HAMBURG, N.Y.--- Tom Agosti says his job as assistant race
secretary at Buffalo Raceway was like being a backup quarterback in football.
"As a backup, everything is nice and nobody is bothering you. The starter
catches all the heat and flack."
Well, grab your helmet, Tom...you're now the starter!
Agosti was announced as the new Buffalo Raceway Racing
Secretary after the resignation of Ginny Rosenfeld earlier this week.
Buffalo Raceway's Chief Operating Officer Jim Mango said,
"When Ginny resigned, I didn't even look anywhere else. I knew the
candidate I wanted and it took me like 10 minutes to make the decision. Tommy
was my guy. He did a great job as the assistant race secretary. We've had a
good working relationship over the years and I know he'll operate the race
office in a professional manner. It was an easy choice."
The experience of Agosti in harness racing is expansive.
He's seen just about every facet of it from driver, trainer, owner, stall
superintendent, paddock supervisor, starting car driver along with being
assistant race secretary. It's like, 'been there, done that.' It's a perfect
fit for him to slide into the race secretary job. He knows standard bred
racing, period.
"My back was really starting to bother and I had to
give up training and driving," Agosti said of getting into the management
side. "I started looking at other areas of racing. The opportunity to
become the assistant racing secretary at Buffalo Raceway came up a few years
back and I jumped at it. It was perfect."
Agosti said becoming racing secretary came quickly. "I
was stunned when Ginny resigned. But I think I am ready and prepared for this.
Ginny really taught me a lot over the past few years. I think with a little
time, things will go smoothly. It's a little hectic right now," he added
with a chuckle.
With over 1,450 victories as a driver, Agosti said he'll be
making a few changes to the condition sheets, but nothing major. "I'll be
tweaking it a bit. It might have a bit of a thoroughbred feel to it in some
aspects. There will be a few conditions that are comparable to starter
allowance races that they have at the thoroughbred tracks. The conditions might
be spread out a little more too."
And while there are just five weeks remaining in the 2014
Buffalo Raceway season, Mango said the future is now. "Tom Agosti will
absolutely be our racing secretary in 2015. He's still going to have his other
duties (stall superintendent, starting car driver) for the rest of 2104 but
others will help him pick up the slack."
Mango added that Agosti is about embark on one of the
hardest jobs in racing. "Race Secretary and track supervisor...by far the
toughest jobs at any race track. But he'll do just fine."
Agosti said of his new duties, "My main goals are to be
as fair as possible and not to screw up." With the experience and
knowledge he brings to the table, the race office will be in good hands.
by Brian J. Mazurek, for Buffalo Raceway
