Friday, August 12th - A Friend Remembered
{{monthName}} {{day}}, {{year}} {{hour12}}:{{minuteTwoDigit}}{{dayPeriod}}
The New York Racing Association is going to honor my late friend Steve Schwartz with a race named in his honor at Saratoga Race Course tomorrow. His family will gather with friends to salute Steve, who passed away last November at the age of 64. Saturday evening, the party moves to Lillian’s, a popular restaurant in Saratoga Springs.
Steve, a past president of the Turf Publicists of America, joined NYRA in 1979 and was promoted to the director of media relations four years later. He was with NYRA until 1991, when he became media director for the short-lived, The Racing Times. Then he joined the New Jersey Sports & Exposition and became the media relations director for its two tracks, Monmouth Park and The Meadowlands.
You knew Steve had his priorities straight when he caught the final four races at Yonkers the night of his high school graduation.
After working for American Turf Monthly, Sports Action and the Philadelphia Journal – where he was the handicapper - Steve joined NYRA. It was a perfect fit.
Doing public relations or media relations is a thankless occupation. The only time your name is mentioned is when something goes wrong. Like anything could go wrong at a racetrack, right? Schmoozing is a job requirement and Steve could schmooze with the best of them.
At Saratoga one afternoon, Steve and I got into a long discussion about speed figures. He loved them and told me many times, “The figs don’t lie.” I’ve been a public handicapper for 35 years and have never used speed figures once. Speed is only one basic aspect of handicapping, no more important than two others, class and form. There are no easy answers to handicapping.
At the time Steve was with NYRA, I was the handicapper for the Times-Union, the morning newspaper in Albany – I’ve since become the handicapper for the Daily Gazette in Schenectady. Well, one summer I started a mythical bankroll in the Times Union for the Saratoga meet. Like handicapping a day ahead wasn’t hard enough? I had to make bets the day before.
When I didn’t do well in the bankroll – which happened a lot – Steve would bust my chops. One day, I asked, “Do you think you could do any better?” That’s a question I wish I had never asked. Steve, of course, said, “Yes,” so we agreed to go head-to-head the following summer at Saratoga. The loser took the winner and his wife out to dinner at an expensive restaurant, Canterbury, which has since changed hands and been re-named Longfellow’s.
Steve wasn’t working for a newspaper, so he made his bankroll bets with me on race day just before the first race, a tremendous edge knowing not only the track condition but early scratches, too. I had to do my bankroll bets the previous day to get them into the paper.
Steve beat me, and it wasn’t close. So I had to take Steve and his wife Kathy to Canterbury. I never knew there could be so many courses in one single dinner. He stuck it to me good that night and we laughed about it for years.
When I think of Steve, I remember not only that he was proficient at his job, but more importantly that he was a mensch, Yiddish for a kind-hearted man, a man who’s fun to be with even when you’re picking up the check.
*****************
(Check out Bill Heller’s latest books at www.billhellerbooks.com)
Read More
We all know the feeling. Every year right after the Breeders’ Cup, the hangover hits. For me, it...
C2 Racing Stable and Gary Barber issued the following statement Tuesday regarding the post-parade scratch of White Abarrio...
The Grade 3 Mother Goose Stakes on Saturday at Aqueduct is a competitive matchup between established Grade 1...
This week's Prospect Watch showcases young horses with elite bloodlines making their debuts and early career starts across...
While most attention was on the Breeders' Cup last week, several horses got their first wins in impressive...