It has been announced that Jimmy Marohn Sr. has joined the SOA of NY as the organization's Yonkers Raceway field representative.
Marohn remembers walking winner Meadow Paige around the Yonkers Raceway paddock as a groom for Billy Haughton after the 1967 Cane Pace. Marohn also reflects fondly on winning the 1981 Cane Pace at Yonkers with Wildwood Jeb, one of his 5,358 career driving wins. Although Marohn hung up his driving colours in 2014 after more than 44,000 starts, he now finds himself back in the Yonkers Raceway paddock.
“Here it is, 2020, and I’m back in the Yonkers paddock. Wow, that was some trip I went on,” Marohn said.
Marohn brings more than 50 years of industry experience to the role, in which he is responsible for addressing the needs of the horsemen — owners, trainers, drivers and caretakers — at Yonkers Raceway during racing hours. The field representative is also responsible for interacting regularly with the judges and the race office and, at times, the New York Gaming Commission.
“I’m a communication person between the management and the horsepeople and the SOA and the horsepeople,” Marohn said. “If somebody needs a license, if somebody has a complaint, say the judges are having a hard time with somebody or if the drivers need something regarding the track condition.”
Marohn succeeds the late John Brennan as the SOA of NY’s field representative after Brennan tragically passed from COVID-19 in March 2020.
About a month into the new role, Marohn has enjoyed reconnecting with drivers he once competed with and the horsepeople he once raced for. Marohn is also forming relationships with the new generation of horsepeople.
“Now that I’m with the SOA, I remember a lot of people. I always was an owner person; whoever owned the horse, I really raced for the owner. That’s where it starts; it starts with the owner and the trainer. As I look around the paddock, the paddock looks the same,” Marohn said.
“It feels pretty good. The younger drivers may know me by name, but they may not know me. Some of them I do know. There are people that raced there before and everybody I talked to is glad that I got the job. They say, ‘good, you’re one of us.’ Instead of a guy with a suit coming in.
“I’m just glad that I got the job. For me, it’s a pleasure, something to look forward to. I feel good doing it. Plus, I get to see my son (Jimmy Marohn Jr.) race, so I can keep an eye on him, or he can keep an eye on me.”
Yonkers Raceway’s revised schedule features live harness racing Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday nights through September 12. First post time is at 7:12 p.m.
(SOA of NY)