racing for anything
by Murray Brown Rex King is now 72. There has never been a time in his life where he has not been involved with horses, however, initially, not with standardbreds. “My father was a horseman, a pretty darn good one if I say so myself,” King said. In his early teens, King was already bartering and shoeing horses. It was through his sales of quarter horses to Alan Leavitt at Lana Lobell Farms in Bedminster, NJ, that he first became involved with standardbreds.
Barry Guariglia is a proud harness racing ‘lifer’
by Murray Brown Barry Guariglia was at The Meadowlands on opening night, Sept. 1, 1976. He was one of the 42,133 fans in attendance on that special evening. He has remained a harness racing fan ever since. It was another 11 years before he attended his first Harrisburg sale, made his first yearling purchase, and bought the Colt Fortysix colt Dakota Hanover for the price of $17,000.
Mike Gulotta is optimistic about harness racing’s future in the Garden State
by Murray Brown Mike Gulotta is a Brooklyn boy who grew up in a middle-income family. Through hard work and a rigorous education, he earned the highest level of actuarial designation earning a doctorate degree in the process. He was even once featured on the front page of the Wall Street Journal.
Harness racing was always the only choice for multi-generational horseman Tyler Buter
by Murray Brown Tyler Buter is quite certain that he is at the very least a fourth-generation horseman, on each side of his family tree, no less. Was there ever any doubt that his place in life would be anywhere other than in harness racing? “Not a bit,” answered the native of Michigan, by way of Illinois and now a resident of Pennsylvania. “I’ve never done, or wanted to do, anything else.” Buter has called the small town of Milford, PA home for the last four years.
Chris Beaver’s bargain buy led him to Hambletonian joy, then heartbreak
by Murray Brown The first question I asked of Chris Beaver when I spoke with him on Tuesday (Aug. 11) was “How’s the horse?” The horse, of course, was Endurance, one of the three pre-race favorites in last Saturday’s (Aug. 8) Hambletonian at The Meadowlands. Although I had been planning prior to the race to ask Chris to be the subject of this profile, I had reservations after the colt broke a coffin bone in the race, resulting in the end of his season and possibly his racing career.
Julie and Andy Miller all in on Offshore Farm
by Murray Brown In the midst of seemingly negative happenings in New Jersey’s standardbred industry, such as the announcement that one of its leading nurseries Southwind Farms will shortly be ceasing operations, the Miller family (Julie, Andy, Tyler, and Olivia) have launched an innovative equine health center, known as Offshore Farm in the Garden State. I spoke with Julie to discuss the new venture as well as several other areas of involvement in harness racing of the Miller family.
Matt Kakaley is ready should the Grand Circuit come calling
by Murray Brown If one were to use just one word to describe Matt Kakaley as a driver, the word I would use is steady. At the end of each racing season, his name can usually be found in the top 10 drivers in North America or very close to it. Currently he is ranked seventh in North American earnings. At the relatively young age of 38 for a driver, he has won 7,419 races and earned $127,718,048 at this writing. Drivers generally take some time to rise to the top.
The Vincent Delaney Memorial should be on everyone’s bucket list
This column is being written from our hotel room at The Westbury Hotel in Dublin, Ireland. Why are we in Dublin you might ask? Primarily because our grandson Russell is doing an internship here and we are visiting. Russell just finished his freshman year at Bucknell University. The internship in various pursuits was offered primarily to upper classmen, but Russell was one of two freshmen who were accepted.
Joe Fiorello’s talents are showcased at River Run Racehorse Retirement with Dr J Hanover
by Murray Brown One Saturday last March, I was at Sunshine Meadows watching the babies going through their routines when this young man on horseback came alongside the deck. Wanting to make conversation, I asked him the name of the horse which he was riding. His response was “Dr J Hanover.” Only half believing him, I said, “Really? I go back a long time with that horse. I remember him as a yearling named Stepenwolf Hanover.
Anthony MacDonald says his wife Amy helps keep TheStable stable
by Murray Brown I last wrote about Anthony MacDonaldon May 14, 2023. At that time TheStable.ca was about to embark on its most successful racing year ever. Each year that the enterprise has been in business has seen an improvement in its racing fortunes over those of the previous year. As this column is being formulated, it brings to mind the great Frank Sinatra/Count Basie song The Best is Yet To Come or another great hit, You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet.
