Adios doesn’t seem the same without Patterson
It will be 20 years this December that The Meadows harness racing track lost its last original employee, Quinton Patterson.
Patterson’s construction crew, which was chosen by Meadows founder Delvin Miler, helped when the facility was built beginning in 1961 and Patterson went to work there upon its opening in 1963.
Patterson grew up on farms around the Washington County area where The Meadows now sits.
As the grandstand manager, and defacto public relations director, Patterson became familiar to employees and patrons as the man with an enormous ring of original keys, a genuine smile and good nature.
He worked from early morning until after races ended and any other non-racing day. He was the original 24-7.
Patterson was a friend of the Hall of Famer Miller.
As a former general manager said upon Patterson’s death: “He made a positive impact on every person he met.”
Patterson knew the drivers, trainers and the celebrities — Stan Musial, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Franco Harris and Yogi Berra, among them — who often visited. He worked for six ownership groups.
“Quinton devoted at least 50 to 60 percent of his entire life to The Meadows,” longtime track announcer Roger Huston said. “He was a dear friend, a great worker and a great individual. He was The Meadows. Delvin was The Meadows, of course.
Quinton kept it all going. I can’t come up with the words that sufficiently describe Quinton Patterson. He just did everything.”
One of Patterson’s favorite “extra duties” was being in the winner’s circle with The Adios winning horse and placing the blanket of orchids on the champion 3-year-old pacer.
The Meadows ended the blanket tradition because – as some with knowledge say – of the rising cost of orchids and the inability of having someone reliable to sew it together.
At some point, his name was attached to the popular Adioo Volo, contested on Adios Day as a memorial to him – “The Quinton Patterson Adioo Volo.”
Before the 2025 Adios Pace for the Orchids, his name was removed from the race. It was replaced by the name of the late Mickey Burke Sr., who quite frankly, more than deserves to have an Adios Day race named in his memoriam. His impact was great as well.
This move was made under the previous race director Scott Lisha’s regime. No one offered an acceptable reason why. Just saying.
So Quinton Patterson’s name was removed from Adios Day activities. That doesn’t feel right writing it. It certainly doesn’t feel right accepting it. Frankly, it doesn’t feel right at all.
It is common practice to change the name of a race as people die or history dictates a more current person the public more readily recognizes.
Anyone who knew Quinton Patterson won’t ever forget him and his impact on The Meadows and Adios Day.
Some traditions are worth keeping. Patterson’s legacy is worth it.
John Swiatek, formerly the vice president/general manager of Ladbroke at the Meadows said this in 1992: “Quinton is great man.”
Swiatek recently said serving as a pallbearer at Patterson’s funeral in 2006 was deeply meaningful for him.
Christine Blaine, who was the track’s promotions director at the time and now serves as the Chief Executive Officer, Sports Facility, LLC for the Washington Wild Things’ Frontier League baseball franchise, remembers Patterson as genuine and real.
“He knew every inch of that entire facility and all the renovations and all of that stuff,” Blaine said. “I wasn’t around when apparently the lower level was like a big kitchen area and he knew all of that. If you ever needed to know anything about where something was or where it had been so that they could go take care of an issue there, he knew the answers.
“Quinton also had a great passion for the facility. And more importantly for the people. He would do anything for anybody. He made himself available for you personally. He was an inspiration for somebody who wanted to teach customer service because he took the time to talk to everybody. He shook their hand. He knew their names; he made them feel welcome. He was just charming, and you wanted to be around him because his personality was greater than life.
“I can’t think of anybody who probably could have represented The Meadows any better than Quinton Patterson,” she continued. “The horsemen loved him. The customers loved him. The employees loved him. When I first met him, I thought, ‘wow, he’s really nice because he’s kind of taken me under his wing.’ He went out of his way to make me feel at home. There aren’t very many people who would do that because he had his own family and his own life. He was a very busy person.
“And another thing I remember, especially about Adios week, back in the day when John Cigna’s show was on KDKA Radio and it was the No. 1 radio station, we had John come out every year during Adios week, and we would need to be there at 3 o’clock in the morning, and you know what? Quinton didn’t need to be there. It was my job to be there because I did the marketing and the PR and so it was my job. Quinton was there before me every year and he brought coffee and donuts for John and everybody. I mean everybody just adored him. And he was worthy of every drop of love he got from people because he gave it back. He was a tremendous man.”
Thirty-four years ago, I wrote this about Patterson in an Observer-Reporter news profile: “I could walk through the grandstand area without a light being on,” he said. “I know the system here really well.”
What Quinton Patterson knew best was people. As was written in that story: “And it is the interaction with high-level management, co-workers and patrons that makes Patterson so very special.”
Patterson literally raised his family in the building. He certainly lifted the Meadows and is a huge part of the track contesting its 60th Adios Pace for the Orchids Saturday afternoon.
Here’s hoping his name will return to one of the Adios Day races for the 61st Adios in 2027.
It just won’t seem right without it.
John Sacco writes a column for the Observer-Reporter about local sports history.