A passing glance with Jerry Glantz
by John Berry
In combing over some of my favorite fillies of the past, the name of Passing Glance came to mind — Passing Glance just one, mind you, of a thousand or more since the days of Impish and Countess Adios, Armbro Flight, Glad Rags, Cheer Honey, Rockette Forbes, Timely Beauty, Heather Mom, Jan Kaye, some famous, some not so famous, but, still, fillies and mares that I admired greatly back in those great days.
Those were the days, for example, that if Heather Mom trotted an opening half in 1:00 on the lead, she’d be nowhere at the wire, but if (Dave) Bartlett looked down at his stopwatch and saw it at 1:03, Heather Mon was “just, a minute” away from the winner’s circle at Washington Park, as the late, great Phil Georgeff would say.
But back to Passing Glance, she was a daughter of Albatross and she was a handy sort that didn’t matter the size of the track, winning 31 of 55 starts and over $340,000 during her three-year career on the track in the late 1970s.
She was a rare gal by taking her mark of 1:56.2 on a five-eighths oval and had a half-mile mark of 1:57.2, a fifth of a second faster than her mark at The Meadowlands.
Anyhow, by coincidence, I happened to call an old compadre, Jerry Glantz, and this Passing Glance-Jerry Glantz detail was just too good to pass up for this Mane Attraction.
I corralled Glantz upon his return to Florida for what turned out to be a riveting interview.
It’s so good to be with you, after all, you have played just about every instrument in harness racing’s orchestra. Tell us about the beginnings.
“My dad, Irving, bought his first horse in 1959 in Goshen, NY, and I was right behind him when he did it. I was just a young whipper-snapper at the time and the bug bit me right then and there.”
You have quite a resume, from announcer to bloodstock agent to working in the race secretary’s office.
“Yes, I announced at Monticello Raceway, Roosevelt and, of course, Pompano Park, probably more than 35,000 races. I have been fortunate to have had many clients over the past 50 years that have trusted my judgment in the selection of yearlings. I was also time trial director at The Red Mile for a couple of years, in fact, around the time that Passing Glance raced.”
I wish they’d bring those time trials back. I think that many a horse could fess-up a record of 1:48 or, even, faster, which, I think, would be a lot more meaningful than showing a horse’s best time on the track in a race, where they were drafted along in seventh timed in 1:49.
“Just take a look at the Sunday program from The Red Mile. I think you’ll see entire fields or close to entire fields under 1:50.”
Yeah, in fact, the whole 12 horse field was clocked in 1:49 or faster and some were well back just drafting along, and look at where the standardbred breed has come. Heck, I said in my column 45 years ago that a 1:50 mile would never be accomplished because a :29 breather would be needed along the way. Louprint, after being hung out past a :27.1 opener, brushed three straight quarters in :26.1, :26.3, and :26.2. Sugar Man paced his last three-quarters in 1:18.4 in the same race and just squeaked by to get fourth place. I mean, we’re speed crazy today. On that same subject, do you think the speed rage of today hurts ownership potential in this sport?
“I really think so. While it’s really nice to own a 1:48 performer, when a horse paces in [1]:48 and a piece and finished eighth or ninth, well, that kind of throws a damper in spending serious money these days in buying a yearling. There’s only so many spots that get checks and if 1:48 isn’t enough to win and 1:49 isn’t enough to have earned your way out, well, I think that spells trouble.”
Perfect example of that is the 3-year-old Wavemaker, who has five wins in 16 starts with a mark of 1:49.3 — kind of ho-hum these days — and has banked only $40,000 and change this year, probably a losing proposition for the owner in today’s marketplace.
“Yes, and there’s fierce competition out there. And it’s not only the speed, it’s the strength of the powerful owners that have been smart enough to figure out the system and absolutely annihilate the purses in these days.
“We’re no different than other speed sports. In the first Indy-500, the average speed for the winner was 74 miles-per hour. By 1932, it was over 100 mph. In the 1960s, it went over 150 mph. If you own one of those cars these days, your return will be Z-E-R-O, with the same investment, or more.
“I don’t know if you realize that the top 10 trainers in harness racing, and I don’t want to take away from their expertise and how they do it, but there are at last a couple of thousand trainers in harness racing and the top two have won $31-$32 million and the top 10 have won way over 15 per cent of those purses, and they are the big purses, the Stakes purses. So, what’s the future for the other 85 per cent of the trainers in harness racing. They are left with the scraps.”
Well, in actuality, this is nothing new. When Lou Guida invaded harness racing with his investors, they kind of monopolized the sport 40-45 years ago. He had 1-1A-1B-1C and I-D in the Meadowlands Pace one year — 1985 — and took four of the top five checks.
“Yes, that’s true but it’s a bit different today with what the leader of the pack is doing. Again, he’s beaten the system and I take nothing away from his success, but he has invaded just about every overnight track and I would think it would be quite difficult to track all of those horses at every track, every day, every night.”
I understand.
“Let me finish! Don’t look at who is buying horses, look at the ones that are no longer buying horses. Then you’ll see why the industry is having a problem luring new owners into harness racing.”
Do you think there are different standards for different people in harness racing?
“I’m involved in one right now.”
What’s the story?
“My trainer — a very excellent horseman, by the way — Tony Dinges, got a positive test result on a horse at a fair track and got a suspension, on a horse, by the way, that I do not own.
“But for the first time in my life, I had two horses that, after training and prepping and racing, qualified for various finals in the Kentucky Sire Stakes finals — my filly for the Commonwealth and my colt for the Golden Rod — very exciting for this man in his, what do they say, Golden Years.”
You own them with others?
“I own 100 per cent of both, the first time in my life this is happening for me.”
That’s still big money there.
“$100,000 for the filly and $50,000 for the colt in those finals.
“We put them in the box two days earlier and the entries were accepted. Later, Tony [Dinges] called me with the news that the Commission was scratching both of my horses. They had denied him a hearing and a stay!”
That seems a bit prejudicial since there are trainers that get hearings and stays all over the place, some for years, and on situations that seemingly are much worse on pari-mutuel tracks that have betting.
“Not only that, the medication in question on the horse I do not own, is a Class 4 substance, Banamine.”
I’m no vet but isn’t the particular medication simply therapeutic in nature?
“Yes, and it’s ‘withdrawal’ period is 48 hours and there was hardly a trace in that horse I did not own, which, probably would have been gone in a very short time.”
Devastating!
“Devastating? This has been devastating for me both financially and personally. Financially, this entire episode has forced me to sell my colt to continue to pay the bills on the filly!
“Personally, this has been heartbreaking to realize that the sport to which I have devoted my life has done something like this to me. It shouldn’t happen to anybody.”
Who was responsible for the ruling? Are you at liberty to name names?
“The president and CEO of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission is Jami Eads. This was, clearly, a misuse of power and has damaged me to no end.
“First, they accepted the entries and then scratched the horses. This has hurt others, as well, in the Dinges Stable and, for a fact, Tony Dinges does not use Banamine and the sample taken should have been revisited for contamination. This has hurt others besides myself and they were denied to the $400,000 finals.”
So, is this a chance for you to be the “Rose Parks” of harness racing by starting a crusade to get universal rules on medication in place?
“I don’t know about Rosa Parks but, at least, we should be speaking up on bringing the industry up to today with universal rules and laws that puts everyone on an even track!
“The trainer responsibility rule has to be revisited and brought up to the times, just as the breeders have succeeded in bringing the standardbred breed into the times. Antiquated rules must be modernized.”
Thank you, Jerry, for your time with Harness Racing Update.
MAY THE HORSE BE WITH YOU
