Arrangements set for publicist Joe Hartmann

Joe Hartmann, the former communications director at Pompano Park, Pocono Downs and Foxboro Raceway, and a recent nominee to be placed on the ballot for the sport’s Communicator’s Corner of the Hall of Fame, died Sunday evening, March 13, at his home in Deefield Beach, Fla. He was 59.

 

After attending Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pa., Mr. Hartmann began working as a sports reporter of the Middletown Times-Herald Record in New York in the early 1970s, covering races at Monticello. He later moved to his hometown Port Jervis Union-Gazette, where he was honored as State Sportswriter of the Year by the New York State High School Wrestling Coaches Association.

 

In 1980, Mr. Hartmann accepted the position of communications director at Foxboro, later going on to Pocono Downs and then to Pompano Park, where he worked closely with the late Communicators Corner member Allen J. Finkelson.

 

While at Pompano, Mr. Hartmann worked closely with Moira Fanning of the Hambletonian Society, who oversees the national publicity for the Breeders Crown championship races, which were held several times at the Florida racetrack.

 

In 1996, Mr. Hartmann returned to Foxboro where he worked for two years as assistant general manager and publicity director. Following the closing of Foxboro, he also played a role in the opening of the new Plainridge Racecourse. Mr. Hartmann was also a free-lance writer for several of the sport’s trade magazines, including being the Florida correspondent for The Horseman And Fair World.

 

Mr. Hartmann is a past national president and chairman of the board of the U.S. Harness Writers Association and a past president of the North American Harness Publicists Association, and was the winner of that association’s Allen J. Finkelson Golden Pen Award in 1994.

 

Mr. Hartmann is survived by his wife, Maggie; daughters Noel and Jessica; and four grandchildren. He was predeceased by a son, Ronnie, in 2003.

 

Memorial contributions may be made to the Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame in Goshen. N.Y. Memorial services are scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 18, at St. Ambrose Catholic Church, 380 S. Federal Highway, Deerfield Beach, Fla. 33441.