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Odds On Racing's Women In Racing
Carol A. Hodes...Director of Media Relations, The Meadowlands
Carol Hodes, who held the position of Director of Media Relations at the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, New Jersey for 25 years, combined a lifelong love of animals with a position of prominence at one of the most prestigious raceways in North America. Now retired, Carol spends her days freelance writing about her favorite subject--harness racing.
Born on January 8, 1952 in New Jersey, Carol continues to reside in her home state. She graduated from George Washington Univeresity in 1974 with a B.A. in Journalism. She shares her home with a Pembroke Welsh Corgi named Chip and a pair of cats named Lucky and Teddy.
Carol says the best part of her job are the people she meets.
"I was totally new to the industry when I was assigned to cover racing as a sports reporter for the Newark Star-Ledger [1976-1981]," Carol said. "I found many trainers and drivers willing to answer my questions, educating me and helping me to do a better job of reporting on racing."
"While racing was not my only assignment as a sports reporter, it was the one that most intrigued me and for which I felt an affinity," Carol added. "A lot of it had to do with the horses themselves. I’ve always loved horses and respect their athleticism and beauty. When I was offered a position in the Meadowlands media relations department, it seemed like a great way to make racing a bigger part of my life."
"A few weeks after the Meadowlands Racetrack opened on September 1, 1976, I was approached by my boss at Dorf Feature Services [Sid Dorfman] and asked what I knew about horse racing. I admitted that I didn’t now much but I was anxious to learn. With that, I was "promoted" to a job in the sports department of New Jersey’s largest daily newspaper, the Star-Ledger, and among my assignments was to cover horse racing as the "fill in" person for our harness racing columnist, Ray Brienza, and our turf columnist, Bob Harding."
"Since the Meadowlands was open six nights a week at that time and the Ledger wanted to staff the track every night, I generally got assigned two to three nights a week. I worked for a sports editor, the late Willie Klein, who respected racing and treated it as an important assignment. The first harness racing I wrote about in October of 1976 was won by a horse named Umgawa, trained and driven by Warren Cameron."
Carol says that the human interest side of racing is what appeals to her most, and that gambling, while an internal aspect of the sport, is not of great interest to her.
"The horses and the people behind them, the human-interest stories, are what I enjoy the most," Carol noted. "Handicapping races can be mentally stimulating, but the actual risk of my hard-earned salary is less appealing. During my years with the Star-Ledger as a reporter, I also had my selections and analysis in the newspaper. But I never put much energy into the money management and gambling end of it. I enjoy watching the drivers in the race, how their strategies unfold, how they work in tandem with the horse to do their best."
What has intrigued Carol the most in her 27 years as a racing writer and publicity person?
"When I began my involvement in harness racing, it was in the early years of the "catch driver" and the evolution from trainer-drivers to a division between the two aspects of the business. Based as I am at the Meadowlands, I have been blessed with the opportunity to see all the greatest horses compete and be friendly with the premier horsemen of the last 27 years."
Besides writing about harness horses, Carol has also had the opportunity to sit behind one.
"I’ve had many wonderful experiences in racing but I suppose winning an exhibition race at the Meadowlands as a "driver" has to be among my favorite," Carol said. "It is one of the great charms of harness racing that amateurs can sit behind horses and have a small idea of what it is like to be in a race. As a reporter, I had an opportunity to be in three "press box" paces [a win and two seconds]. I was lucky enough to have many top horsemen spend time showing me how to drive and providing me with an opportunity to sit behind their horses during training hours. It certainly gave me a greater appreciation for all that goes into racing a horse. Of course, nothing was like the thrill of sitting behind a horse who was, fortunately, more race savvy than I and who switched into the next gear at the top of the stretch and drew off to win. The horse, Nechako Tar, was hardly a world champion but he was for me that night under the stars as we stood in the winner’s circle at the Meadowlands."
"I have had many horses impress me over the years and I have had several that hold a special spot in my heart, but it almost seems a shame to name one or two when I’ve been lucky to see so many brilliant performances," Carol added, when asked about her favorite equines.
What are Carol's future plans in racing?
"Interest in racing has ebbed and flowed over the years," Carol said. "It continues to be a challenge to get the message out to the consumers. We must continue to embrace the new technologies to reach out to new fans and to better serve those we have. Racing has always had the difficulty of trying to satisfy all three of its roles – as sport, as a form of gambling and as an entertainment option. I hope to continue to find more ways to tell the great stories of the horses and people in racing that are part of its great appeal. Beyond that, hopefully, one day I’ll have the thrill of owning a horse."
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