The curtain came down at Pompano Park on April 17 and that means Hall of Fame Communicator John Berry will be without a job. The 78-year-old publicity man/writer/handicapper/announcer has spent the last 18 years in Florida at Pompano and isn't ready to hang up his tools of the trade just yet.  We sat down with the affable Berry just days before the closure to discuss his long journey in the sport and of course the final days of Pompano.  How did your path in harness racing begin? It began through a misspent youth at the bowling alleys in Chicago. When I was about 16 years old I was in a pot game, we would put up $5 apiece and winner would take all. A gentleman shot a three-game series against me of 750 and I beat him with a 772. A gentleman came up to me and said 'I have some money for you'. I responded that I won $15 and he said a lot of people won more money than that and he told me he would take me to dinner. We went to Sportsman's Park racetrack on August 22, 1959. He had a box there and all of the great horsemen were there, Gene Riegle, the Grahams, Bobby Williams, Lou Rapone. It was a who's who of racing and he knew them all.  That's how I got my start in racing. I fell in love with it in one night. You mentioned being good at bowling. Have you ever shot 300? I have six of them but I haven't bowled since 1992. Before the age of 20 I was averaging over 210. Back then that was really good. My highest series (3 games) was 843. Can you take us on the 50-cent tour of your nearly six-decade career in the sport? I wrote my first article, which appeared in the Horseman & Fair World, ironically the week that Pompano opened. It was a letter to the editor about time trials because at the time they were trying to eradicate them from the scene. That was my start. I was in the investment banking business for a while and hated it but I always kept in touch with Stan Bergstein and finally in the mid-1970s I got in the sport on a full-time basis working for the Illinois Harness Horseman's Association during the day and Balmoral Park at night. I was one of the associate editors of the Illinois Standardbred and I was doing publicity and handicapping for Balmoral Park. That lasted a few seasons. Then I was called by the Dancer family in New Jersey and I accepted a position with the Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association of New Jersey. That was when my career in television started because they funded a lot of the races at The Meadowlands, Freehold and Garden State Park. I stayed there from 1979 to 1983. Then I went to the USTA and opened their Freehold office for a couple of years. Then I went to Sports Information Database in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey. They were a company that was putting the entire history of sports on a computer. It was a groundbreaking thing before the internet took hold. I was Senior Editor of Harness Racing and after a few years they ran out of money. Then I got a call from John Cashman asking me to come down to Pompano Park. I was brought in to work in public relations and I worked with Allan Finkelstein and the gang. Then I took a respite from racing and got a license as an auctioneer. Then in 2004 I got a call from Jim Patton and Steve Wolf asking me if I would come back into the industry at Pompano Park. When I joined them I was the point man for a casino initiative to get voters to vote for a casino in Broward County. I was point man on that product as well as doing publicity for the track. Of course that worked and it was on the condition that if a casino was voted in pari-mutuel racing would have to continue for harness racing. Tongue in cheek, did you start the ball rolling on killing harness racing in Florida? Yeah, but at that time the law said you must have continued pari-mutuel racing. I thought at the time they would spend $15 million a year on harness racing to make $150 million a year in the casino. That seemed like a great deal. It didn't exactly happen that way over the years and now we've come to the point where we'll be burned at midnight on Sunday [April 17]. What has been your favorite job during your career? I enjoyed handicapping and making the morning line the best.  What was it like to be inducted into the Communicator's Hall of Fame for harness racing? It was unreal just to be nominated. Like I mentioned earlier, I'm a humble guy and I questioned why I was worthy of the honor. I'm just glad I helped the industry, in writing with my Hervey awards, if I touched someone that just gives me the greatest feeling and satisfaction.  Is there any truth to the rumor that you are the nicest person in the sport? People have told me that. I just try to be good to everyone. Every moment spent trying to get revenge is a moment that is taken away from trying to do good. What kind of car do you drive? Hyundai Elantra.  Favorite dinner meal? Snack? Lobster; cookies and chocolate milk. What is your favorite track to visit? Why? Each track has its own personality. I've loved every track that I have visited and that includes some of the county fair tracks. I think probably my two favorite racetracks are Sportsman's Park and The Red Mile. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter What is your favorite race in history? Why? It wasn't a big event. It was a world record set March 17, 1962 at Maywood Park. It was a time when winter and spring were having a war with each other and the temperature was 31-32-33 and we were seeing rain, sleet, snow. There was a horse named Scotsdam that won a race in 3:38 3/5, the slowest winning pari-mutuel mile in history. The track was a quagmire. It had to be 16 inches deep. What is your favorite thing to do outside of hanging out at the track? We love pets and we love our bird. So my bride of many years and I have a good time with our birds past and present. What is your favorite sport to watch?  I like to watch bowling. What is one thing about you most fans/bettors don't know? Most people do not know that for the past 30 years I've known I have end stage kidney disease and the doctors are amazed that I'm still working and able to perform.  Are you amazed that at 78 with the issue that you are still going strong? No. I'm just happy to be able to be active and do what I can.  What is one word that describes harness racing for you? Pure enjoyment. Let's talk Pompano Park. Has the reality set in that the end is here? The fight to save racing has become so much more intense and the walls put up to try to breakdown have become impervious. When Wally Hennessey and I were watching the farewell video together, at the end we were crying on each other's shoulders.  When I say Pompano, what is the first word that comes to mind? Champions. Obviously Pompano is closing in just a few days. What will you miss most? The entire rainbow of our sport. I was 1.1 miles away from Pompano from house to track. Will there be tears on closing night? There have been tears over the last few months. They were flowing when they showed the video from big strong men like Bill Popfinger, Mike Deters, Rick Plano and Kevin Wallis. It has been a crushing blow to everybody.  What's your most vivid memory from your time at Pompano? A picture of Wally Hennessey and I walking together with our arms around each other reminiscing about the past 58 years [at Pompano].  Gabe Prewitt has been front and center with Pompano's return to prominence in terms of wagering. If you were his agent, could you sell him to us for that next job? I wouldn't have to sell you Gabe Prewitt. He has proven himself way beyond a shadow of the doubt. He is the greatest Director of Racing for whom I have ever worked, and that goes back a long way. He is such an easy guy to work with. He is open-minded and progressive-thinking. He gets the most out of the wagering public with his keen sense of post times during racing programs in the simulcasting era. He doesn't want to step on toes and he doesn't want anyone to step on his.  ► Celebrate the 10th anniversary of DRF Harness with FREE Harness Eye PPs What is the next chapter for John Berry? I'll be looking for work.  If you had the power to change one thing in the sport, what would it be? I would change the need for credentials for corporations taking over tracks to be as stringent as for the people who want to work at those tracks. They want everyone to be squeaky clean to work for them but I don't see than same credential necessity when a big entity takes over a racetrack. How do you view the future of harness racing? It all depends on the strength of the negotiators between the tracks and the casinos, and the contracts that have or have not bulletproof vests attached to them. At Pompano there was no bulletproof vest and if there was, there were too many holes in it. This should never have happened.  Time for the stretch drive.  Best Horse you ever saw: Niatross.  Best trainer ever?: There are a lot of them but Jimmy Takter was pretty fantastic. Best driver ever?: In the early era, Curly Smart. Today we consider a UDRS of .350 to be good, Curly was over .500 and .600. One meet at Hazel Park his UDRS was .818. Favorite TV Show?: I don't think I have one. Trotters or Pacers?: Both, especially free-legged pacers. I've always appreciated them.