Latest news with #Charters
31-07-2025
- Sport
100th running of the Hambletonian marks a century of the biggest event in harness racing
Growing up in a family of horsemen in Ontario, John Campbell knew how prestigious the Hambletonian was. Then he saw good friend Ray Remmen win the first to take place at the Meadowlands in 1981. 'It was beyond a big deal,' Campbell said. 'It was something special.' On Saturday, the biggest event in harness racing celebrates a centennial anniversary with the 100th running of Hambletonian. While harness racing, like its thoroughbred equivalent, no longer holds the same prominence it once did in the U.S. sporting landscape, the storied history of the Hambletonian and its evolution to grow interest in Europe are responsible for its longevity. 'To have this big event still going on 100 years, it's something that I'm sure they didn't even envision when it was formed,' said Campbell, a Harness Racing Hall of Fame driver who won the Hambletonian a record six times and participated a record 32 consecutive times from 1983-2014. 'It's the consistency of it. They raced it no matter what, through the Depression, through World War II, so it was always there.' Campbell is now president and CEO of the Hambletonian Society that has shepherded the race named for the founding sire of standardbred horses through changing times. The purse is the sport's richest at $1 million, a long way from the nearly $75,000 on the line during the inaugural rendition in 1926 at the New York State Fair in Syracuse. The Hambletonian bounced around to Lexington, Kentucky; Goshen, New York and Du Quoin, Illinois, before finding a home in East Rutherford, New Jersey. 'Even during the war, they did have to because of gas rationing take it to Yonkers,' said Tom Charters, who worked at the Hambletonian Society from 1984-2017, including a lengthy stint as president. 'That's part of the charm of it, I think: the multiple venues and where it's gone and where it's been.' Another charm? The winning horse gets to drink out of the trophy. That is something Charters saw pictures of and made sure would become part of the Hambletonian ceremony — with the name of the race and the horse logo always facing the cameras. 'It's become as symbolic as drinking milk at Indianapolis, for me, anyway,' Charters said, referring to the Indy 500 tradition. Campbell has his favorite memories, notably, he said, 'Winning." His first victory with Mack Lobell in 1987 and winning with Tagliabue— trained by his brother, Jim, and named after longtime NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue — in '95 stand out as special, along with 2006 with Glidemaster to revitalize his career after injury. Chris McErlean, who worked at the Meadowlands from 1992-2007, remembers filly Continentalvictory beating the colts in '96, amateur Malvern Burroughs winning with Malabar Man in '97 and Swedish owner/trainer/driver Stefan Melander taking the race in 2000 with Scarlet Knight following efforts to encourage European participation. 'It made it a big international sensation,' McErlean said. "He had a lot of international interest.' It has garnered so much interest across Scandinavia and even France that of the 10 horses in the Hambletonian this year, nine have European trainers. Moira Fanning, who has worked at the society since 1987 and has been chief operating officer since 2017, expects more than $9 million to be wagered worldwide on the 100th Hambletonian. Fanning credits crossover horse betting from Saratoga Race Course and national television for keeping the event in the spotlight internationally, even though the on-track attendance is now expected to be 8,000-10,000. At its height in 2005, a crowd of 31,000 packed the old Meadowlands — and the current limit is roughly a third of that. 'Harness racing is a niche kind of regional sport. It has lost ground. Tracks have closed,' Fanning said. 'Racing had a wonderful 200-year gambling monopoly that it no longer has, so it has taken a lot of work to keep it prominent and keep it on national TV and keep the big days big.' Essentially the Kentucky Derby of the harness world, Fanning said the Hambletonian might be the one trotters race known in the mainstream public. Inside the industry, it remains a big deal and something special. 'Even though the sport in general's been challenged and it maybe is not at the peaks it used to be, the Hambletonian is still the biggest thing, the biggest prize out there,' McErlean said. 'It almost has as much international cache as it does prominence over here because of its longstanding history and being the richest race, being the biggest race on the calendar.'
