I didn’t have to be in the offices at Hanover Raceway, Clinton Raceway or Woodstock Raceway to know the news regarding Frank Salive hit the operators like a rubber bullet.
Frank Salive, for my money, is the single best announcer in the sport of harness racing.
Having worked for the last half decade with Frank at Hanover, there’s no underestimating how his professional sound from the tower upgraded the professional image at Hanover Raceway.
It was amazing to watch out of town horse people, or people involved long term in the industry arrive at Hanover and stop dead in their tracks when they heard Frank’s warm welcome and cool delivery
But Frank, truthfully, is too good, so good, he was hired a couple of years ago at Pompano in Florida.
The good news with that hiring was that Pompano essentially ran from October through May, shutting down when the temperature in Florida rose out of concern for the wellness of the horses.
All of which allowed Frank to return to Ontario and travel the summer circuit with weekly stops in Hanover, Clinton and Woodstock, among other tracks.
But Pompano announced they are extending their season to mid-July and the need for Frank’s services also got extended which was horrible news for the Ontario tracks.
The race season at Hanover Raceway begins Saturday and it will look the same, but with no Frank Salive, it definitely won’t sound the same.
I’m Fred Wallace