by George ‘Buzzy’ Sholty

Leading Meadowlands drivers George Brennan and Yannick Gingras, USTA Director Alan Leavitt, and USTA Web Columnist Dean Hoffman submitted comments last week regarding an upcoming USTA rule change proposal on whipping. Today, trainer George ‘Buzzy’ Sholty offers his comments. The rule change proposal, which will be considered by the USTA board of directors at its annual meeting Feb. 3-6, has produced a flurry of comments from concerned horsemen and fans. To participate in the discussion on Harnessphere, the USTA’s social networking site, visit http://harnessphere.ustrotting.com/topic/2066.

Dear Fellow Horsemen:

My name is Buzzy Sholty, and I have to respond to the article by Dean Hoffman. When is all this nonsense about excessive use of the whip going to stop? I’m a third generation horseman from both sides, and currently make a living from this sport. All this recent talk about excessive or out of control whipping has gotten out of control.

I’m not a supporter of horses being abused — anyone that knows me, knows this. I am a supporter of harness racing and keeping the small amount of gamblers and patrons happy and interested in our wonderful sport. Please take a rational look at this issue from both sides before you vote to lock our professional drivers’ hands into the hand-holds.

I’ve heard, seen and experienced the fall of this sport through my life, from the damage caused by OTB parlors in the ‘70s on, to the tax law changes in the ‘80s and it will be a sad day if we vote in this new whipping amendment.

If you read the USTA’s current rules in place today, it’s a solid guideline for drivers to go by. The issue is the judges enforcing them. There, it’s been said. We as drivers can work this issue out with management and the judges at each individual track. I also saw Joe O’Brien and all the other drivers of that generation in harness racing’s heyday tan one to the wire with rawhide whips, and the grandstands were full and the handles were massive.

I myself would not go to a bullfight, but I would love to see the ‘running of the bulls.’ Many of us have different tastes. I’ve met thousands and thousands of people in my life and if you know me you know I talked to ALL of them. Never once, and I repeat once, did I experience a complaint about drivers using a whip, period. Many times I had to explain how a driver hit the shaft or saddle pad to encourage a horse to the wire, and all my friends still continue to come today.

Lack of effort from a driver is still the number one complaint at our tracks — please ask the judges. I had a friend drive two winners on the card at The Red Mile this year and get called into the judges for lack of effort, while finishing second with another. He struck the shaft/pad eight times in the stretch during that race on replay. The judges said they had 13 complaints for his lack of effort. There were no complaints for excessive use of the whip.

When comparing us to European racing, much of it is apples to oranges. I’ve been there and driven horses there. We race our horses more often and most are on the pace. We train different and sprint our horses a mile. One could say it’s cruel to race such long distances or without lasix, as they do, but we don’t. That’s their way and we have ours. Most tracks in Europe don’t have Thoroughbred racing to compete with and they are still having the same attendance and handle declines as we have over here. To copy them with locking drivers’ hands in the hand-holds will only decrease our attendance more, and we can’t afford this. We will lose the last of our gamblers that we still retain today. They drive our business.

I held a meeting with some of the sport’s top drivers and top trainers a short time back. Together we put the product on the track and it’s our trainers’ horses and the drivers that produce the performance. I have a list of over 70 drivers and 50 trainers that are against drivers’ hands being locked in the hand-holds. However, everyone was willing to reduce the number of strikes, and increase penalties for excessive abuse during or after a race has been contested. Both Dover and Chester have in-house rules that work. I know, I paid a fine myself, and once was enough for me. Pompano has changed their rules and I, as a gambler, will not bet on that product, or watch it.

Let us work with our judges. Maybe we need to form a whip committee, show videos between the races to help explain and teach our patrons about the stretch drive. If I’ve been told once I’ve been told a million times, drivers lean back to hold their horses back, and in 60 seconds I explain about keeping the bit in the mouth and the push of the bike and the problem is solved. Have a ‘meet the drivers’ night every night. At least give us a chance. All this has come about in a four to five month period, and we don’t have any deadlines to conform to in the near future. We have to protect our horses and protect our drivers as well. And most important, we need to satisfy our public.

I’ve seen the steady decline from the poor decision of OTB parlors and when OTB’s were voted in, they were supposed to help. Do tracks really think this new whipping rule will increase handle?