Winnipeg Free Press
31-07-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
100th running of the Hambletonian marks a century of the biggest event in harness racing
Growing up in a family of horsemen in Ontario, John Campbell knew how prestigious the Hambletonian was. Then he saw good friend Ray Remmen win the first to take place at the Meadowlands in 1981. 'It was beyond a big deal,' Campbell said. 'It was something special.' On Saturday, the biggest event in harness racing celebrates a centennial anniversary with the 100th running of Hambletonian. While harness racing, like its thoroughbred equivalent, no longer holds the same prominence it once did in the U.S. sporting landscape, the storied history of the Hambletonian and its evolution to grow interest in Europe are responsible for its longevity. 'To have this big event still going on 100 years, it's something that I'm sure they didn't even envision when it was formed,' said Campbell, a Harness Racing Hall of Fame driver who won the Hambletonian a record six times and participated a record 32 consecutive times from 1983-2014. 'It's the consistency of it. They raced it no matter what, through the Depression, through World War II, so it was always there.' Campbell is now president and CEO of the Hambletonian Society that has shepherded the race named for the founding sire of standardbred horses through changing times. The purse is the sport's richest at $1 million, a long way from the nearly $75,000 on the line during the inaugural rendition in 1926 at the New York State Fair in Syracuse. The Hambletonian bounced around to Lexington, Kentucky; Goshen, New York and Du Quoin, Illinois, before finding a home in East Rutherford, New Jersey. 'Even during the war, they did have to because of gas rationing take it to Yonkers,' said Tom Charters, who worked at the Hambletonian Society from 1984-2017, including a lengthy stint as president. 'That's part of the charm of it, I think: the multiple venues and where it's gone and where it's been.' Another charm? The winning horse gets to drink out of the trophy. That is something Charters saw pictures of and made sure would become part of the Hambletonian ceremony — with the name of the race and the horse logo always facing the cameras. 'It's become as symbolic as drinking milk at Indianapolis, for me, anyway,' Charters said, referring to the Indy 500 tradition. Campbell has his favorite memories, notably, he said, 'Winning.' His first victory with Mack Lobell in 1987 and winning with Tagliabue— trained by his brother, Jim, and named after longtime NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue — in '95 stand out as special, along with 2006 with Glidemaster to revitalize his career after injury. Chris McErlean, who worked at the Meadowlands from 1992-2007, remembers filly Continentalvictory beating the colts in '96, amateur Malvern Burroughs winning with Malabar Man in '97 and Swedish owner/trainer/driver Stefan Melander taking the race in 2000 with Scarlet Knight following efforts to encourage European participation. 'It made it a big international sensation,' McErlean said. 'He had a lot of international interest.' It has garnered so much interest across Scandinavia and even France that of the 10 horses in the Hambletonian this year, nine have European trainers. Moira Fanning, who has worked at the society since 1987 and has been chief operating officer since 2017, expects more than $9 million to be wagered worldwide on the 100th Hambletonian. Fanning credits crossover horse betting from Saratoga Race Course and national television for keeping the event in the spotlight internationally, even though the on-track attendance is now expected to be 8,000-10,000. At its height in 2005, a crowd of 31,000 packed the old Meadowlands — and the current limit is roughly a third of that. 'Harness racing is a niche kind of regional sport. It has lost ground. Tracks have closed,' Fanning said. 'Racing had a wonderful 200-year gambling monopoly that it no longer has, so it has taken a lot of work to keep it prominent and keep it on national TV and keep the big days big.' Essentially the Kentucky Derby of the harness world, Fanning said the Hambletonian might be the one trotters race known in the mainstream public. Inside the industry, it remains a big deal and something special. 'Even though the sport in general's been challenged and it maybe is not at the peaks it used to be, the Hambletonian is still the biggest thing, the biggest prize out there,' McErlean said. 'It almost has as much international cache as it does prominence over here because of its longstanding history and being the richest race, being the biggest race on the calendar.' ___ AP horse racing:
Hamilton Spectator
31-07-2025
- Sport
- Hamilton Spectator
100th running of the Hambletonian marks a century of the biggest event in harness racing
