The news that John Manzi is retiring from his post as the head of public relations at Monticello Raceway may not seem earth shattering. To the average racing fan, John’s name is probably not a household name. He was not a driver, a trainer or a racecaller. And his legacy was not made on the racetrack, as a participant.
But as a public relations and promotions man, Manzi is sadly a dying breed. He is a dying breed not because of his job title – there will be many more communications people in harness racing going forward. He is a dying breed because Manzi is a risk taker.
For decades, the outspoken “PR guy” conceived ideas and made them happen on the racetrack. He had professional mud wrestlers face off in the ring with local drivers, he put a buffalo on the track to race against standardbreds, and launched the Elephantonian, for pacing elephants.
He started a series of heritage races like the Passover Pace for Jewish participants, the Godfather pace for Italian reinsman and the St. Paddy Pace for Irish Americans. There were many more. Yes, perhaps Manzi occasionally pushed the limit on political correctness, but he didn’t mind a little controversy if it put the spotlight onto harness racing.
Manzi, who you can read more about on page 42, reminds me a little of Bill Galvin in Canada. A recently inducted member of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame, Galvin fought to get harness racing on the Rideau Canal and led numerous coups that put the sport on the front pages of newspapers – for the right reasons. During his career, Galvin was also a risk taker.
The funny thing in our sport is that we often complain about the need for new blood – young people in our game. We say that we need youth to speak to other youth about why this sport is great and make it resonate with future generations. Yet I hear more willingness and enthusiasm from Manzi and Galvin, even today, than from many of the younger people in our sport.
I don’t know if it’s because of the regulations related to casino gaming or a long-term philosophy of caution, but it’s tough to find risk takers in harness racing these days.
How often does a racetrack general manager or marketing person come out and suggest racing horses against camels, staging events in the streets or getting supermodels to race? How often do we hear about a 24-hour harness racing marathon or doing a winter carnival with sleds rather than racebikes? How about holding an impromptu horse sale at City Hall, dropping win tickets from a helicopter in the financial district, or having our drivers wear superhero costumes instead of their traditional colours?
Risk takers realize that they will fail – sometimes miserably. We stand by these people through their struggles because we know that without risk, there is rarely a reward. And by taking big chances, there is a potential for making a real splash.
I hope that there are more like John Manzi in harness racing’s future. And I hope that when these people present themselves as risk takers, that they are embraced and encouraged. Our next generation of customers deserve it.
Darry Kaplan
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