Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Odds on Personality of the Month: August 2004

Billy Perkins
Hawthorne Racing Secretary & Man of All Trades

August 1, 2004
by Kimberly A. Rinker

Hawthorne racing secretary William “Billy” Perkins III is serving only his second year on the Chicagoland harness racing circuit. However, Perkins face is not new to harness racing or to the Midwest scene at all. For years, the multi-talented Perkins has served as announcer, racing secretary, judge and assistant racing secretary at various tracks in Michigan, Indiana and now Illinois—as well as many on the East Coast.

Perkins, a self-described “typical Taurus,” just celebrated his 58th birthday on May 16th and hails from a little town in the Pocono Mountains known as Honesdale, Pennsylvania. Perkins—who is known to many in the industry as “Billy”—grew up in a harness racing family, the son of father Cy and nephew to uncles Don and Al—all active participants in the sport of harness racing out east.

“As a youngster I migrated from the dairy barn into the harness racing barn,” Perkins remembered. “Though my Dad died young in 1969, he did just about everything in the sport a man could do, racing at Hinsdale, New Hampshire, at Harrington and Georgetown Delaware, and at the fairs in Pennsylvania. That’s how I first became involved in the business; I was bred into it.”

When he turned 18 Perkins got his first “official” job in racing, as the announcer at some of the county fairs in Pennsylvania. As his reputation grew, so did his job offers. He became the assistant racing secretary to Jim Lynch at Libertyville Park and was made racing secretary at Rosecroft raceway in 1977, where he stayed until 1999. During these years he also worked both for Ocean Downs and Freestate raceways, before venturing to the Midwest to serve as the racing secretary for Sports Creek in Michigan. He worked in that capacity for seven years, and when Hoosier Park opened, became a judge at that Indiana facility for seven years as well.

“I did have a very short stint in Chicago years ago,” Perkins recalled. “Back in 1969 I was Ted Leonard’s assistant at Maywood Park for two months. That was my only experience with Chicago racing until last year at Hawthorne.”

Perkins says his job at Hawthorne during the 2003 meeting was both exciting and trying at times.

“Obviously it wasn't easy with the shortage of horses due to the strike at the beginning of the year,” Perkins said. “Hawthorne is a beautiful race track and I see the racing just continuing to improve year after year here.”

“Racing in Chicago is a top product,” Perkins continued. “That’s one thing the strike proved—that Chicago horses can leave here and go race elsewhere and do well. Also, from the breeding end of it, there are now horses standing in Illinois that are well known nationally—that were known nationally as tremendous racehorses. This improvement in the breeding stock has really helped to improve the racing product here as well.”

Perkin’s easy-going demeanor and “open door” policy has seemed to sit well with Prairie State horsemen thus far. It is not uncommon on any night to find him chatting away with horsemen from all aspects of the sport—from the two-horse stable owner, to the 70-horse stable trainer.

“I love to go to new racetracks and meet new people and reconnect with old friends,” Perkins said. “That’s why I was so excited to come to Hawthorne. Some of the folks I’d met and known from Michigan and Indiana are here, as well as others from around the country.”

“The best part of my job is to do the draw and then three days later see what kind of job we did putting the races together,” Perkins mused. “You really get to see if you did your job accurately or not. I feel very lucky to be involved in something that I enjoy so much. Plus, with the advent of the USTA’s computer system, it has really simplified the way racing secretaries are able to do their jobs.”

Perkins says that while the racing secretary duties are challenging and fun, he absolutely is smitten with announcing.

“I just love announcing,” Perkins said. “My biggest thrill came years ago at Freestate Raceway when I was announcing there and I called a local horse named Come On Fred. They used my race call on the local t.v. stations, and then it was sent on to the national channels. That was very exciting and just a whole lot of fun.

“Besides my enjoyment of this job,” Perkins concluded. “When it’s all said and done, I’m a big fan of harness racing. I like the business, the people and the horses, and am really just a big, big fan of the whole sport. There’s nothing else I’d rather be doing.”

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