MONTICELLO, NY — Barb Merton, a groom working for legendary trainer Bob Lounsbury, along with other members of her close-knit clan, picked up the reins as track photographers at the Monticello Raceway (Mighty M) after long-time photographer Geri Schwarz tragically passed away last year. 

For years, the late track photographer was the lead in documentation at the Goshen Historic Track and Monticello Raceway. Reflecting on this rite of passage, Merton said, “That’s what she would have wanted; she was like family to us.”

Joining her behind the camera at times are her sister, Liz Stubits; son Joey Merton; and Melanie Merton, a niece.

“I’ve been in it since we were little, little,” said Merton on her early involvement with the sport of harness racing. She thought about the time she spent with her sister in their father’s barn as “four- or five-year-olds.”

Speaking of the harness-racing family, she said of the sport, “I love it… I love the horses. They’re magnificent animals.” She added that she and her sister each own a horse, while her husband and her father, John Stubits, maintain small stables.

As for the ebb and flow evolution of Monticello Raceway, Merton—whose clan also includes drivers of note Michael, Gregory and Thomas—said, “I think it’s sad, because I remember what it used to be like, full of people… It’s not the same, but I love it.”

“The strength of the horsemen, they will not let this place die,” said Merton of the local harness racing community. “They take really good care of their horses.