Carmine’s for Carmine
NYC’s Italian eatery is on the menu to honor Hall of Fame driver Carmine Abbatiello.
by Debbie Little
Could there be a better way to celebrate the legacy of the late, great Carmine Abbatiello than with an Italian family-style meal from the restaurant named for him?
On Saturday (April 18), The Meadowlands will transport those dining in their restaurants — Pink and Trotters — to Southern Italy via Carmine’s NYC as they play host to“An Evening with Carmine’s at The Meadowlands.”
The late harness horse owner and restaurateur Arthur J. Cutler opened Carmine’s flagship restaurant in 1990 on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, named in honor of the Hall of Fame driver.
Earlier this year, on Jan. 27 at the age of 89, Abbatiello died, prompting The Big M’s president/chief executive officer Jeff Gural, a friend of Cutler’s, to come up with a fitting tribute to “The Red Man.”
“After Abbatiello’s passing Jeff [Gural] and Alicart, parent company of Carmine’s NYC, spoke about doing a Carmine’s Night at the track to honor the Hall of Fame driver,” said Meadowlands chief operating officer/ general manager Jason Settlemoir. “We were able to work out logistics and details over the last couple of months and are looking forward to a night of great food and legendary stories about the great Carmine Abbatiello.”
Eric Abbatiello, Carmine’s son, said he remembers getting the call from Settlemoir about wanting to celebrate the life of his dad with a meal fit for the king that he was.
“He called me up to see if I wanted to do a night for dad and they would try to get Carmine’s restaurant involved… and have some of the old-timers come and, you know, just have a reason to get everybody together… so, I gave him the go ahead,” Eric said. “And Rachel [Ryan], she works in the marketing department, she’s wonderful, and she was able to put it together. I sent them some pictures, I made calls to some friends and family, and they secured Carmine’s restaurant to come, so, it just came together quickly and many thanks to everyone involved at The Meadowlands. It’s a nice thing.”
Thanks to Gural, Cutler actually got to meet his Italian eatery’s namesake.
“Carmine was here one night and we introduced him to Artie and that was a real thrill for Artie,” Gural said in a Meadowlands winner’s circle interview.
In 1998, Gural created an open trot at The Meadowlands, the Arthur J. Cutler Memorial, following his friend’s untimely death from a heart attack at age 53 in 1997.
The night of this year’s Cutler Memorial, Saturday (May 16), might have seemed like the perfect night to honor Carmine with Carmine’s, but since they could not make that date work, all parties involved are happy they were able to come up with a night that did work.
Hall of Famer Mike Lachance will not be able to be at The Meadowlands next Saturday night, but he is thankful for the friendship he had with Carmine, who he last saw a month before his passing.
“I idolized Carmine for years,” Lachance said. “Back then, when I was racing at Brandywine and Liberty Bell in the middle ’70s, I used to send horses to New York, and I used to use Carmine before anybody. So, I always respected so much his talent as a catch driver.
“Carmine was one in a million, a tremendous, tremendous talent. He had a way to cut a mile with a horse like nobody.
“He deserves to have a night for him and I’m tickled to death to see that that’s going to happen. Carmine was one of the best of his time.”
Eric was very close to his dad, and throughout his life, he said he remembers how much his dad enjoyed taking him and his friends out to dinner. So, what could be a better tribute to Carmine than friends, family, and fans breaking bread?
A limited number of tickets still remain for anyone who wants to have a great meal and pay tribute to one of harness racing’s all-time best.
“I’m anxious to see who’s able to show up, because… nobody’s young anymore in my father’s age group,” Eric said with a laugh. “It’ll be interesting to see who comes. I know it’s tough to get everybody out, because everyone gets set in their ways as they get older. But you know what? I’ll try to light a fire underneath some of them.
“My mom told me a long time ago, ‘Eighty per cent of life is just showing up.’ That’s what you’ve got to do.”
