There’s
hardly anyone involved in harness racing who hasn’t heard of Ken Weingartner.
And if by some chance they hadn’t, there’s a good probability they’ve read some
of his news releases because Ken sends out plenty as the media relations
manager for the US Trotting Association.
Weingartner
is precisely someone whom the late great Phil Pines would have been proud to be
associated with. And an association of sorts will be formed on November16 when
the Monticello -Goshen Chapter USHWA presents the chapter’s prestigious Phil
Pines Award to him at their 56th Annual Awards Banquet.
“I
would guess I’ve written in the neighborhood of 3,000 stories since joining the
USTA and HRC, and yet almost every day brings excitement and the potential to
discover or witness something special,” Weingartner said. “Not a lot of people
can say that about what they do.”
Weingartner
is beginning his 13th year as the media relations manager for the U.S. Trotting
Association’s Harness Racing Communications division since he was hired in 2002
by Ellen Harvey.
“I
got to know Ellen and Gen Sullivan while writing for the Messenger-Press. So
that’s how I landed here when Gen left,” he explained.
Weingartner
grew up in central New Jersey and was introduced to harness racing by his
father who began taking Kenny to Freehold Raceway before he could walk. In the
ensuing years, Weingartner spent countless Saturday afternoons at the track,
where he honed his skill for picking winners and betting losers.
Harness
racing remained a leisure pursuit until the late 1990s, when Weingartner was
named managing editor of the weekly Allentown Messenger-Press in New Jersey.
With the opportunity to determine coverage in the newspaper, Weingartner began
writing a column, called “Horse Play,” that focused on the harness racing
community in central Jersey. The column appeared regularly until Weingartner
was hired by the USTA in November 2002.
“When
I started working as managing editor of the Messenger-Press, I was talking to
someone about how disappointing it was that harness racing got so little
attention in the area, particularly when so many of the top trainers and horses
are in the area. And then it hit me, I’m the boss now. I can write about
whatever I want. So I began writing about harness racing, without ever
imagining where it would lead. It was just a fun way for me to become more
involved in the sport, and bring it to a wider audience. Brian Magie let me jog
a horse back then, which kind of led to the “Pitchfork Diaries” series when I
started working at HRC.”
For
someone who loves racing Ken believes he has the best job in the world.
“There
are so many mornings when I’m wandering around the training centers that I just
feel so lucky, because it’s hardly a job,” he says. “I enjoy the racing, for
sure, but I really enjoy getting to know the people and the horses. And I love
to tell their stories. I’m fortunate to get to tell the stories of a Foiled
Again or Arch Madness or any great champion,” he added. But I’m also lucky to
get to tell the stories of drivers, trainers and owners getting their first
wins, or small family stables winning with a homebred.”
Weingartner’s
professional career began prior to graduating college. In the winter of his
senior year, he was named the public relations director of minor league
baseball’s Williamsport Bills, the then-Class AA affiliate of the Cleveland
Indians, and began working with the team while completing his degree in
communications.
The
franchise moved at the end of the season, but Weingartner was hired as a
sportswriter by the Williamsport Sun-Gazette. He later served as the sports
information director at his alma mater, Lycoming College, and as a sportswriter
for several weekly newspapers in New Jersey.
Weingartner
received multiple awards – spanning news, sports and editorial writing – from
the New Jersey Press Association, as well as recognition from the College
Sports Information Directors of America. Prior to joining HRC, he was honored
by the New Jersey chapter of the U.S. Harness Writers for his coverage of the
sport. In 2007, he received the Golden Pen Award from the Standardbred
Marketing and Media Association.
