Freehold, NJ — It’s been well over a decade since the American Harness Drivers Club held an amateur race but the club is making a triumphant return to Freehold Raceway.

The original club was started by Bernie Boland and with his blessings we have resurrected it and hopefully will be racing for years to come. The original club raced pacers before the first race and had great camaraderie. A good time was had by all who participated.

Now with casino money, times have changed and so has the gait of the horses. The revamped club will race trotters only and the races will be on the betting card with a purse of $9,000, thanks to the generous management at Freehold.

As the new president of the club, I had many amateur drivers asking if we could establish a place that we could race in the Winter and Spring months when most of the other local amateur clubs were in recess. That is when I remembered racing in the AHDC many years ago. So I spoke to Karen Fagliarone, the race secretary at Freehold, and she welcomed the idea with open arms. We had a little trouble getting it going on short notice but it now seems like we have a good number of amateur drivers interested in racing in the club weekly.

The AHDC is always open to finding new members and if you are a qualified amateur driver with a “P” license or higher, please feel free to contact me with any questions by email at sulkyracer@hotmail.com or by phone at 917.697.8985.