Friday evening’s Stan Bergstein Trot is named for the legendary figure in harness racing who passed away in 2011 at the age of 87.

Friday evening’s Stan Bergstein Trot at Cal-Expo is named for the legendary figure in harness racing who passed away in 2011 at the age of 87.

Mr. Bergstein was a harness racing titan who advocated for cooperation between the Standardbred and Thoroughbred industries to solve the sports' common problems.

He stepped down in 2011 after 50 years as the executive vice president of Harness Tracks of America, the Standardbred industry's trade association. He was immediately appointed as the organization's first executive emeritus, and continued to advise the association and write guest columns for the Daily Racing Form until the weeks before his death.

The only person to ever be inducted into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame and its Communicators Hall of Fame, Mr. Bergstein worked in a wide variety of roles at racetracks, auction houses, announcer's booths, and racing publications, and he maintained extensive collections of harness racing books and artwork.

The first ever O'Brien Award was presented to Ilene O'Brien, the widow of Joe O'Brien on the evening of January 20, 1990 at the inaugural gathering. Doing the presentation is Stan Bergstein, harness racing icon.

He was widely respected not only in the harness industry, but also in the Thoroughbred industry, and he served as a mentor to generations of young racing professionals through a close association with the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program, located in Tucson, for the past 40 years.

Mr. Bergstein was a forceful proponent of forging closer ties between the Standardbred and Thoroughbred industries, most notably in tackling medication abuse and problems with drug-testing. In dozens of commentaries, Bergstein maintained that the Standardbred industry's problems were, or would be those of the Thoroughbred industry, and that neglect of a problem in one sport would damage the other.

Bergstein borrowed from the Thoroughbred industry early in his career, incorporating claiming races as a racing secretary while working at the Chicago tracks in the 1950's. At the time, the harness racing industry did not run claiming races, and they are now as commonplace in Standardbred racing as they are in Thoroughbred racing. Bergstein also spearheaded the creation of Standardbred Investigative Services, a security agency modeled on the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau.

A native of Illinois, Bergstein attended harness races as a young man and received a journalism degree from Northwestern University. He was the former executive editor of Hoof Beats magazine, and the former vice president of publicity and public relations for the United States Trotting Association.

Cal Expo trackman/program director Marty Bridges credits Stan Bergstein with bringing him into harness racing as a profession.

“After college and two years in the Army, I was employed by the small business association. At night, after work, I was a regular patron at Sportsmans Park and Maywood in Chicago.

“My supervisor, a former sportswriter for the Chicago Daily News, knew of my interest and called Stan to set up a meeting. Surprisingly, I was to meet him at Du Quoin on Hambletonian Day. Watching Stan call the races from a slightly elevated booth on the infield adjacent to the finish line was thrilling and between races we talked about racing, horses, drivers and trainers.

“His knowledge of the sport was amazing and I had never met anyone like him, and still haven’t. He introduced me to John Tinsley, the program director for all the Chicago tracks and John hired me on the spot. It's been a great ride, doing something I love.”

Gene Vallandingham first met Stan Bergstein in 1959 when he was working for the legendary Joe OBrien.

“Stan came to Joe’s farm every spring for the annual Camptown racing weekend, when all of Shafter would be there for a day of racing. Stan was the true voice of harness racing, he was liked by all and I miss him.”

Chris Schick said, "Stan was foremost a kind and compassionate person. He was a true visionary in the harness racing industry. In 1979 well before simulcasting, he so rightly stated the future of the industry was in how well we brought the product to the public. He was also very vocal of the industry for being reluctant to embrace change. Our industry lost a giant when he passed.”

Bergstein Trot, Sire Stakes, Pick 5 carryover

The $10,000 Stan Bergstein Trot headed by Flameon; a California Sire Stakes and a $10,241 carryover in the Pick 5 are the highlights on Friday night’s program at Cal Expo.

There will be 12 races presented under the Watch and Wager LLC banner with first post set for 6:15 p.m. The Sire Stakes features Lodi Puppycat and will go as the sixth race, while the Bergstein is slated as the ninth event on the card.

The Pick 5 is a 50-cent wager that is conducted on the first five races and there will be a $40,000 guaranteed pool. The Pick 5 also comes with a reduced 16 percent takeout rate, which is also the case with the 20-cent Pick4, which has a $30,000-guaranteed pool on Fridays and $40,000 guarantee on Saturdays.

Looking at the Bergstein, Flameon will be making his first evening appearance since January 13 but sports a couple of sharp qualifiers under his belt in the interim and looms large in this cast for owner Mark Anderson, trainer Gordie Graham and pilot James Kennedy.

A seven-year-old son of Angus Hall out of the Valleymeister mare Benns Fire, Flameon has captured 20 of his 44 career appearances with $95,000 in his bank account and a 1:55.3 mark that was established two years ago.

The hard-hitting performer has won three of his starts at this meet at the Open level, with the most recent coming on December 16. In his last start, he was second to Silverlode after carving out all the fractions that evening.

Taking him on are Franky Provolone, Zoraze, Swift Cougar, My Little Susie, Cadet, Kickinitwithkohler, Shez So Sassy and Silverhill Volo. In the Sire Stakes, Lodi Puppycat will be challenged by Ldo Jazz Player, Gravel Girl, Indio Azteca, Bo Plenty and Never Onebadchange.

(with files from Cal-Expo)