Growing up in a family of horsemen in Ontario, John Campbell knew how prestigious the Hambletonian was. Then he saw good friend Ray Remmen win the first to take place at the Meadowlands in 1981. 'It was beyond a big deal,' Campbell said. 'It was something special.' On Saturday, the biggest event in harness racing celebrates a centennial anniversary with the 100th running of Hambletonian. While harness racing, like its thoroughbred equivalent, no longer holds the same prominence it once did in the U.S. sporting landscape, the storied history of the Hambletonian and its evolution to grow interest in Europe are responsible for its longevity. 'To have this big event still going on 100 years, it's something that I'm sure they didn't even envision when it was formed,' said Campbell, a Harness Racing Hall of Fame driver who won the Hambletonian a record six times and participated a record 32 consecutive times from 1983-2014. 'It's the consistency of it. They raced it no matter what, through the Depression, through World War II, so it was always there.' Campbell is now president and CEO of the Hambletonian Society that has shepherded the race named for the founding sire of standardbred horses through changing times. The purse is the sport's richest at $1 million, a long way from the nearly $75,000 on the line during the inaugural rendition in 1926 at the New York State Fair in Syracuse. The Hambletonian bounced around to Lexington, Kentucky; Goshen, New York and Du Quoin, Illinois, before finding a home in East Rutherford, New Jersey. 'Even during the war, they did have to because of gas rationing take it to Yonkers,' said Tom Charters, who worked at the Hambletonian Society from 1984-2017, including a lengthy stint as president. 'That's part of the charm of it, I think: the multiple venues and where it's gone and where it's been.' Another charm? The winning horse gets to drink out of the trophy. That is something Charters saw pictures of and made sure would become part of the Hambletonian ceremony — with the name of the race and the horse logo always facing the cameras. 'It's become as symbolic as drinking milk at Indianapolis, for me, anyway,' Charters said, referring to the Indy 500 tradition . Campbell has his favorite memories, notably, he said, 'Winning.' His first victory with Mack Lobell in 1987 and winning with Tagliabue— trained by his brother, Jim, and named after longtime NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue — in '95 stand out as special, along with 2006 with Glidemaster to revitalize his career after injury. Chris McErlean, who worked at the Meadowlands from 1992-2007, remembers filly Continentalvictory beating the colts in '96, amateur Malvern Burroughs winning with Malabar Man in '97 and Swedish owner/trainer/driver Stefan Melander taking the race in 2000 with Scarlet Knight following efforts to encourage European participation. 'It made it a big international sensation,' McErlean said. 'He had a lot of international interest.' It has garnered so much interest across Scandinavia and even France that of the 10 horses in the Hambletonian this year, nine have European trainers. Moira Fanning, who has worked at the society since 1987 and has been chief operating officer since 2017, expects more than $9 million to be wagered worldwide on the 100th Hambletonian. Fanning credits crossover horse betting from Saratoga Race Course and national television for keeping the event in the spotlight internationally, even though the on-track attendance is now expected to be 8,000-10,000. At its height in 2005, a crowd of 31,000 packed the old Meadowlands — and the current limit is roughly a third of that. 'Harness racing is a niche kind of regional sport. It has lost ground. Tracks have closed,' Fanning said. 'Racing had a wonderful 200-year gambling monopoly that it no longer has, so it has taken a lot of work to keep it prominent and keep it on national TV and keep the big days big.' Essentially the Kentucky Derby of the harness world, Fanning said the Hambletonian might be the one trotters race known in the mainstream public. Inside the industry, it remains a big deal and something special. 'Even though the sport in general's been challenged and it maybe is not at the peaks it used to be, the Hambletonian is still the biggest thing, the biggest prize out there,' McErlean said. 'It almost has as much international cache as it does prominence over here because of its longstanding history and being the richest race, being the biggest race on the calendar.' ___ AP horse racing:
Daily Mirror
31-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mirror
BBC makes huge change to news programmes as they announce new partnership
The BBC has announced a huge change to news programming as they revealed a new partnership will be put in place after almost a decade The BBC is reuniting with the Met Office for its weather broadcasts. The broadcaster cut ties with United Kingdom's national weather and climate service in 2017 and turned to Dutch MeteoGroup, which was the acquired by the US weather services company DTN, for their meteorological output, But now, a new deal has been put in place which will allow them to join forces with the Met Office once again, and the result will reports across news programmes such as BBC Breakfast. Declaring that the weather is the the UK's favourite conversation, BBC director general Tim Davie said: "The BBC's world-renowned journalism will be working together with the Met Office's weather and climate intelligence to turn science into stories and help everyone in the UK to make informed decisions about the weather." The BBC confirmed that no jobs have been created or cut amid the new deal. However, it comes just days after a staple presenter let slip her plans to quit the BBC. The BBC boss also spoke of the rise of