Lew Barasch dies

Lew Barasch, the last of the major racetrack publicists from harness racing’s golden era, died Sunday night at a New York hospital at the age of 90.

Unlike many of the flamboyant publicists of the mid-20th century, Barasch, was not flashy, but was one of the most efficient at his vocation.

After having begun his career in journalism and in the entertainment industry, Barasch joined the rejuvenated harness racing industry after World War II for a career which began at the time of the introduction of the mobile starting gate at Roosevelt Raceway. He worked at Roosevelt until the racetrack closed in the late 1980s. For several years he continued to promote the International Trot when the race moved from Roosevelt to Yonkers Raceway.

Before harness racing, Barasch was a sportswriter for the Long Island Daily Press, and later was involved in the motion picture industry, toiling for Paramount Pictures and later United Artists, where he earned a reputation for creating "stories" about movie stars for gossip columnists.

In racing, Barasch is best remembered for his work developing the International Trot into one of the sport's greatest races. His background working with the top show business stars of the day helped as he was able to brings big-name personalities such as Milton Berle, Jackie Gleason, Paul Newman, Merv Griffin, Debbie Reynolds, and others to the racetrack for promotions.

Barasch was also able to bring the great trotters from Europe, Australasia, and even South America to New York for the International Trot. His biggest achievement was luring a Russian trotter to the U.S. for the International, but the horse broke stride at the start and was never a factor. No other Russian trotter would return for the race.

Though low-keyed, the always smiling Barasch was an outstanding storyteller with an arsenal of incidents about people, places, and things, many told with accents and great wit.

Barry Lefkowitz, who replaced Barasch as Roosevelt Raceway’s publicist when Barasch became its special events director, recalled his mentor by saying, "Lew was a wonderful person, a great and special guy. He was unique. He never put himself in the spotlight. He never talked about himself and his accomplishments, which were many.

“Working in the same office with him enabled me to quickly learn about a phase of the harness business and its people that it would have taken years to learn otherwise. He was a personal friend of Mr. (George) Levy, who owned Roosevelt), and they had a great relationship."

One of Barasch's most memorable moments came when the longtime member of the U.S. Harness Writers’ Association (USHWA) and founding member of the North American Harness Publicists’ Association (NAHPA) was voted into the Communicator's Corner at the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame, located at Goshen, N.Y., in 1995. He also won the 1984 Allen J. Finkelson Golden Pen Award, as voted by the former winners of that award, which was presented by the North American Harness Publicists’ Association.

Barasch is survived by his wife, Bunny, who was almost invariably found at his side. Upon retirement, the Baraschs resided during the summers in Rockville Center, N.Y., and during the winter in the Palm Beach, Fla., area. (by Marv Bachrad)

« Back