Harness racing Hall of Famer Joe DeFrank of Lake Pleasant, N.Y. passed away peacefully at home on Saturday (Dec. 12) at the age of 87.

He was born Joseph A. DeFrank Jr. (DeFrancesco) in Holley, N.Y. on the 27th of August, 1933 to Joseph Sr. and Florence DeFrank. He was a proud member of the US army and a 50-year member of the American Legion Post 529 Holley, N.Y.

He is survived by his loving wife of 39 years, Beryl DeFrank; his children Greg DeFrank (Beth), Doug DeFrank (Betsy), Michelle Goudreau (Mike), Terri Fanton (Gary); grandchildren Shelly Goudreau Jr. (Samantha), Jamie Fanton, Dani Fanton, Nicala Visscher, Scott Visscher (Tiffany); his great grandchildren Noah Goudreau, Taryn Fanton, Korban Goudreau, and his siblings Madelyn Welsh, Dale DeFrank (Ellen), Scott DeFrancesco, and Todd DeFrank.

Joe was predeceased by son-in-law Shelly Goudreau, daughter Beverley Visscher, and siblings Gary DeFrank and Roger DeFrancesco (Kathy).

Beyond the racing world, Joe’s main priority was his family which he loved wholeheartedly. Joe and Beryl loved gardening and cooking together. They spent their retirement years enjoying the beauty of the Adirondacks, from their lovely home Butternut Hill in Lake Pleasant. From the garden came many vegetables and herbs to complete the home cooked pasta dishes the family enjoyed so much.

Joe fell in love with harness racing at Batavia Downs and that is where he met his mentor and lifelong friend, Don D’Andrea. In 1956 Don recommended to the late Hall of Famer Jim Lynch that Joe be given a chance as an assistant in the race office at Hilliard Raceway in Ohio.

That 40-day “gig” was the start of a long career that took him to the race offices at many other tracks, including Baltimore Raceway, Green Mountain Park, Grandview Raceway, Painesville Raceway, Northfield Park, Windsor Raceway, Freehold, Brandywine and Ponce DeLeon. Joe was hired by the late Delvin Miller to help start The Meadows in 1963.

In 1976 general manager Bob Quigley and hiring chief Jack Feketie were on the hunt to staff a newly-built east coast racetrack with rising stars and the sharpest racing minds they could find. Joe was director of racing at Windsor Raceway and Quigley came calling with the offer of the same position at the new racetrack located across the Hudson River from New York City; The Meadowlands, which came under the auspices of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority.

Joe took the job and convinced several of Windsor’s up-and-coming drivers to relocate as well -- Lew Williams, Shelly Goudreau, Greg Wright and Ray Remmen among them -- along with a young driver named John Campbell, who along with Joe fast-tracked to eventual induction into harness racing’s Hall of Fame in Goshen, N.Y.

While at The Meadowlands, Joe created innovative stakes and early-closers as well as $100,000 claimers, events like Million Dollar Babies and the internationally renowned Statue of Liberty Trot. His legacy includes high-priced races such as the Meadowlands Pace and Woodrow Wilson, both of which offered purses of more than $1 million. The Woodrow Wilson purse reached as high as $2 million, the most ever offered in the sport. He was also instrumental in bringing the Hambletonian from the Midwest to The Meadowlands, where it has been raced since 1981.

In addition to his duties at The Meadowlands, when Garden State Park Racetrack in Cherry Hill, New Jersey opened in 1985, Joe was named director of racing. One of the major races he brought to that track was the 1988 March of Dimes Trot. The field included the North American star Mack Lobell and foreign standout Ourasi, with the event turning out to be what many consider to be the sport’s greatest race ever.

Joe was inducted into the 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 how honour.” Throughout the years Joe received many awards, including the Good Guy of the Year in 1991 by the US Harness Writers, and in 2001 was given the Van Lennep Award by the Hambletonian Society which honoured his talent and innovative style for the sport of Harness Racing which he loved so much.

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Joe may be made to the Michael J Fox Foundation (Parkinson’s Research) and The Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame, Goshen N.Y.

Funeral to be held on Saturday, December, 19, 2020 at William J. Burke & Sons Bussing & Cunniff, Inc. Funeral Home located at 628 North Broadway Saratoga Springs, N.Y. 12866. Visiting hours from 12:00 noon - 2:00 p.m. with the funeral service to follow from 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. A private interment service will be held in the Spring at Lake Pleasant, New York.

Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the friends and family of Joe DeFrank.