by Dean Towers

I’m the first to admit, I write a lot about the problems in this sport we call ours. But I think if we’re being honest, it’s because there are quite a few of them.

However, on North America Cup Night this year I found myself smiling a little bit more; cheering instead of sitting on my hands, wondering what could be better.

What did I like about the night so much? I thought about it for a spell and I think it’s because it felt more like the harness racing I grew up with.

The stakes night kicked off with trainer Jason Skinner winning the Armbro Flight in smashing fashion with Call Me Goo, a Maryland-bred, Virginia-owned mare. Jason’s post-race interview was so good; you could feel how happy he was.

Two races later in the $225,000 Goodtimes, Highland Kismet crushed his foes with an eye-catching performance for owner Highland Thoroughbred Frm and Ontario trainer Mark Etsell. To say this son of Father Patrick wasn’t on anyone’s radar a few months ago is a massive understatement. It was a man with a horse no one thought would amount to much competing and winning on the sport’s biggest stage.

The Mohawk Gold Cup has always been one of my favorite races, and this year we saw Melissa Essig ship Buzzsaw Russ from the Midwest, Ron MacDonald enter a local hope in Saulsbrook Victor, and the very good Oakwood Arden IR try his luck under the tutelage of Robert Cleary. While many harness stakes races can be chalky, this one wasn’t with a $22 winner in Linedrive Hanover. These horses, drivers and trainers were all there to take a swing.

As a kid, I attended the first North America Cup and watched Dr. John Hayes and Legal Notice storm home, beating an assortment of colts who came from virtually everywhere. Not long after, horses with everyday bloodlines trained by everyday people like Staff Director and Apaches Fame had their names etched on the trophy.

Sure, Cup 41 had the usual big stars, but this year it was different.

Driver Brett MacDonald, who toils mostly at B tracks, had a mount with Janelle Granny. Funtime Bayama, the wonderfully-fast homebred, was given a 7-2 chance for local connections.

And you just have to love it: the 5-2 favorite Captains Quarters was sent out by overnight trainer Herb Holland.

In 2024, horsepower is famously concentrated at the top, and it’s not just in harness racing. In fact, just a couple of weeks ago thoroughbred trainer Chad Brown sent out four of six starters in a Grade I race in New York. It’s just the way it is.

I should be very clear; I don’t begrudge this. The Chad Browns, and Ron Burkes and Nancy Takters and Diamond Creeks and Marvin Katzes, invest a ton of money into the game and deserve to win races just like anyone else. The sport is better off, not worse off because of them.

But on Cup night I remembered why I adored stakes seasons of the past. People — regular Joes and Janes armed with a trailer, a jog cart and a horse — traveled thousands of miles to take a shot; to have some fun; to see if their horse could beat your horse. That to me has always been the essence of harness racing.