A conversation with Mark MacDonald, Part 2
by Murray Brown Last week’s column dealt with the career of Mark MacDonald. This week we are doing a follow up, focusing on his observations on horses and people during his three decades as a participant in the sport. You’ve seen them all. You’ve raced against and watched all of the great horses in your 30 years as a participant in the sport. Who were the best that you’ve seen? “It’s not much of a surprise that among trotters it’s Muscle Hill and with pacers it’s Somebeachsomewhere.
Mark MacDonald’s driving and thriving back home in Canada
by Murray Brown Mark MacDonald has been driving horses for well on 30 years. He still loves the competition among his peers and the beautiful steeds which they steer every bit as much as the first time that he first sat behind one in a race at the age of 16. What has changed in those three decades? “An awful lot in so many areas: • The horses: They are so much better in so many ways. They are faster. In many cases, much faster.
Joel Kravet remains in the business for the love of the horse
by Murray Brown I have never met Joel Kravet in the flesh, but I consider him to be a friend. I’ve now been writing this column for going on seven years. For most of that time, Kravet has been sending me emails, sometimes relating to a specific column, or others relating to his experience in our sport — sometimes just speaking of his outlook on harness racing in general terms. I felt as though I knew him, yet speaking realistically, I hardly know him at all.
It’s past time to get to know Mike Carter
by Murray Brown When I first approached Mike Carter with about writing this article his response was something to the effect of: “Why would you ask an old coot like me, someone who very few people in this sport even know about, to be the subject of a profile?” I had no answer to the old coot reference. After all, I’m one as well.
Time has not affected Carter Duer’s ability to spot good horses
by Murray Brown A few days ago, I was following a post on Facebook from Clay Horner about a sister to the leading money winner of 2026 (so far), Tarapasta ($346,900 this year and $820,395 lifetime), a mare that he had recently acquired. Strangely, for me, I wasn’t all that familiar with her pedigree. So, I went to Pathway and drew out a five-generation lineage of her ancestors. It was not all that surprising that she comes from one of the great maternal families in the sport, that of Midnight.
Clay Horner is bucking the trend by doubling down
The longtime owner/breeder has recently increased his investment in harness racing. by Murray Brown Normally my interviews take somewhere from 30-60 minutes. When I got off the phone with old friend Clay Horner on Tuesday morning, we had been on for over 140 minutes – that’s well over two hours. Over two hours and I felt we could have probably gone on for another two and still not come close to covering everything.
Paul Bordogna is one of the luckiestguys in harness racing
by Murray Brown Paul Bordogna considers himself to be one of the luckiest guys in all of harness racing. Consider this: He has been involved as an owner for upwards of 50 years. He considers his overall success to be well above the norm in that he has been in the black overall.
Family defines Steve Jones’ Cameo Hills Farm
by Murray Brown It has been nigh on 55 years that I have known Steve Jones. Then only 11 years old, he was a youngster riding along with his dad, Hall of Famer Hal Jones, who, at the time, was the farm manager at Hanover Shoe Farms. Steve said that he really didn’t get involved with an interest in harness racing until he was well into his teens. I’m inclined to disagree with that assessment.
Chuck Sylvester’s still great and we’re not blowing smoke
by Murray Brown As I posted on Facebook last Sunday, rarely, if ever, have I enjoyed an interview as much as I did seeing Heather Wilder’s video with Chuck Sylvester on Twos in Training. I loved it, not only because of its educational content, but nearly as much, or more, for how good my friend Sylvester, now only two months away from his 86th birthday, looked.
Harness racing insures challenges and excitement for Tom Svrcek
by Murray Brown Tom Svrcek has been involved in a multitude of harness horse related activities. Among them have been as a breeder, an owner of a horse rehabilitation center, a trainer, a sometime driver and of course, an owner of several currently-racing horses, in addition to being a director of the Meadows Standardbred Owners Association(MSOA). It was prior to his attending a meeting of the MSOA that I caught up with him.
