Horsing around over the years
No, I did not empty my notebook with my Meadows coverage in Sunday’s editions. It merely seemed that way. There are plenty of leftovers on this, the second of a three-day golden anniversary fest at the North Strabane Township track.
The eve of its birthday is an ideal time to trot out these bon mots. Oh, and even though you’ve emptied my wallet almost as often as my kids, happy 50th, old friend.
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Harness racing, of course, always has been the signature event at the track portion of The Meadows Racetrack & Casino. But it hasn’t been the only competitive event.
Mike Jeannot, president of Meadows Racing, said management experimented with thoroughbred racing from 1972 through 1974. The experiment nearly destroyed the lab.
“A lot of tracks used to have harness and thoroughbred racing,” Jeannot said. “We had a couple of meets during the summers.
“It was disastrous.”
Ostriches and a buffalo also have raced at the North Strabane Township track. A fabulous YouTube video shows fabled driver Dave Palone coasting to victory on an ostrich, then telling an interviewer: “They should have told us to wear a cup, though.”
It also features two horses taking on Harvey Wallbanger, a racing buffalo who was undefeated. Until that day.
The link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMAYl7dEMvo
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Speaking of Meadows-related YouTube vidoes . . . another one includes still shots of individuals who were integral to planning and launching the project and a taped interview with Delvin Miller, the linchpin of The Meadows.
The tape – from late 1962 – was believed to have been lost but was found by the people at Meadowcroft Village. In it, Miller discusses the status of construction of what would become the first parimutuel horse track in Western Pennsylvania.
Miller and three partners of the Washington Trotting Association pushed for a track in Washington County, and formulated plans for the 5/8-mile oval and complex. One photo shows him accepting, on behalf of the Washington Trotting Association, a $3.6 million check from the brokerage firm Moore, Leonard & Lynch to start the project.
Here is the link to that video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Kajf9myCiI&
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Before it began operations as The Meadows Racetrack & Casino in 2007, the track experienced some rocky financial times. The casino’s opening six years ago gave it a much-needed boost, and still does.
The track experienced a 15 percent spike in its all-sources handle in 2012, at a time when many other tracks nationwide were struggling.
Cannery Casino Resorts, of Las Vegas, completed its purchase of the track in 2006. CCR co-founder Bill Paulos said it once was losing $2 million a year, “and now we’re in the plus column.”
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Patrons of the racetrack and casino are familiar with Adios because of his distinguished statue near the entrance to the grounds, and because of the Adios Pace for the Orchids, the Meadows’ premier event every August since 1967,
But horses are people too, so here is a mini-profile of the legendary quadripede.
Adios was born Jan. 3, 1940, in Carmel, Ind., the son of Hale Dale and Adioo Volo. He was a world champion, but became better known in harness circles for what his offspring accomplished.
Miller bought him in 1948 to stand in stud at his Chartiers Township farm. What a succcess that was. Adios sired eight Little Brown Jug champions, more than any horse. Two sons, Adios Butler and Bret Hanover, won the Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Pacers.
Adios died in 1965 after siring 589 offspring.
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Bob Sutton, longtime paddock judge, could fill two barns and half a paddock with his Meadows memories. One in particular is as tragic as it is indelible.
The fabled Billy Haughton won a race at The Meadows on July 13, 1986, but left behind the whip he used. Sutton secured it and was going to return the whip, but two days later Haughton sustained head injuries at Yonkers Raceway and died.
Sutton was among legions in the industry who admired Haughton, four-time winner of the Hambletonian and five-time Little Brown Jug champion. He still had the whip and and wanted to send it to an appropriate place.
He did – to the Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame in Goshen. N.Y., where it is displayed in a cubicle commemorating Haughton.
Haughton’s tragic death was the second his family experienced in six years. His son, Peter, also a driver, died in a 1980 car crash.
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Curby Stillings was a mere 16-year-old Ford City High School student when The Meadows opened in 1963. She accompanied her father, Chester Welch, a driver during that initial season, and over time did virtually everything at the track. She was the program director for 23 years.
Now 66 and living in Canton Township, Stillings still often comes to The Meadows. Her son, Tyler, 41, is a driver and trainer there – after she tried to dissuade him.
“Tyler graduated from Duquesne University, but wanted to try horses,” Curby said. “I grew up in the business and told him, ‘This is hard work. You might get turned off by it.’
“Then I thought he’s not married and he has a college education, go for it. Then when it doesn’t work out, he will get a real job.
“It turned out that he’s been successful.”
She has witnessed a lot of transitions at the track and in the industry.
“The changes have been huge,” Stillings said. “Equipment and breeding have changed. Tracks have gone to different mixes of materials. There have been a lot of safety measures (instituted). We just don’t have the accidents we had in the past.”
The human dynamic also has shifted since the early 1960s, she said.
“At that time, most people were owners, trainers and drivers. They were 30-, 40- and 50-year-old people with experience. There wasn’t a young driver colony.”
Rick Shrum is a business writer for the Observer-Reporter.