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They’re Off! Harness Racing “I miss driving the horses. The fellowship of harness racing is the greatest,” said Orville Anderson in a 1985 interview. At that time a hub rail had been installed around the horse track at the Humboldt County Fairground. Orville drove the official starting car while Jean Kleve ran the gates. In the past, after getting the horses started, Orville would just pull the car off into the infield area. With the hub rail, Orville had nowhere to go. He had to pull off to the side of the track. This is not as easy as it sounds because speeds up to 30 miles per hour were reached before the car could pull off. Harness racing is a sport where a special breed of horses, called Standardbreds, race around a track while pulling a driver in a two-wheeled cart called a “sulky.” The car Orville drove reached 30 miles an hour because the horses reach speeds of more than 30 mph. Standardbred racing is a part of American history—in the early years, nearly every household had a horse. Inevitably, there were challenges as to whose horse was the fastest and the races were on. To begin with these races were run on country roads and village streets. These casual contests grew more and more popular and people lined the streets and roads, cheering their favorites on—and getting in the way. Eventually, racetracks were built to accommodate both the horsemen and the fans. The first harness racing tracks were opened in the mid 1800s, but harness racing events can be found as early as 1825 at county fairs all around the country. By the late 19th century, harness racing was the most popular sport in America. Harness Racing in Humboldt Harness racing came early to Humboldt and was an attraction at its county fair. According to DeGroote’s History of the City of Humboldt, some of the fast local harness horses were “Rapid Transit,” owned by Smart & Shellenberger; “Bowman” by John Burgett; “Electric” by Sargent of Gilmore; “Vizant” by Will Rossing of Bode; “Scoreline” by Mike Myles and “Abelle Star” by Ott Oestrich. In the late 1890s, E. A. Wilder’s “Alpha Panic” and A. B. White’s “Humboldt Kid” attained their greatest success. In 1914, when the fair opened on its brand new grounds, five of the best pacers in the Middle West came down the stretch neck and neck in the fastest time ever stepped in the county up to that date. Frank Gotch, Mike Myles and others had scoured the neighborhood circuits for horses and there were one hundred eight on the grounds and scattered through the town. Harness races are divided into two gaits; pacers and trotters. Horses in each race are all using the same gait. When pacers come down the track, the legs on the same side of their body move in unison. With trotters, the diagonal legs move in unison. Pacers are more common than trotters and they tend to go faster. Orville Anderson was a top harness racer himself. He retired from driving in harness races in 1983. However his interest in the sport continued and he helped prepare our fairgrounds for the first ever pari-mutuel betting event. “I would rate Humboldt right up there with Des Moines in terms of harness racing attendance and interest,” Anderson said. “Humboldt has the best track in the state because it is an all weather track.” Horses caught Orville’s eye in 1964, when he bought his first one. In 1968, he and Don Cronk joined forces and started horse racing all over the midwest. Orville said he learned how to race by reading books, watching others drive and visiting with well known harness racers such as Leo Baker. “I used to visit with Leo for hours upon hours about harness racing,” Orville said. “Ever since I started I’ve always taken a lot of pride in taking good care of my equipment and horses. There’s no reason a horse barn can’t be neat.” When asked if he had ever had an accident in a race, the veteran of more than 150 harness races said he had only a couple in the 14 years he competed. “One time the horse broke a bone and flipped over. You always get two wheels bumping together during races, but nothing too serious,” Anderson said. What makes harness racing great is that anyone can be involved. With a small investment, you can own a horse, and with the proper license, anyone can train or drive a Standardbred themselves. Buying and selling horses was how Anderson made enough money to justify staying in the racing business. “The purses offered aren’t large, so you have to make the money by developing young horses and selling them.” While he won his share of major races across the Midwest, Orville said his most memorable victory came when he was riding a horse called Belva’s Pride owned by Ruby Kleve. The horse had little chance of winning. “We beat a bunch of horses that really should’ve beat us. We snuck up on them and caught them sleeping,” Anderson said. Harness Racing Facility in Humboldt Over fifty years of hosting harness racing has earned the Humboldt County Fairground’s facility the reputation of being one of the finest in the Midwest. Trainers bring yearlings in and begin working with them in the fall. After breaking them in, intense training follows in the spring. This prepares them to race as two-year-olds in races on Memorial Day and the 4th of July. Winning horses are sold to buyers from Chicago and as far away as New York. Horses that fail to have impressive records are often sold for recreational purposes. Many of the buyers are Amish who need these horses to pull their buggies. Many trainers have come and gone in the years after making a name in the harness racing business. Gerald Haynes, who was the grounds keeper, built a 12 foot by 30 foot house to the east of the barns and lived there with his son for many years. Frances Williams, who with her husband, John, operated the Eateria in downtown Humboldt, said the Gerald Haynes and his son ate most of their meals at the café. When Haynes retired, he sold his house to Vern Baker, who also worked for the railroad, and his brother Leo Baker, who had horses on site. Harness horse trainers and owners presently occupying the Humboldt facility include longtime participants Virgil Terwilliger, of Bradgate and Lyle Bunston and wife, Pat, of rural Hardy. Others include Roger Sturtz and son, Cary, of Humboldt; Larry and Nancy Jensen, of Bode; Bill Mintun and son, Mark, of Thor; Mark Holtan and brother, Tim, of Thor and Dr. Emersen, a veterinarian from Eagle Grove. Other long-timers are Dick McDanel and sons, Joel and Mike of Alta; and John Helvig of Humboldt. There are presently over 40 horses at the Humboldt facility. Humboldt’s limestone-based track attracts trainers and their horses because it can be used the year around. Competing hard-surfaced tracks are at What Cheer and Sioux Center. Start-Up Gate In early years, harness races were started by lining the horses up at the starting line, referred to as the “walk-up start.” This lost many a race for some good drivers when the young horses balked at being stalled in a line-up. High-strung horses refused to cooperate at all. Longtime harness trainer Dick McDanel, of Alta, who has been coming to Humboldt for over 50 years, explained that an upset horse just couldn’t perform well and would often be unable to take part in the race once it became frustrated. McDanel no long drives but has two sons who train and race for him. The starting problem for harness racers was solved when a man named Phillips, from Ohio, designed the first starting gate. Soon others created gates of their own. Jean and Ruby Kleve operated their harness racing starting gate for over 30 years. Ruby drove the vehicle and Jean sat behind, moving the levers that opened and closed the big gates. Silbaugh Manufacturing Co., using Sherman Silbaugh’s design and under his direction, manufactured the Kleve gate in the late 1940s. Jean and Ruby provided gate service for harness racing not only locally, but across the state. They also took their starting gate to the Iowa State Fair. Ruby Kleve died in 1985 and Ray Laird, Orville Anderson and Bruce Lehman served as drivers for Jean, who died in 2000. Three years ago, the Iowa Harness Horse Association acquired a new starting gate that is used throughout the state and is operated by licensed starters. This vehicle and gate are transported between race tracks on a flat bed truck, to save on wear to the vehicle. The Kleve gate remains as a back-up gate, stored at the Humboldt County Fairgrounds. This year the Humboldt County Fair celebrates 150 years. Over these years, many changes have come to the Fair. However, harness racing hasn’t change that much—it is a throwback to a simple time when horses raced on a village street. Our county fair is a natural partner for a sport as timeless as horse racing.
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