Meadowlands
Racetrack
East
Rutherford, NJ - Harness racing Hall of Famer Joe DeFrank left an unforgettable
legacy at the Meadowlands Racetrack.
Together
with the Hambletonian Society, the Meadowlands made the decision to name the 2021
Championship Meet in honor of Joe DeFrank, who died in December at the age of
87.
“The
Meadowlands owes its tremendous success to Mr. Joe DeFrank,” said Jason
Settlemoir, COO & GM of the Meadowlands Racetrack. “Honoring him on the
biggest stage in harness racing is a fitting tribute.”
Joe
DeFrank was recruited by the N.J. Sports & Exposition Authority management
team tasked with opening the Meadowlands Racetrack in 1976, and GM Bob Quigley
went on the hunt for a rising star rather than cull from the ranks of existing
talent.
He
found DeFrank at Windsor Raceway, recognized his keen abilities to assess both
horse and driver talent along with his fresh approach to racing, and convinced
DeFrank to come east to the Meadowlands. DeFrank was the first and only race
secretary at the flagship racetrack for 25 years. He created many popular
winter series along with races such as the Meadowlands Pace and Woodrow Wilson,
both of which offered purses of more than $1 million. The Woodrow Wilson purse
also reached as high as $2 million, the most ever offered in the sport. The
Meadowlands Pace, an instant classic, remains one of the most sought victories
40 years later.
DeFrank
was also instrumental in bringing the Hambletonian from the Midwest to the
Meadowlands in 1981. Always the innovative race secretary, DeFrank introduced a
new concept to the Meadowlands in 1986 - a number of big-purse races for
youngsters on the same night, called the Million Dollar Babies.
Joe
DeFrank was inducted into the harness racing Hall of Fame in 1994, with
presenter Stan Bergstein, a former race secretary himself, noting, “I realized
quickly and instinctively that he was going places. I simply underestimated how
far he was going, how fast he was going, and how impressively he would get
there. No one in our business has mastered his craft more completely, elevated
its power and stature, introduced more new ideas, commanded more respect or ruled
with such absolute power as the man we now honor.”
John
Campbell, Hall of Fame driver and now President and CEO of the Hambletonian
Society, stated in his Facebook tribute to Mr. DeFrank, “Every driver, trainer,
owner, stallion owner and breeder in our industry today is deriving benefits as
a result of Joe DeFrank`s vision, innovation and presentation of major stake
races. Harness racing had never imagined purses that the Meadowlands Pace and
Woodrow Wilson were going for and, imitation being the best form of flattery,
other tracks soon changed their outlook and approach to their stake programs.
The Metro, North America Cup, Breeders Crown and many others all evolved after
the success of Joe’s vision at the Meadowlands and he started the Final Four
races at Garden State Park, as well.”
The 2021 Meadowlands Racetrack Championship Meet in honor of Joe DeFrank culminates Saturday, Aug. 7 -- Hambletonian Day.
