Mary McDermott is determined to bring harness racing back where it once was

by Victoria Howard

Mary McDermott grew up in the barn with her siblings, Caitlin and Liam, and said it was the best life and way to raise a child.

“My father Kevin and my mother Sheri dedicated their life to harness racing and have been involved in the sport in some way for the past 35 years,” Mary said. “My parents met when mom was working for Ron Waples and dad worked for Jack Parker, Jr. Both trainer/drivers were and will always be some of the finest in the sport, so my parents learned from the best.

Mary was born in Freehold, NJ, and her family bounced around Monmouth County, but basically, they stayed between Millstones and Allentown, NJ.

“I grew up in New Jersey at Show Place Farm and spent every day there that I could. My siblings and I would run around playing like crazy, normal kids.

“My friends would love to have sleep overs so they could come to the barn with us. After all, every child loves and wants to be around a horse.”

Even though Mary and her siblings made the barn their second home, her parents did not want them to make harness racing their career, saying it was tough to make a living training horses.

“So my brother became a construction engineer, and my sister became a doctor,” Mary said. “Well of course I was the one that didn’t listen and went the horse route. After high school I attended college. When I graduated college, I went right back to where my heart was, the horses.”

Mary said she has always been a “daddy’s girl” and she would accompany her father on the road when he raced and that’s where it really all began for her.

“I wasn’t old enough to get a license and go to the paddock so different people babysat me while dad raced,” she said. “I wish I could remember all of them to thank them, for they were the best.

“During those days, harness people were one big happy family. Everyone chipped in to help watch each other’s kids while their parents were busy racing horses.

“It was the best way to raise a family, and I have lots of great memories. One of my fondest memories was being picked up on Fridays from school in a horse trailer. I was so excited and didn’t even mind the smell that lingered in the trailer.”

Mary said she considers herself to be a “trainer’s daughter” and loves being part of her family’s business.

“Besides my mom and dad, I am the only one in the barn,” she said, adding with a laugh, “I’m there to help my parents and a lot of the time I have to remind my dad what equipment the horses wear. I always own a couple of horses in dad’s barn… and we race mainly at Saratoga Harness, but ship to Plainridge, Yonkers, Meadowlands, and Vernon Downs.

“Currently, I own two horses, one is a retired 23-year-old standardbred, and the other is a horse named Reign Of Honor.

“My dad trains between 10 to 15 horses every year, and I plan on owning another racehorse, I’m just waiting for the right horse.”

Mary said her all-time favorite horse is Hypnotic Blue Chip.

“During 2009 through 2011 he was a freak,” she said. “He set the record for the U.S. Pacing Championship at the old Meadowlands in 2010 in 1:47.2. He also won the Battle of Lake Erie that year beating world champion Foiled Again in a record time of 1:49.4.

“That was the best summer of my life and I’ll never forget it. Hypnotic Blue Chip is now happily retired and has a wonderful home where we get updates 24/7 from the new owners.

“My heart horse is Reign Of Honor. Thankfully, I own him and everyone knows he will never leave me.”

Besides owning and working with standardbreds, Mary has plans to help bring harness racing back to where it once was.

“I am a big believer in social media,” she said. “You will always see me pushing it. I now work for the New York Racing Association (NYRA) as the social media/content creator for thoroughbred racing. I absolutely love my job, and I can’t believe how many people don’t know we even [harness racing] exists.

“Saratoga Racecourse shares a street with our harness track and people still tell me they didn’t even know that we exist.

“When I’m at the flats, I talk about harness racing as much as I can. I bring my coworkers over when my dad is racing and people actually love it. Thet find it exciting and want to know more. Through the power of social media and posting daily updates and pictures of the daily ‘dos’ in the barn, we’ve gained real relationships with people.”

Mary said that people want to learn about our sport’s horses and racing and ask questions, but we don’t give them a platform to ask.

“This past year we purchased a yearling colt from Winning Key Farm; his name is Munster Truck,” she said. “I shared him with our followers since the day that we bought him.

“The people [followers] involved went through the breaking process in a POV from my dad’s eyes with him wearing Meta glasses that give over 600,000 views. We did multiple days of it, and it makes the people feel as if they own a part of the horse.

“We take the people to the barn and show them the horses. We explain the different equipment and allow them in the stall as ‘Munster’ is being groomed.

“Munster Truck literally has many fans. People send PR packages to the stable gate for Munster all the time. These fans really want to learn the quirks of each horse in our barn as they all have different personalities. They can’t wait until Munster makes it to the races.”

Mary’s online presence has been a win-win for all.

“From social media I was able to get my father five new owners after they saw our videos,” she said. “One is one of the bigger owners of Linda Rice [a top female thoroughbred trainer in New York]. The man was telling everyone he was going to claim a 12-year-old standardbred that day. To me that’s exposure we’ve never gotten before, and I think it’s so cool.

“My job at NYRA allows me the opportunity to work with some of the most talented thoroughbred equine athletes, and yet my passion is still and always will be in my roots, harness racing.

“I’m really one of those people that can tie the two individual industries together. I believe that’s important, but in the end, I’m just a girl whose parents let her live out her dream.”