The longtime collector/fan created Harness Racing History for the betterment or our sport.

by Murray Brown

John Polvinale is nearing the age of 88. He has been a harness racing fan and a collector of harness racing memorabilia for the vast majority of that time. Recently, he donated the overwhelming majority of his collection to the Harness Racing Museum. His involvement in the sport began in the formative years of the New York racetracks Roosevelt Raceway and Yonkers in the late 1940s, when as an underaged teenager he accompanied his father to the original home of the Messenger Stakes in Westbury, NY. Then as now, he was in love with the sport, its characters and most importantly its great equine performers.

Most people look upon you, among other areas, as a preserver of the sport’s history through you starting the internet site Harness Racing History. How did that come to pass?

“In 2016, the internet contained a hodgepodge of harness racing posts and information. I thought it might be a good idea to somewhat formalize this talk and give those folks, especially younger people, a place to come to and discuss just about anything and everything relating to our great sport. Prior to its establishment, many of the discussions began with, or often led to, anger, animosity and sometimes even outright rage. I believed that these were nothing but wasted emotions and totally unnecessary for what I wanted. I wanted a happy place where people could express their views and become educated by those of others, through decent, and civilized discourse. Thus, I began Harness Racing History.

“Anybody could join. The only rules were that the discussions were limited to all areas of harness racing and that they had to conduct themselves in an orderly fashion. There also had to be no advertising or any other signs of commercialism. There was to be no bad language, no threats and nothing that related to negativity. Within a few months, the site had a membership in excess of 2,000. Now, slightly less than a decade later our membership is almost 50,000 and includes people from over a hundred countries. Only a small percentage of these folks post on the site, but I’d like to think that a good many of them read what is transmitted and have an interest in the sport.”

Almost 50,000 subscribers? That is a huge number. How do you administer such a large group?

“Actually, I have help. As the site grew, I thought it became too big for me. One of our early members was Pete Lawrence. I asked him to become our moderator. In addition to Pete, there are others who help including Dean Hoffman, Dom Robelo, Nina Bell Mariani, and Daniel Allor, without whose aid we couldn’t function as we do. It’s a somewhat informal group with no ensconced hierarchy. The main goal of its being is to generate interest and conversation in and of harness racing. In 2019, I was surprised and deeply honored to receive the USHWA [U.S. Harness Writers Association] President’s Award from Shawn Wiles in appreciation for my founding of the site.”

You were a great friend and fan of Herve Filion. How did that association come about?

“I lived in New Jersey and spent many a day at Freehold Raceway. As many fans of the sport do, I greatly mourn the fact that it no longer exists. I would hang out in the drivers’ room at Freehold and would occasionally speak with Herve. Those conversations grew and led to a long and enduring friendship. I moved to Wilkes Barre when Herve was racing at Pocono Downs. Our friendship continued and grew. 

In addition to harness racing, we shared other interests. We both enjoyed playing cards and shooting pool. Herve’s prowess at both, much as with harness racing was exceptional. I couldn’t come close to him. He would almost always clean my clock. Herve would visit often at my place while he was racing at Pocono Downs. He played a big part in my becoming a collector of harness racing memorabilia. I eventually branched out to collecting just about anything and everything relating to harness racing.

“I live in a three-level house here in Wilkes Barre. The bottom floor became a makeshift museum for all the items that I had collected. I am soon going to move to a smaller place in New Jersey. I realized that I am now of an age where I had to find a forever home for all that I’ve acquired. I got in touch with Janet Terhune at the Harness Racing Museum in Goshen. I offered her the entire collection. All she had to do was come and get it. A few weeks ago, a truck arrived. We filled it up to its bursting point with most of what I had amassed. I estimate that the museum took about 90 per cent of what I had put together. I made arrangements with my good friend Rick Kane, the director of racing at Pocono Downs, to take what he found useful pertaining to Pocono Downs of what remained and to put it on display in a suitable area of the racetrack, which he has done.”

Through your many years of being involved in the sport, in addition to being a fan and a collector, haven’t you also owned quite a few horses?

“Yes indeed. I really have no idea of the number of horses I’ve owned through the years. Its more than a hundred and less than 200. It began with a horse named Steady New Yorker that I bought into at the suggestion of a Freehold trainer named ‘Big Mike’ Petitto. In his first start, with a young Jackie Moiseyev driving, he won for us pacing away easily at 25-1 odds. In addition to getting the purse, we also bet on him. ‘This is an easy game.’ I thought to myself. As many have found out, I couldn’t have been more mistaken. It certainly isn’t easy. There have been many mountains to climb and some heartaches to endure, but when the stars are in alignment and you are lucky enough to visit the winner’s circle, there is nothing else quite as gratifying.”

You recently made an interesting suggestion in a post on Harness Racing History following up on a suggestion you made a few years ago, about a “Wall of Achievements.” What can you tell us about that?

“I thought it was a good idea, but apparently the folks at Goshen did not agree. I took my suggestion to Janet Terhune at the Museum. She said that she would bring it up before the board. They said they were not interested.

“There is a feeling among some that there is much, for lack of a better word ‘politics’ involved in choosing members of the Living Hall of Fame, as well as to, perhaps a lesser degree, members of the Immortals section. I’d like to make it clear that my suggestion is not for the living HOF members or Immortals to be replaced by those that fit my criteria.

“This is not a substitution for the formula currently used for choosing people for the Hall of Fame.

“My suggested criteria might include drivers who have won more than 10,000 pari-mutuel races and/or Grade 1 wins, trainers and the number of Grade 1 races they have won, breeders and owners the same, getting their names on a wall in the Museum. These criteria are only some that come to mind. Others could be added. But they would in some fashion allow for significant achievements by some heretofore unacknowledged horsemen to be recognized, such as Billy Parker, Jr., and others who meet these standards and if not, they wouldn’t.”