13/03/2025
HARRISBURG PA â Barry Lefkowitz, 65, a longtime publicist and executive in harness racing and a driving force in the resurgence of the United States Harness Writers Association as the current Chair of the Board and immediate past president, and through his efforts involving the Dan Patch Awards Banquet, passed away overnight after battling cancer for the last year.
Lefkowitz had recently attended the Dan Patch Banquet and USHWAâs annual meetings held in Orlando FL, where he had actively taken part in the groupâs activities. He also had just been named to the Screening Committee for candidates for the sportâs highest honor, the Hall Of Fame.
Barry Lefkowitz received an early education in harness racing publicity from a âWhoâs Whoâ of the industryâs publicists and marketers centering around Monticello Raceway in the Catskills of New York, then worked at Jackson Raceway (MI), Roosevelt Raceway in his native New York City (where he handled the many complex tasks of having everything ready for the world-famous Roosevelt International Trot as a showcase event), Scioto Downs (OH), Batavia Downs (NY), and Windsor Raceway (Ontario, Canada). He then went into the insurance industry as his primary occupation and did very well in that field.
As first the Treasurer and then President of USHWA, Barry was a spearhead in the Associationâs financial rejuvenation, reaching out to horsemen throughout North America to assist in keeping the annual Dan Patch Awards Banquet as a major event on the harness calendar. Few could resist the pitch of a person who made every deal a win-win proposition with his combination of personal rapport and demonstration of the solid investment in the sport that a sponsorship of a Dan Patch Weekend event could be.
In the recent past, Lefkowitz continued âgrowingâ the sportâs history by leading a two-year pursuit which culminated in gathering all of the available information about the horses and humans picked as top of their age-sex-gait divisions, including Trotter-Pacer-Horse of the Year, for every year of racing since awards were inaugurated in 1948. Barry also was a prime mover in the digitization and restructuring of the Communicators Hall of Fame when that area of the Harness Racing Museum was running out of allotted room.
"Barry was a vital part of harness racing and the United States Harness Writers Association for many years. His dedication to the organization is one of the major reasons it is in the position it is today," said Michael Carter, President of the United States Harness Writers Association. "Barry's infectious smile, wit, and personality will be sorely missed by everyone".
There will be one service for Lefkowitz, and it will take place this coming Sunday (March 16) at 2 p.m. It will be held at the New Montefiore Cemetery, which is located at 1180 Wellwood Avenue in West Babylon NY 11704; the cemeteryâs phone number is 631 249 7000. The cemetery is not far from the famed Bethpage Black golf course, and in âracetrack termsâ it is just over a half-hour from the site of Roosevelt Raceway, where Lefkowitz was track publicist; New Montefiore is about equidistant from Yonkers and The Meadowlands, about 90 minutes away from either.
We can also report that Lefkowitz was 66 at the time of his passing; he had had a birthday early in March. Barry is survived by his sister Helaine Beeber; he is predeceased by his parents Rudolph and Marilyn.
In lieu of flowers, those interested can make a donation in Barryâs name to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (www.mskcc.org; 347 798 4213).
