In this week's Rewind Robert Smith recalls a very recent day in harness racing history that included a gentleman with Canadian roots.  Toronto, Ontario native Ken Warkentin was recently inducted in the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame located in Goshen, N.Y.  I have recently been privileged to spend a bit of time visiting with Ken and will pass along some of the highlights of his now Hall Of Fame career.  

When the organizers of the Harness Racing Hall of Fame  and honoured guests recently convened on July 2nd to install this year's inductees it was a very special gathering.  Each year when the ceremonies take place,  a few nominees who have been deemed to have those unique and  special qualities that make them worthy of inclusion have their "day in the sun".  The new members join an extremely diverse and talented group of people and horses who have been enshrined in previous years.  This is a supreme honour and dates back to 1951 when the Hall began. 

This year among the honorees was a man who literally "talked" his way into the Hall of Fame.  That man was Ken Warkentin, the great announcer whose voice has been heard by thousands and thousands of race fans for the past 40+ years.  Since beginning his announcing career as a teenager back in his native Canada his voice has been "loved" by several generations of race fans and colleagues.  He has performed at the highest level of his profession for many years at The Meadowlands in New Jersey.  What he calls his "dream job" began there back in 1991.  

A very young Ken Warkentin appears in the Flamboro announcers booth as he studies the race program in readiness for a night of race calling.

At 14 years of age Warkentin saw his first ever harness race at what he still calls his "home track,"  Greenwood Raceway.   Located just about a 20-minute walk from his Toronto home,  he realized an almost impossible dream in later years when he was fortunate enough to call the races from that historic spot near the shores of Lake Ontario.   He is quick to credit the many great race announcers he has either worked with or studied for assisting him along the way.  

Over the years he has been guided by a few precious quotes from his mentors.  One he always remembers came from a former O.J.C. race announcer.  “Jack Stevens told me ‘The stars are on the track and your job is to highlight them. That’s it. You’re not the star, they’re the stars.’” 

Ken started out his now rather long career in race calling over 40 years ago at the Elmira track as a fill-in for the regular announcer.  He soon found himself at various locations across Ontario, announcing races at a multitude of B Tracks and even Fairs when racing was still a popular attraction at those venues.  At one time he maintained a rigorous schedule that saw him working seven days (or nights) a week as he traversed  a lot of rural byways that led to a track.  The then young Warkentin climbed up into many not so luxurious spots that have long since vanished from the old tracks of rural Ontario.  He still recalls those days with fondness as he was continually striving to hone his skills in the announcer's perch. 

Warkentin has announced at many tracks across Ontario, both large and small including spots like Elmira, Goderich,  Orangeville,  Hanover and Clinton.  

A modern day photo shows Ken Warkentin in his announcer's booth at The Meadowlands in New Jersey. With binoculars in hand he is getting set for another exciting race call. 

Ken has called more than 235,000 races, and his best-known calls have been for the Hambletonian, North America’s premier harness race. This year's edition was his 24th.  He has worked for NBC, ABC, ESPN, CBS Sports Network and Fox Sports during their coverage of the trotting classic. The prolific Warkentin also writes numerous press releases, including his “Road to the Hambletonian” in the weeks leading up to the race and conducts an annual Race Callers Fantasy Camp. Warkentin has been recognized for his work at the Elitloppet, Sweden’s premier harness race. 

From a very young age Ken has enjoyed working at night.  In his youth his father dubbed him a "nighthawk" and to this day he much prefers the later hours of the day to early morning.  Perhaps it is fortunate that most harness racing is held in the evening and into the hours of darkness. Early in his working career he dreamed of owning his own nightclub and envisioned it being  called "The Palace."  He and his business partner would be "The Kings." 

Although Ken has spent a large part of his professional career in the U.S. he has never lost his love for his home country and still makes many trips back to Canada.  He has visited a number of tracks as a guest announcer, as far away as Atlantic Canada.  For many years he has been involved with Old Home Week in P.E.I. and does a lot of promotional work at the Red Shores track.  He speaks with great fondness for the people he deals with at Charlottetown and holds everyone there in high esteem for the role they play in preserving the roots of harness racing. 

Ken is shown at one of his favourite Canadian spots at the Red Shores track in Charlottetown. 

After all these years Ken still loves his work and approaches each race day with the same enthusiasm he had in his youth.  He is always anxious to help those who are interested in learning his rather unusual craft.  Warkentin has been leading the Meadowlands Racetrack sponsored race announcers workshop since the 1990s and it's been a hit since the very beginning.

Foster Hewitt, famous Canadian sports announcer 

From a historical standpoint it is interesting to note that the world's first radio broadcast of a horse race aired from Toronto's  Old Woodbine track in 1925,  almost 100 years ago.  The announcers were William Hewitt and his son Foster, who became one of the most recognizable voices in Canadian sports history.  It is perhaps a bit ironic that early in his career Ken Warkentin listed both Foster Hewitt and Danny Galavin as people he admired and wanted to emulate.  Back then he was hoping to one day do play by play hockey, so not a bad pair to choose as role models.  

In a recent interview Ken told harness writer Debbie Little,  “I had this pipedream to be a play-by-play announcer in hockey or a colour guy...And then I found this thing on the side, called harness racing.”

Somehow Ken also finds time to participate in and referee ice hockey. He plays hockey year round and is very busy officiating during the winter hockey season.  

Quote For The Week: "We're all living longer; instead of struggling to stay young, why not learn to age well?"

Who Is It?

Can you identify this very well known driver of yesteryears?  He drove some good ones. 

Who Else Is It?

Who are these two good Canadian "boys" or garçons if you prefer? 

Blast From The Past

What is it? Who can tell us what we see in the above photo?