Back Issues: The fiery past of a Palmerston North landmark
The grandstand and the main ring in operation for the A&P Show, circa 1910.Manawatu Heritage The grandstand at the Showgrounds, where Central Energy Trust Arena, now sits, was opened in 1900 and , quickly became an important asset for A&P shows, military tournaments, and for watching rugby in Palmerston North. The original structure was badly damaged on February 2, 1936, when a severe storm caused widespread damage in and around Palmerston North, one of the hardest hit towns.
A conversation with Jim Whelan
by Murray Brown Jim Whelan is a generational horseperson proud and true. He is the son of a horseman who raced in Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia during the warmer months and throughout Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts at times when racing was down in the Maritimes. “I’ve never known anything but being around horses and being involved in the horse business,” Whelan said.
It’s all about family for horseman Dan Altmeyer
by Murray Brown Seventy-one seems to be too young to be referred to as a patriarch. Nevertheless, that is what I look upon Dan Altmeyer as being. Altmeyer has been a horseman as long as he can recall; certainly for the entirety of his adult life. As opposed to some involved in our great sport, he has always valued family above profession.
Steve Elliott still believes great trainers make fewer mistakes
by Murray Brown Years ago, I recall Steve Elliott saying to me, “The chief job and responsibility of the horse trainer is not to screw things up. I believe the great horse trainer is the person who makes the least number of mistakes with his horse. Great horses are born, not made. There have likely been many ‘meant to be’ great horses who you and I have probably never heard of, who were messed up by trainers. I’m not necessarily excusing myself from that statement.
A conversation with fourth-generation horseman Joe Bongiorno
by Murray Brown Joe Bongiorno belongs to a rare fraternity. He is one of the very few, perhaps its only member, who is both a trainer/driver of a large stable and also a fourth-generation active horseman. I was privileged to have known his great grandfather Harold R. Dancer, who died before Joe was born. Harold, Sr., as he was known, was as good a horseman as these eyes have ever seen.
Bud Hatfield on a total passion for horsepower
by Murray Brown Through the years, there have been numerous members of the automobile industry involved in standardbred ownership. The most prominent was likely Frances Dodge Van Lennep, the proprietress of Castleton Farms.
Words from Harry Harvey, Part 2
by Murray Brown Part 1 is here. Last week’s column dealt with two addresses delivered to members of the Connecticut Valley Trotting Association by Hall of Fame horseman Harry Harvey in the early 1960s. Harvey was then the farm manager at Delvin and Mary Lib Miller’s Meadow Lands Farm. Much of what he said then, over 60 years ago, holds a great deal of truth today. We shared his first 10 points last week, so here are the last 21: 11.
Words from Harry Harvey, Part 1
by Murray Brown One never knows where one will find treasure. About two weeks ago, I was speaking with my friend Ellen Harvey. She happened to mention, “I came across the transcripts of two speeches that my dad delivered to the Connecticut Valley Trotting Association at the behest of his brother Steve in 1964 and 1965.
Meeting the right ‘guy’ put Jay Novak on his harness racing path
by Murray Brown The time was a Saturday morning somewhere in the early summer of 1996. I was at The Meadowlands for baby races. While there, I struck up a conversation with a young man who I had known only briefly. His name was Jay Novak. I had met him through the Antonacci family with whom he owned horses. In addition to speaking about horses, the conversation drifted to what Novak did for a living. He was in the commodity business. He was a commodity broker.
by Murray Brown In a recent post on Facebook, I wrote about a 2-year-old colt named Dirigo that has impressed many of the watchers early this season at Sunshine Meadows. The response to the post elicited responses more to the quality of the breeders/owners of the colt and the esteem in which they are held, rather than to harness racing, or to the horse itself. Was this unusual?
Top horsepeople share views on embryo transfers
by Murray Brown Last week’s column focused on embryo transfers (ETs). I thought I would follow up on it by contacting some of the people within the industry who I had previously written about to ask them their views on the procedure, if they had experience with ETs and how the results worked out for them. Far from all responded, but enough did to come up with a reasonable cross section of opinions.
The interesting evolution of embryo transfers
Of the nearly 2,000 embryo transfer foals registered since 1996, 326 have earned in excess of $100,000. by Murray Brown Recently, a very knowledgeable friend told me that he would never buy a yearling conceived by embryo transfer and raised by a recipient mare. “Why?” I asked.
