GOSHEN – The Grand Circuit holiday weekend always has an extra special meaning for harness racing trainer Ed Hart of Middletown.
Hart, originally from Greenwood Lake, was a junior at Monroe-Woodbury High School in 1972. He didn’t like school but he loved riding horses. He learned about a Standardbred horse course offered by the local BOCES and convinced a friend to sign up with him.
“I didn’t know anything about race horses,″ Hart said. “My buddy and I joined and 45 years later, here I am.″
The course taught Hart how to be a professional groom and how to start training horses.
“I fell in love with it right away,″ he said.
Hart first jogged horses at Goshen’s Good Time Park in 1972 and drove his first harness race at Goshen Historic Track a year later. Now 61 years old, Hart trains 18 horses out of the Kristie Leigh Farm, located two miles away from Goshen Historic, the centerpiece of the Great American Weekend festivities. Hart had three horses competing on Saturday, has four more running on Hall of Fame Sunday and one more on Monday.
“I love coming here,″ Hart said between his second and third races on a blistering hot Saturday afternoon. “I’ve been doing this in this area for a very long time. I love it. I love the Goshen weekend.″
Hart specializes in training young horses, mainly 2- and 3-year-olds. Mornings start about 6:30 a.m. at the farm, with stalls cleaned and horses being fed and jogged. He’ll arrive at Goshen Historic about 11 a.m. on Sunday, two hours ahead of post time for the first of 14 races – he has four entries from the 1 o’clock start through the 11th race, which should go off shortly after 3 p.m.
″(Sunday) will be very busy – Hall of Fame day, lots of people,″ Hart said. ”(It) won’t be a fun day.″
Hart was joined by his wife and two grooms on Saturday, and he’ll need a staff of five for a busier Sunday.
Hart has developed a solid reputation over the years, and his horses run regularly at Yonkers, Monticello, The Meadowlands and Pocono, in addition to upstate tracks Buffalo, Batavia and Vernon Downs during two busy summer months of fair season.
“This is more of a fair atmosphere,″ Hart said of Goshen Historic. “There are tents here and horses from all over. Usually when you go to a race track, you go right to the paddock and it’s all set up for you, you go to an assigned stall. Here, it gets a little confusing. You have horses all over the place, plus you have to park your trailers up on the (side) roads. It is what it is. It’s a lot of fun.″
On Saturday, he had three horses finish second: Roll With Ann in the first race, Project Rock in the third, and America’s Fleet in the ninth. Hart’s friends say he can be a little uptight during races, “but I am not screaming and yelling,″ he said.
“I am always a little bit nervous. You are always looking to try to make things better for next week so you are watching (intently).″
Training horses is year-round work and has been Hart’s life passion for 45 years but he readily admits it’s not for everyone.
“It’s a tough, competitive game,″ he said. “It’s tough to make a living. It’s tough to raise a family but I’ve done it. I have to tell you, I just love the horses. Sometimes in the morning, in the springtime, when you are out there jogging, you can’t believe you get paid doing this stuff. When you’re winning, it’s a great game. It can be tough when you’re not doing so good, though.″
Still, nothing beats returning to Goshen Historic on Hall of Fame induction weekend.
“The place will be packed,″ he said. “The people enjoy it. There’s no gambling but it doesn’t matter. People love the racing and the atmosphere. And for the four days of the year, it’s great to be here.″
By Ken McMillan