Judges: Keep Holes Closed

Published: January 21, 2009 02:19 pm EST

With Yonkers Raceway's 2009 harness season underway, the Yonkers driving colony met with presiding judge Robert (Cammie) Haughton

, associate judge Nick Ferriero and Standardbred Owners Association of New York field representative (and 3rd vice president) John Brennan.

Among the racing-related items discussed in this first scheduled meeting of 2009 were keeping holes closed, maintaining a pace appropriate to the class of race, protocol for dealing with a tired/unmanageable horse as well as the need for constant communication with the officials both on and off the track about any issue.

Others items on the agenda included 'no talking on the racetrack' (was, and is, a fineable offense), post parading in orderly manner, the importance of wearing the safety vest and, in the case of multiple listings on an overnight sheet, choosing one's drives in a timely fashion.

"Yonkers' management, owners, trainers, the public and we (judges) demand the the highest level of professionalism," Haughton said. "We're proud of the drivers that compete here nightly. They're racing for a lot of money, and we expect them to aggressively go after it."

(Yonkers Raceway)

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