BIBLE HILL, N.S. — Though they are enjoying Atlantic Grand Circuit Week, for some people there is a something missing this year; the sight and sound of Doug Harkness.
Harkness was a significant presence at harness racing events like grand circuit week for many years.
He was there not only gathering information and taking photos for his Atlantic Post Calls publication but would go to the winners’ circle with a microphone to interview the owners and drivers of winning horses.
“On the first day of grand circuit week he would be in the office to get the mic,” recalled Diane Daniels, Standardbred Canada representative and friend of Harkness. “He would talk to me about who he was going to interview.
“This week it felt like he was just outside my door. I could almost hear his voice.”
Harkness died in May at age 71 after undergoing major heart surgery in December, from which he never recovered.
Daniels said Harkness didn’t just report on harness racing but had a passion for the sport.
He got involved in racing through his job. He often covered major invitational races while working as a sports reporter and eventually started helping with horses.
In 2008, Harkness recalled learning to jog a horse.
“While helping Laurie O’Brien, I used to jog a classy trotter, Port Of Delight, who basically taught me how to drive. The horse was smarter than I was and didn’t allow me to make too many mistakes.
“A few years later, I purchased Port of Delight from Eldon Mundle of Pugwash (N.S.) and got the old fella back to the races. Frankie Daniels drove him at Truro and won a few races before the grandstand was destroyed by fire.”
Some of Harkness’ friends had remarked it would be great to have a Maritime harness racing newspaper, so when he moved to Amherst, N.S., to work as managing editor of the Amherst Daily News, he started Atlantic Post Calls.
He was the owner and editor, wrote articles, sold ads, assembled pages and handled circulation.
When he sold the paper to Transcontinental Media he continued to run it and cover harness racing in the region for its member newspapers, including The Guradian.
Harkness was also involved in founding the Select Standardbred Sale.
“He had an amazing amount of knowledge on the sport,” said friend Scott Daniels. “If you mentioned a stud’s name he could give you the breeding. He just absorbed information.
“It seems odd not to have him here this year. I especially noticed his absence during the Sunday opening ceremonies. He would have been out there introducing everyone.”
Scott added, “No matter where he was, or who he was with, he was always the same. He didn’t worry about what people thought.”
Harkness was involved in other sports in his youth and was inducted into the Amherst Sports Hall of Fame in the 1990s.
He set provincial records in track and field, won a junior hockey championship and played baseball.
“Covering the Maritime harness racing scene has allowed me to meet many of the fine people involved in the sport,” Harkness said in 2008. “While highly competitive, the folks in harness racing are always ready to help out a fellow horseman who is having difficulties. I love the horses and enjoy the people who work with them.”
