It’s past time to get to know Mike Carter
by Murray Brown
When I first approached Mike Carter with about writing this article his response was something to the effect of: “Why would you ask an old coot like me, someone who very few people in this sport even know about, to be the subject of a profile?” I had no answer to the old coot reference. After all, I’m one as well. But if there is truth to the part about not knowing who Mike Carter is, then I believe that its way past time that people learn more about this astute gentleman and his lovely bride.
Mike and Jan, married for a few months short of 70 years, have been involved in our sport since 1970. Their participation has been primarily as owners throughout most of that time, but it has included ownership of a breeding farm and most significantly as fans of our great sport.
By profession, Mike, now on the cusp of 87 is a retired attorney who has among other ventures owned a piece of a racetrack, Saginaw Valley Downs, a television station, and several Little Caesars pizza outposts.
Mike, I had previously known you slightly, but it was during our visit to the Vincent Delaney Memorial in Ireland where we in effect picked up the pieces of our friendship.
“Jan and I have been privileged to attend major harness racing events throughout this world of ours. In addition to virtually all of the major races in North America we have been to races throughout Europe and Down Under.
“We have been fortunate enough to have known most of those that I consider to have been the great horsemen of the last 50 plus years. One of those was Delvin Miller, a partner in Saginaw Valley.
“Jan and I were planning to visit New Zealand to celebrate our 25th anniversary.
“I knew Delvin had been there and wherever Delvin went he made friends, often friends in high places. I reached out to him to get some tips on who we should meet and what we should see while there. He said he would get back to me in a few days. True to his promise, he did. He gave me some names of people I might want to contact.
“Delvin, being Delvin also didn’t tell me some of what he had apparently arranged. Upon landing in Auckland, we were greeted by Sir Roy McKenzie, then the most prominent breeder in the country. We were treated as though we were visiting royalty, taken to all the major races and introduced to a who’s who of harness racing in New Zealand.”
You’ve been involved in the sport for more than a half century. When, how, and where did it begin?
“I knew nothing about harness racing. I hadn’t yet even seen my first pari-mutuel race. I had a good law practice in our state of Michigan. In 1970, I was approached by an uncle of mine, Art Putnam. He was an auctioneer and a race caller. He wanted to start a breeding farm in Michigan.
“He needed startup capital and approached Jan and I. We agreed to come in with the caveat that Jan would control the money. She would be the only one authorized to sign the checks. Thus, Pastime Farms was founded. Jan not only did the books and wrote the checks, she did many of the chores on the farm including inseminating the mares.
“I was an absentee owner tending to my law practice.
“We grew to become the second largest breeding farm in Michigan. Bob Huff’s Shiawassee Farms was number one. We became active. We bought reasonably well-bred fillies to race and then breed in Michigan.
“The first filly we owned was a Super Bowl filly named Super Flower who won the Merrie Annabelle as a 2-year-old.
“We later became involved in a conflict regarding the future of breeding in Michigan. We opposed the establishment of a sires stakes only program, believing that it would stifle the quality of mares being bred in Michigan. So, we left the Michigan program and decided to breed and race on a bigger stage. We quickly discovered how difficult it is to compete against the best of the best.”
Since that time, you have been involved almost entirely as an owner of mostly trotters.
“We have owned parts of horses, most of the time since then with the exception of the years that we lived in Puerto Rico. Most of the time we have partnered with our son Barry Carter who is an equine veterinarian. He specializes with standardbred horses and with a focus on lameness. He has been in practice for nearly 40 years.”
What in the world led to your setting up camp in Puerto Rico?
“I had the opportunity to become involved in the ownership of a television station there. As a byproduct of that ownership, we also became owners of several Little Caesars franchises.”
How did that happen?
“The biggest part of our TV revenue came from advertising. We had some dead time where we didn’t have any advertising sold. My partner asked how can we fill that time – either we use it or we lose it. I mentioned to him that I had some clients in Michigan who were Little Caesars franchisees and were doing quite well with them. So, we established the first Little Caesars stores in Puerto Rico to take advantage of being able to advertise them on our TV station. Ironically, those became more successful than the TV station. We eventually sold everything and came back to the States as retirees.”