misinformation as he insisted: "There has never been more need for trusted and impartial information to help people understand today's weather." Penny Endersby, CEO of the Met Office said of the new deal: "As the UK's national weather service, we are excited to be back working closely with the BBC again. Together we can reach even more people with essential weather information, helping them to plan their days, stay safe when it matters and keep well-informed in our changing climate", adding that they have a desire to "help more people stay safe, thrive and understand the wonder of weather." However, is expected that the BBC's current deal with DTN will remain in place for the foreseeable future, and the new partnership will kick in at some point "later this year." Broadcaster Scott Bryan was one of the first to comment on the news, and he took to X to say: "The BBC have reunited with the Met Office for its weather forecasts. The BBC ditched Met Office in 2015 and had partnered with Meteogroup (with Met Office for weather warnings.) It now appears the partnership is back." In a second tweet, he insisted that the new deal is "big news for all the people who keep saying that the weather is always wrong." The BBC first lost the contract with the Met Office a decade ago, and in an online blog, the Project Director for BBC Weather procurement, Nigel Charters, confirmed some jobs would go. Charters insisted at the time that 'the weather may be changeable in the UK, but BBC Weather will continue to provide the best possible weather information service across television, radio and digital based on timely and accurate forecast information.' Charters said: "Some things won't change though. We know how fond people are of our weather presenters. We have taken steps so the vast majority of our well known and much loved presenters will continue to front BBC Weather. "We'll still work closely with the Met Office on severe weather warnings; the national agencies for flood warnings and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency on shipping forecasts and coastal information."
ITV News
21-05-2025
- Politics
- ITV News
York MP calls for crackdown on 'rogue' bailiffs after disabled man 'threatened'
An MP has called for a crackdown on "rogue bailiffs" after claims a constituent was threatened with the removal of disability equipment and another left without carpets. Luke Charters said firms should be put on a statutory footing to drive up standards in the industry. The Labour MP for York Outer said vulnerable people were being made to feel "absolutely petrified in their own homes". Mr Charters introduced the Regulations of Bailiffs Bill through a 10-minute rule motion in parliament. It would require the Secretary of State to publish an assessment of the effectiveness of current regulations, and report to Parliament on the potential merits of statutory regulation. He said: "We are in this place to speak up, when others can't, to put right what is clearly wrong. "This Bill, to get a grip on rogue bailiffs, does exactly that." During his speech, Mr Charters raised the case of his constituent, Adam, who "got into debt through falling behind on council tax and card repayments after losing an agency job and struggling to find new work". He added: "As is often the case with rogue bailiffs, the visits were aggressive and intimidating. One forced his foot into the door, threatening to come in and, of course, this breaks virtually every rule in the book. "Adam told me, 'it was like someone was trying to boot down the door'. He immediately told the bailiff that he had a disability and was classed as vulnerable. The bailiff said he didn't care and would take away Adam's belongings regardless. "The bailiff saying he didn't care - what cruelty. The enforcement system is broken and punishes those already struggling when rules allow such passive, cruel indifference to people in crisis." Mr Charters said the bailiff also threatened to take away Adam's "government-funded equipment for his disability, a specially adapted device". According to Citizens Advice, one in three people who have had contact with a bailiff have experienced behaviour that breaks Ministry of Justice expectations. "And even among the bailiffs that are regulated under their current scope, 1% of visits were deemed too aggressive by the ECB (Enforcement Conduct Board). And by the way, that would equate to hundreds, if not thousands of visits a year. "That is why we need a fair and proportionate debt collection system." Mr Charters also referred to another constituent, Michael, a soon-to-be father who was "left without carpet, with a broken bed and a broken boiler". He said Michael was involved in a "horrific" motorbike accident which left him "bedridden" and "getting by on sick pay alone" after losing his job. "Michael went from being a homeowner with a near perfect credit score to nearly losing everything, and I'm pleased to say that he's back on his feet and, although he's still paying the debt off, he is hoping to clear it soon," The MP concluded his speech by suggesting that while the Enforcement Conduct Board do a good job, there are many bailiffs not in their perimeter. The ECB was set up in 2022, with ministers of the then-Conservative government promising to review whether it needs to be put on a statutory footing within two years.
