Bradley died in 2000 and Manges just last week.

by Murray Brown

This is a column I wish I wasn’t writing. But it is one I had to.

I first met Randy Manges in October of, I think the year was 1968. It might have been a year or two later. As was the tradition of the time, Hanover Shoe Farms was holding its annual Show Day at the Hanover Fairgrounds on the Sunday before that year’s yearling crop were to be shipped to Harrisburg.

Among the attendees that day were two young men whose acquaintance I had not previously made: John Bradley and Manges. Sadly, neither is among us anymore. Bradley passed away in April of 2000 and Manges just this past week. Although we had no idea of our future at the time, all three of us were destined to live similar lives as horse sales company managers.

As I recall, neither Bradley nor Manges had ever visited Hanover previously. After the yearlings had been led to pony and shown to prospective buyers, I took the guys out to the main farm to visit with the stallions. They were awestruck as I had previously been to be in the presence of such royalty as Tar Heel and Stars Pride, the youngsters Dancer Hanover and Bullet Hanover; Hickory Smoke and the geriatric Knight Dream and his older sire Nibble Hanover. Afterwards, we went to the Altland House in nearby McSherrystown to sample their world famous crabcakes.

I’m guessing that none of us realized that this was to be the beginning of a lifelong friendship that would only be interrupted by that end which gets all of us. Even though we spent the greatest part of our lives as competitors, I cannot remember even a single harsh word spoken between us.

Bradley became the sales manager for the Lana Lobell Sales which were held at Liberty Bell Park and then at the farm in Bedminster, NJ. He also served as the sales manager at Tattersalls for three years. He then went on to write Modern Trotting Sire Lines, followed by the equally fantastic Modern Pacing Sire Lines which were endowed to the sport which he truly loved. He was only 57 when he passed away from cancer which had plagued the last decade of his life.

Manges has been ill the previous two decades or more, first with diabetes, then with the painful neuropathy which made his life so difficult.

He went from being the program director at Brandywine and Liberty Bell to becoming Phil Tully’s right-hand man at his Woodstock Stud to doing the same at Andy Grant’s Bradford Bloodstock Agency and then to the position that defined him at Kentucky Standardbred Horse Sales (KSHS) and Lexington Selected Yearling Sale.

There was a period of about a year between his gigs at Bradford and KSHS where he worked with me at Standardbred Horse Sale Company (SHSC).

Actually, Bradley also worked with me for several years at SHSC helping to do pedigrees for the mixed sale catalog each fall.

There were two of the many times where Manges exhibited his friendship that really stand out in my memory.

My first wife Marlene had passed away. We had been married just a few months short of 40 years. Needless to say, this was a difficult time. Among those who came to the funeral was Manges who had driven from Kentucky to Hanover, PA, to help share my grief. When I say share, I mean just that. Manges had been a dear friend of Marlene. They shared almost equally in being constantly harassed by me for their obnoxious smoking habit. There were often times when they would get together away from me to share a cigarette.

The next was several years later in 2012. Carol and I were getting married. We were putting together a list of those who would be invited. Among the first names I mentioned was Manges. Carol said, “He’s in Kentucky and if he isn’t, he’s on the road evaluating yearlings. There is no way he can or will come.” My response was “You don’t know Randy well enough. I’ll bet you he will be there.” Sure enough he was.

Rest easy, my friend.