What are the major changes you’ve experienced in all your years in the sport?
“There are so many. One of the major ones is that it is far less a sport and more of a business, albeit a lesser business, than it once was. The greatest loss from my perspective is that we lost the feeling of community that once was prevalent throughout the game.
“Many of the social aspects are gone.
“Things that I looked forward to no longer exist. One of the highlights of the year for me was Grand Circuit week at The Meadows which culminated with the Race for the Orchids, The Adios.
“The Adios is still there, but it has lost some of its former luster. The week leading up to it was one social happening after another led by Delvin Miller and his entourage of celebrities often in attendance including his friends Arnold Palmer, Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Stan Musial, Perry Como, and numerous others.
“I recall sitting with Hall of Fame jockey Eddie Arcaro watching the races on the rooftop of the grandstand. That was the same location where I met a teenager named Sam McKee, who was learning his trade under the tutelage of Roger Huston. We hired Sam to call the races at our Michigan Breeders Futurity a couple of years later. He called the races at Saginaw Valley Downs for us. The rest is history as he became a legend in our sport at The Meadowlands, The Red Mile, and as a pedigree reader at the major sales.
“Lexington is still great, but not quite as great as it once was. The entire Western swing of Indianapolis, DuQuoin, and Springfield is nothing more than the dimmest shadow of its former self.
“I live near Vero Beach where the Palema Training Center is located. Some of the best trainers [currently all Swedish and Canadian] and many of the best trotters get their early lessons there. It is among the best training facilities to be found anywhere. It is a fine place to watch babies train. Among the many positives that the Swedish trainers have brought to these shores is the Swedish custom of Fika. It is akin to what we generally regard as a coffee break. On most mornings at Palema, those in attendance take a break, sit down to a respite of coffee and pastries and discuss most anything, but rarely that relating with the work at hand and what we are there for.
“In terms of the racing itself, we have made it easier for people to stay away from the racetrack by having the races so easy to access via the internet. By doing so, we have eliminated the method by which a significant number of those in the sport, perhaps the majority of them, learned to love it.
“In terms of the horses themselves, as most have said, they are better, far better than they used to be. But even there, perhaps it is indicative of the lesser number of people involved in it, we have become rather blasé regarding how great these equine athletes are. I recall sitting with Curt Greene and Bob Schmitz at The Red Mile the day that Niatross performed his sub 1:50 time trial. There was an exceptional crowd. Horsemen packed the fence from the barns to the grandstand. Everyone started cheering loudly as he passed the three-quarter pole. We had witnessed an historic event.
“The closest we came to that recently was in Bulldog Hanover’s world record feat. Maybe it was close, but nowhere near as resounding.”
What is you and your wife’s presence in harness racing today?
“We have been fortunate in having had some of the greatest horsemen ever as trainers of our horses through the years. They’ve been in the hands of greats such as Howard Beissinger, Linda Toscano, the Beavers – Charlie and Chris – Ake Svanstedt, Marcus Melander, and Reijo Liljendahl.
“Presently, we have a 2-year-old with the Melander stable and two with Chris Beaver.
“Melander’s success has been incredible. He and Ake Svanstedt have come close to dominating our 2- and 3-year-old trotting classics.
“I kiddingly refer to Chris Beaver as a bottom feeder. That is not a fully accurate characterization. He has also bought and trained great horses at serious yearling prices. There is no other trainer to my knowledge who has done so well recently with reasonable priced, perhaps even cheap yearlings as Chris has done. A couple who come to mind are Raging Samantha which he bought for less than $10,000, earned just about half a million with, and then sold for half a million. He also bought Endurance for $14,000. The colt has now earned over $700,000 and is one of the top 3-year-old trotters anywhere.
“We are still active with our son Barry and have three horses in training. I sometimes wonder if we didn’t have the great association with Barry whether we’d be involved to the extent that we are or whether we might be involved at all. At the moment, we still read sales catalogs. We pay attention to pedigrees. We watch horses train when we can and still find time to stream most of the important races and all of them where we have a horse racing.”
