Sports

Harness great Cat Manzi to be feted at Meadowlands

Friday night, the New Meadowlands will honor one of its own: driver Catello Manzi, who is also one of the best the sport of harness racing has ever seen.

Manzi will be celebrated before and during the race card starting with an appearance on the Meadowlands in-house and simulcast show at 6:45 p.m., after which he will greet his fans and sign autographs from 7:00 p.m. until 7:30 p.m.

“It’s really nice what Jeff Gural is doing,” said Johnny Manzi, publicity director at Monticello Raceway and Cat’s cousin.

Manzi, who decided to hang up his driving whip earlier this year, is ranked fourth on the all-time dash-winning driver’s list with 14,812 career victories.

“From the moment he sat in the sulky, he was a talent. He got good and stayed good and got better and stayed better,” Johnny Manzi said.

The Manzis grew up around the horses in Mongaup Valley, NY, not far from Monticello Raceway.

Johnny, who is six years older, remembers driving against his talented cousin, who became the leading driver at Monticello.

“In ’72 or ’73, he won six consecutive races and that was a record, it might have been an all-time record anywhere at that time,” Johnny said. “And he was only a kid. Christ, he was barely out of his teens when he did that.

“He was a better driver than me, but I’m not jealous. I’m proud of him. I taught him everything he knew.”

Cat went on to win titles at Pennsylvania’s Liberty Bell Park and New Jersey’s Garden State Park and Freehold Raceway. Cat dominated Freehold for at least 10 years starting in the mid-1990’s, a feat that may never be matched.

In 2001, Cat was elected to the Harness Racing Hall of Fame and in 2005 he was voted Driver of the Year by the U.S. Harness Writers Association.

“The whole family is really proud of him,” Johnny said. “I especially am proud of him. The Catman carries the Manzi name.

“Cat is an enigma. He could drive a horse as good at 55 or 60 as anybody could drive anytime. He was a great driver. He would sit quiet in the sulky and he let his hands do the talking.”