David Heffering loves making hay while the sun shines
by Murray Brown I’ve now been writing this column for near six and a half years. After the first year or so, I began kvetching that I was running out of people and topics to write about. It is now over 250 columns since those complaints began and yet, here I am still able to find numerous fresh subject matters to discuss. I suppose that the fault lies with me and the fact that I’m rarely satisfied and am often in the mood to complain. Maybe that is why I am known as The Curmudgeon?
A false mustache got Jeffrey Bell into Roosevelt Raceway
by Murray Brown There are not too many subjects about whom I have written more than one column. The only two that come to mind are Sam Bowie and Myron Bell. I’ve written two columns on Bell, but I’ve yet to do the first one on his younger brother Jeffrey, who has been involved in the sport for almost as long as Myron. I believe it’s time for me to remedy this exclusion. Jeffrey had just gone to press with his directory of the harness horses in training at Sunshine Meadows when I reached out to him.
Blair Corbeil has built quite a career in harness racing
by Murray Brown Blair Corbeil’s first horse was a $6,000 claimer which promptly went out and won its first start for its new owner, only to be immediately claimed away from him. Since then, his horse holdings have risen to where they cover somewhere around 80 head and include just about everything, racehorses, yearlings, weanlings, broodmares, and stallion shares. He has horses throughout North America with trainers in Western Canada, Ontario, and New Jersey.
Dr. Megan Moschgat and Tim Hayes are enjoying life knee deep in the Bluegrass
by Murray Brown The sad passing of Rob Reiner this past week brought to mind one of his greatest hits as a director, the movie, When Harry Met Sally, which in turn brought to mind one of the nicest couples I know Megan and Tim. What do Megan and Tim have to do with Harry and Sally or for that matter Rob Reiner? Absolutely nothing as far as I know, other than that they are a pair of couples, one fictional and the other very real. However, that is the way my eccentric mind sometimes works.
The part-owner of Sebastian K and Captain Corey is living his best life. by Murray Brown It is appropriate to describe Tristan Sjöberg, both literally and figuratively, as a man of the world. He was born and raised in Sweden, lived in the United Kingdom for 19 years, and he and his family now reside in Singapore while still maintaining a residence in London.
Carl Jamieson has thrived in harness racing by not taking shortcuts
by Murray Brown When Jody Jamieson was asked what were the great life lessons that he has learned from his father, Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Famer, Carl Jamieson, he was quick to respond, “Hard work and honesty. There are no shortcuts in this life.” It’s been a long route that Carl has traveled since 1986 when he and his family — wife Debbie, son Jody and daughter Brandy — left Nova Scotia to seek a better living in Ontario.
by Murray Brown Erv Miller is 59. He has been working with horses since he was two weeks out of the 8th grade. Miller’s dad Marvin was a farmer. His family grew crops and used work horses to sustain life on their Amish farm. While Erv was growing up Marvin Miller began working with drywall installation. Erv said when he was probably no more than 5 or 6 years old, stopping by the county fairs with his dad and seeing the racehorses there, he thought to himself, “People race horses for a living?
Doug Paul on 50 years of M And L and the rise of Armitage Farms
The partnership of the Paul and McLane/Armitage families is one of the most dynamic new duos in the game. by Murray Brown Doug Paul estimates that he has been involved with harness racing for about 50 or so years. It was always a family affair enjoyed by his parents, his late father Ralph and mother Roz, still with us and very active in the family enterprise at the spry age of 89. One might have thought that after a half century in the game the Pauls would have gone through numerous trainers.
My picks for the 2025 Dan Patch awards
View our full coverage of the sale here by Murray Brown It’s that time of year. The Breeders Crowns are over. Harrisburg, my usual benchmark for season’s end, is done. It’s time to think about Dan Patch winners and the Horse of the Year Award. Barring something unforeseen, this is how my ballot for the 2025 racing year will look.
How will May Dodge do at Harrisburg in 2025?
View our full coverage of the sale here by Murray Brown If you read this column with any sort of regularity, you know my favorite family of all pacers in harness racing is the one that traces maternally to a mare by the name of May Dodge. I’ve written about her and her descendants several times. I’ve preached her gospel to just about anybody who will listen. Her descendants are numerous and exceptional. I happened to be speaking about her and her influence on the breed with Myron Bell last week.
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