Big Time Athletes Are Hard At Work Daily At Buffalo Raceway In Hamburg,NY [PICTURES]

The racing season is back at Buffalo Raceway in Hamburg! Although it may be cold these days, behind the scenes, it's a busy place on the land known by many as the Hamburg Fairgrounds on McKinley Pkwy. These days you won't see horses pulling wagons along the parade route or The Budweiser Clydesdale team on display. Rather, you'll find barns filled with some of the strongest, well trained athletes professional sports have to offer.

I had a chance to go behind the scenes at Buffalo Raceway on Tuesday and chat with some of the people that keep things on  schedule and keep the horses in race condition in preparation for the 3 nights of racing held every week under the lights at the Western New York landmark.

Jon Cramer, Director of Operations for Buffalo Raceway, told me during my mini tour of the facility..."The season schedule shows live racing on Wednesday evenings at 5 p.m. along with Friday and Saturday nights with 6:35 p.m. posts. Buffalo Raceway will then add the popular Sunday afternoon cards beginning on June 7th. The season concludes on Sunday, July 26th." Sounds like a busy season, right? That's just the beginning.

Everyday at the track (especially on busy race days) there are crews of trainers, drivers, grooms, veterinarians and other vital horsemen and women hard at work to keep these majestic animals in perfect health and shape. I spoke with Ron Van Wagoner while he was overseeing some of the horses he is responsible for at practice on Tuesday. Since the horse racing scene is fading in his home state of Michigan, he spends the season working with horses here in New York.  Ron has been around horses better than 32 years and as a former hockey coach, equates a lot of what he does as a trainer of horses to human athletes.

"These are truly big time time athletes," Van Wagoner proudly told me. "Just like pro athletes in football or baseball, these horses are kept on a strict diet, exercised daily, monitored for soreness and even have their blood checked routinely." The blood work indicates many things that are happening with each individual horse. Proper amount of vitamins and nutrition are essential to keep them running at top "pace."

A Legend, Still At Work

Of the 350 horses that are housed all season in the Buffalo Raceway barns, Van Wagoner is responsible for a handful of them.We spoke as he and his staffers were working on two of the horses. One of which is somewhat of a legend in the sport locally. "That's Second Hand News. He is one of the top horses around here." Ron explained to me that Second Hand News, or Smokey as they call him around the barn, is a 13 yr old gelding that by his estimate has won well over $500,000 in his career.

Not bad at all considering that Smokey is most likely headed for retirement next year. I was told that these horses normally race til around 14. Second Hand News is sort of like the Peyton Manning of harness racing. I watched as Smokey was having his legs rubbed and his feet soaked. "Horses like Smokey get amazing care. Like a coach does with a human player who is at the top of their game, I am always checking with my staff and observing his body and his pacing/trotting during our training sessions." "My horses work very hard on race day, we jog them the following day and do whatever has to be done to keep them healthy and comfortable," Van Wagoner explained.

Race days are long days behind the scenes. True, these swift animals run the half mile track in around 2 minutes time. But for the trainers and drivers, 12-16 hour days, every race day, are common. The horses are up early, fed and checked out and the strategies are made for each race on the card. The horses and their drivers assemble in the indoor paddock to be placed in the proper slot in advance of each of the 13 races. Cramer hopes for 8 horses in every race.

The Track

The track has been resurfaced this season. Jon Cramer showed me how the banking has been improved and how 6,000 TONS of materials were hauled in and spread around the track. Yes, the same track you have watched concerts from and perhaps even driven on during demolition derby day at The Fair. "It needed some work," Cramer said of the track."Over time, the events of the fair and weather and the 13 race per race day schedule can really change the grade of the track."

Racing and training take place even with the cold temperatures that we get. Track administrators have the discretion to cancel/postpone or delay racing based on conditions.

It was something special to watch the trainers/drivers in action on this training day.Even though these large and powerful athletes seem to be focused and ready, any trainer will tell you that you have to know the individual personality of each horse you are training." Every horse has its quirks. It's my job and our job as trainers to figure them out and get the horses to perform the best we can," says Van Wagoner. We have horses that are passive and easy going and then there are some that are little more on the moody side that you have to keep your eye on."

It sounded more and more like what a pro coach would tell you about their players if they could as he went on. As a radio was echoing in the barn in the background, I walked and watched as stall after stall each horse was kept in the best of conditions and attended to. It's a full time job as a crew member on these race teams. It was clear to me that the hard work on the "off days" and the strategy for the upcoming race day are what keep guys like Von Wagoner excited to get to the barn every morning.