Where the Magic Happens

When I took over as track photographer at Truro Raceway in late January this year, the last thing I thought I would be doing in that role was getting newcomers to come back to the track again and again

. My main goal when I was given the job was to take great pictures, sell them and save up some money for when I go to college next year (a.k.a. The Keg Fund). Somehow along the way, my roles merged from Photographer to Racetrack Host.

I didn’t come up with the grand idea, it just sort of happened. Here’s how it all started...

Cloverhills Dot and driver Bernard ‘Pooker’ McCallum crossed the finish line in first place to win a $3,000 claiming race at Truro Raceway. I don’t recall the time, but I know it wasn’t the fastest of the day. The time seemed irrelevant and non-existent to the extremely happy parents and their two daughters standing along the fence near the finish line, however. They were laughing and asking each other “Did my horse win, or did yours?”. As the youngest of the two girls started pointing at the horse that was clearly quite some distance from the rest of the field, her lower lip started to sag. “There’s my horse” she said with a pout. She asked her father why the horse was so slow. The father didn’t seem to mind how badly his daughter handicapped the ponies though, because evidently he was happy and ‘cashing’ thanks to some sort of winning ticket on Cloverhills Dot.

Being intrigued by their amusement, I asked them if they wanted to get their picture taken with the winning horse. Their already large grins basically stretched from ear to ear with the news and the happy family had their picture taken with Cloverhills Dot (all but the mother, for some reason she stayed at the fence – I secretly think she was afraid of horses!). ‘Pooker’ was excited to see them come pay him a visit for the win in Victory Lane and he didn’t seem to mind being a ‘celebrity’ to those two little girls for the short amount of time that they were there. He sat the oldest girl on the seat of the race bike while the father held the youngest and voila, I captured a very happy moment for everyone.

Now, I can hear the people raising the questions already. “What if the horse is known for rearing up or not acting right while in the Winners Circle”? It’s quite simple actually. The beauty of knowing every horse that races at my track and how it behaves after it wins is that I can make that call. If a horse wins that likes to run through the Winners Circle and not stop, then I can refuse to bring people out. But if a calm and quiet horse wins, then I’ll bring anyone in sight who’s wearing a smile to the Winners Circle.

The people love it. I’ve had people meet me to schedule trips to the Winners Circle and even some who just come back whenever the horse (the horse they first had their picture taken with) races. Heck, the real beauty of the situation is when they come back from the Winners Circle and order copies of the photos. I make a few bucks off each newcomer and help harness racing in the process.

If you’re a track photographer or even just the connections of a winning horse, I’d suggest doing it at your track too. Invite some fresh faces to get their pictures taken in the Winners Circle and you might just be the one who gets them ‘Hooked on Harness Racing’. Plus, you can put some money in your wallet and support the sport you love while you’re at it. In my books, that’s a win-win for sure.