by Victoria Howard

When Freehold Raceway closed its doors in December 2024, Karen Fagliarone was among the many people to say goodbye to yet another harness racetrack.

Fagliarone was a tenured employee who had worked at Freehold for 46 years in various departments: publicity, accounting, clerk, program director and race secretary.

Her first job was with the New Jersey Racing Commission assigning horsemen passes and seats to the grandstand. Years later, Fagliarone was moved to the publicity department where she assisted in writing articles and held events to promote the industry.

Sometime later, Fagliarone began working as the assistant race secretary for Frank Ferone. Ferone eventually retired and was replaced with Peter Koch. Both of these mentors had a huge impact on Fagliarone, teaching her about the business.

But these are only some of the important jobs Fagliarone would do for harness racing, the sport that her family loved so much.

Fagliarone was born in Staten Island, NY. Her late father, Jim McGovern and her brother Jamie McGovern, were both drivers and trainers, as was her late uncle Donald McGovern who drove and trained standardbreds part-time. So, it would come as no surprise when Fagliarone would choose to make harness racing her enduring profession.

“My father was very protective and didn’t think the backside of the racetrack was a place for young girls,” she said. “Therefore, I never even experienced getting up and personal with horses until I was around 12 or 13 years old. At that time, my family moved from Staten Island, NY, to Cream Ridge, NJ, where my dad purchased and built a 120-acre horse farm [currently named Dreamland Farm] located on Schoolhouse Rd in Cream Ridge, NJ. I started working on the farm and quickly developed a deep passion for horses.

“In 1990 I met and married my husband, Michael Fagliarone, who at that time was also a driver/trainer. A short time later Mike left his driving career and began working at the Meadowlands Racetrack as a track supervisor. In 2009, Mike left The Meadowlands and took the same position at Freehold Raceway.

“In 2007, I was promoted to director of racing. After years of working in a predominantly male business, I was hesitant to jump on board and take leadership.”

Luckily for Fagliarone, she received some good advice.

“My good friend, trainer/driver Jackie Ingrassia, has always been a huge influence in my life, and she convinced me that I could handle the challenge, and I’m so glad I did,” Fagliarone said. “Although I was working with trainers and drivers, mostly male and much younger than me, I found that if you treat people with respect and remained fair, most of the time, you would get respect back. I also found it extremely important to be accessible. People have the right to ask questions and deserve honest answers.”

Fagliarone’s job as a race secretary is an important one requiring a lot of attention to detail.

“My day consists of printing up eligibility papers on each horse that was entered for the day, classifying them, checking that they were both qualified and fit the conditions of the race and then dating them by preference date. From there, I put together the most competitive field of horses and number my race numbers before sending the program to the judges. The judges proof my work, check for any entries or errors and then I complete the draw.”

Fagliarone mentioned how things have changed drastically since the days when the race draw was performed by one person who pulled a horse’s name from the box while another person rolled the dice to see what number that horse would be assigned.

“They sure have,” Fagliarone said. “We now have the pleasure of electronic eligibilities and an automated draw, which are helpful tools provided by the USTA. Years ago, you had an actual blue or yellow eligibility card, and we would hand write the lines of a horse. Technology has come a long way and our jobs as officials have benefited.”

Over her decades in the business, Fagliarone has observed changes to an industry that was once thriving, and offered a thought on what could help to reverse that trend in the future.

“I’ve watched a steady decline in the harness industry, and it saddens me,” she said. “I remember the days when we would handle over a million dollars on a Saturday afternoon. In 2024 we were lucky to handle $250,000 on average. Before the Atlantic City casinos opened in the late ’70s, horse racing was the only place to wager. Today, it takes a click of the phone to wager on just about any sporting event imaginable.

“At Freehold we conducted an event called “The Open Space Pace,” which was sponsored by Eugene and Sam Landy. The father and son team are two amazing supporters of our sport and have given so much back. Sam’s son, Harry Landy, began his career driving at Freehold Raceway. Events such as these bring awareness and attract newcomers, which is what the business needs.”

Although Freehold is no longer open, Fagliarone is still involved the business.

“I’m happy to say that I have taken two remote jobs, working at Bangor in Maine, and Shanandoah Downs in Virginia as race secretary,” she said. “Although I will miss the social aspect of my job, I will still get to watch these incredible horses race around in circles two laps at both of my new tracks.

“I truly enjoy my job and I am most proud of the young, ambitious interns that I have mentored. Just to name a few, PJ Iovino, who is currently the race secretary at Saratoga Raceway, Rich Mattei and John Piassek, who are both employed at Yonkers Raceway, and Rob Pennington, who is race secretary at both Cumberland in Maine and Harrah’s in Chester, PA.

“My most recent intern is a young man named Joseph Romanelli. Joe’s grandfather and my dad owned horses together back in the ’70s and throughout the years. I’ve watched Joe stand under the TV’s during a race and call races to himself. I knew he had the passion, talent, and work ethic to become an announcer one day, and so I hired him at Freehold. He is now working for The Meadowlands conducting interviews and broadcasting. These individuals have all become family to me and to this day, I keep in touch with all of them.”