MONTICELLO, NY — This sports column is dedicated to the memory of Geri Schwarz, the beloved official track photographer at Monticello Raceway and the Goshen Historic Track, who was tragically taken from this earth and the close-knit community of harness racing on Friday, June 28. 

In recalling Schwarz, Shawn Wiles, the Mighty M’s executive director of racing and facilities said she always reminded him of the U.S. Postal Service’s unofficial motto that “neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night...” got in her way of capturing the horse racing action.

As a point of fact, these words are engraved on the front of the James A. Farley Post Office in the Big Apple, and the phrase is taken from the ancient tome “The Persian Wars” by the Greek historian Herodotus, and refers to messengers in the Persian Empire.

“Geri was out there every day, even shrugging her way through the recent heat wave,” said Wiles. “She was one of the small core of people that keep the place up and running.”

He said that the day after her untimely passing, he walked through the grandstands and paddock, and her death was all that folks were talking about, as they remembered her quiet spirit and tireless dedication to the sport.

“You’d see her day in and day out,” said Wiles. “I spoke to her right before the last picture she ever took, and then got the email that night, and you never know that’s the last time you’re ever going to hear from somebody… It was a picture of a bunch of 4-H kids in the winner’s circle… It was a sudden shock to all of us, and she’ll be missed.”

Last year, Schwarz was profiled in the Talking Sports column in the River Reporter by this sports scribbler. She helped him understand which end of a horse was hooked to a cart, taught him a few basics of the sport, and talked about the role of women in harness racing.

Explaining her love of Standardbreds, Schwarz said in part that most of what she called her “picture money” goes into supporting her retired racehorses, including Belle Jay Jigger, her favorite riding steed for many years, who after passing away is buried in her front yard.

In the interview, she said of the sport, “I really love these people, the trainers, the drivers, the grooms, and whenever I go into the paddock, I wish I worked on that side… As I learn more about it, the more I like it.”

Back when John Manzi was running public relations at Monticello Raceway, she recalled a race in which an errant feline got loose on the track during a race, and was in fact leading the pack. “It looked like it was in front, but in no danger of getting squished.”

In an article penned by Manzi for the Monticello-Goshen United States Harness Writers Association (USHWA) in 2014, he noted that Schwarz received the chapter’s Award of Appreciation during their 56th annual awards banquet. He wrote that she “will finally step in front of the cameras and be photographed when she receives the award.”

“First and foremost, her finish line photographs are spot-on, as are her winner’s circle photographs,” wrote Manzi. “Not only is her work first-rate, but she has an eye for the unusual, and many times she captures shots that others wouldn’t even notice.”

A few years ago, Schwarz’s uncanny eye for the out of the ordinary garnered her the prestigious George Smallwood Award for harness racing photography.

According to a brief obituary published by the United States Trotting Association (USTA) on July 2, Schwarz, 77, a resident of Mongaup Valley, NY, was the daughter of the late Bernard and Cella Wiseman. She was born August 22, 1946 in New York City.

A memorial service will be announced. 

 A day before Independence Day 2024, Monticello Raceway featured a full afternoon of harness racing action, as 13 races filled the card. These included two notable one-mile paces: the John Gilmour Memorial Race, and what was billed as the “American-Great Britain Friendship Competition.” That featured several drivers from across the pond in England and Ireland.

In the John Gilmour Memorial Race ($4,400 purse), Bruce Aldrich Jr. drove A Boy Named Suuzz, trained by Laura Taggart to the winner’s circle.

In the American-Great Britain Friendship Competition, Lee Wakefield of England was in the cart, piloting I’m Benicio A, trained by Shane Taggart, to a first-place finish ($4,700 purse).