Peter Koch has spent more than 40 years in the racing industry as a race secretary and Judge. His journey began at Buffalo Raceway and included stops at Batavia, Yonkers, Foxboro, Seattle, Freehold, and The Meadowlands, among other places.  The 63-year-old remains in the sport via his wife's Chapman Staking Service and will return to his roots this September to be the racing secretary for the five-day meet at the Delaware County Fair.  After finishing an afternoon round of golf, Koch took some time to chat with us about his journey in the sport and what it's like being a Judge. Enjoy!    How did you get started in harness racing? I was at Manhattan College and I saw an article about the Racetrack Industry Program at the University of Arizona. I liked going to the racetrack and I transferred there when I was in my sophomore year and I was there for three years. I graduated from there and at that time Delaware North was involved with sending people out to lecture to the program. Gaston Valiquette was the general Manager of Buffalo Raceway and I worked up there after my junior year for American Tote but I went in the morning and learned how the race office worked. When I graduated the next year he offered me the assistant race secretary job. That was in 1981. They also ran the Syracuse Mile. They were also the manager for a Thoroughbred meet at the Great Barrington Fair. That was my first year after college. Who was most pivotal in helping your career in the sport prosper? Gaston Valiquette got me started. I worked for Sharon Hermann, she was a race secretary. Also Don D'Andrea. All of them kind of got me going. When I was at Yonkers the Rooneys did a management deal to run Foxboro and they sent me up and that was the first place I was ever race secretary. I think that was 1984. In the meantime I had been talking to Joe DeFrank because they were trying to get Seattle going. Where Emerald Downs is now is where they were going to build a harness track. I was going to work out there. Joe told me that things looked good but that I shouldn't quit my day job. So of course I was young and quit my job. We ran a little fair meet but it never got going. We got people to come but we never got the whole financing together and the Thoroughbred people kind of kept us out. Luckily Garden State Park opened in 1985 and Don D'Andrea decided he would work with Joe DeFrank at The Meadowlands and do Garden State, so I got hired at Batavia and then at Buffalo. I did those tracks for seven years. We probably raced over 300 days a year between the two places and always had lots of horses. In 1993 I lost Buffalo and came to New Jersey as a Judge. I was an associate Judge and in 1998 and 1999 I was the Presiding Judge. Then Freehold offered me the race secretary job. I stayed there from 1999 to 2008. Then I went to The Meadowlands.  Since you have worked on both ends of the spectrum, is it easier to work at a smaller track or a more prominent one? There is definitely more pressure at the bigger tracks because there is more money involved. The way I always tried to be during my career is fair. If people help you out you have to try to help them out. It is a working relationship with the horsemen. There was a lot of pressure at The Meadowlands to offer full fields. Did it push your skills to the limit? I've had some wonderful jobs in this business but my timing hasn't always been the greatest. When I got the race secretary job in 2008 the purse supplement had been cut. Two weeks after I got the job they told me I had to cut the purses by 30%. That was hard because the year before they were carding $50,000/$60,000 claimers two divisions a week and they were going for $34,000 or so. Then I was offering a $50,000 claimer for $21,000. It was hard. It ended up when I left being race secretary to be the Presiding Judge they got the purse supplement again [laughing]. I've never worked anyplace where there was slot money. You also handled racing secretary duties at the Little Brown Jug for years. Was that more of a fun experience or is the stress at a fair meet similar? I'm going to do it again and go back this year. Dave [Bianconi] is going to do the simulcast show and he's busy with Northfield. I always enjoyed going out there. It's fun. It's like a giant tailgate party. There are a lot of people if you ask them what race they want to win they would say the Little Brown Jug. It's an important race and it is still the best crowd of the year in harness racing.  What kind of car do you drive? I used to drive a Lincoln Town Car but I live an hour from The Meadowlands and that was too expensive to put gas in so I drive a Honda Accord. Favorite dinner meal? Snack? A nice New York Strip on the grill; red seedless grapes. What is your favorite track to visit? Why? Unfortunately it is not open anymore but Greenwood Raceway in Toronto. It had so much charm and it was close to downtown. It had great racing and a great atmosphere. What is your favorite big event in racing? Why? That's hard because I've been lucky enough to be associated with the two biggest races our business has. I have to say Hambletonian Day. I love the Jug but I think Hambletonian Day is the best day of racing of the year. Despite being semi-retired, are racing or horses on your mind? I still follow it. I check the USTA. I was there for Meadowlands Pace night and I saw the Hambletonian. How are you occupying your time now? My wife has always had a staking service business. That was always her business and I wasn't involved, but since I retired she has wanted to back off and I've kind of taken over running it. It is Chapman Staking. Her father was John Chapman. An interesting stat is that when he passed away - he was only 51 years old -- he was fifth all-time in money and wins I believe. What is your favorite sport to watch? Team? Baseball -- New York Metropolitans. What is one thing about you most fans/bettors don't know? People may not know that my family really had no involvement in racing despite the fact that I've been in the sport for 40 years.  What is one word that describes harness racing for you? Tactical. Did you ever own horses? No, but I might down the road. What is the best advice you've ever gotten or given about harness racing? My father told me that you can ruin your reputation in five minutes. I think I've got a good reputation in the business and I've always tried to work at that. What was your most memorable moment in harness racing? It's funny, I was working at Buffalo Raceway and I remember saying to the trackman that I thought every race could beat two minutes tonight, back when that used to mean something. When that happened, it was a cool feeling. I go back far enough that qualifying time during the winter at Buffalo was 2:12 for pacers and 2:14 for trotters.  You were the Presiding Judge at The Meadowlands recently for a couple of years. Can you describe the pressure of that position? Judging is one of those jobs where 95% of the time it is repetitive and dong the same thing and the other 5% you have to know what you are doing. Did you often field calls from complaining bettors as a Judge? You'd get emails from people and I would always try to answer them the best I could. There is an inherent bias when someone bets on a race and something happens to cause them to lose their money. They are not always thinking so clearly, but I would try my best to explain to them why we did what we did. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter How much of Judging do you think is common sense versus the letter of the rulebook? I think it a lot of common sense, though you have to follow the rules. It really is putting everything together, the years of watching races and the flow of them, putting them together and judging races that goes into making the right call. You were involved with the disqualification of Charlie May in the 2021 Meadowlands Pace. Can you just tell me what you and your fellow Judges saw?  They still haven't made a decision yet and I don't know if there will be a further appeal, so all I can say is that all of us 100% stand by our original decision.  Was it harder to be a Judge or a racing secretary? They both have difficulties. I enjoyed being a racing secretary more than being a Judge. A Judge is a very necessary job and an important one, but you are more of an umpire or a referee. A racing secretary, if you can put together good competitive fields and the handle is good, you get a feeling of satisfaction. As a Judge, if people don't notice you then you did a good job. The jobs are quite different. The majority of this interview occurred during an inquiry at Scioto. Why do some of these inquiries take so long when the decision looks somewhat obvious? You want to have the definitive camera angle, so that takes some time. You want the public to be able to see it when you show it. Also, in the back of your mind, if something might go to an appeal or court, you want to be able to back it up with the camera angle. There is also discussion between the three people. In an idea world people want a decision in 15 seconds, but once you make it official there is no going back, so you want to be certain you are pretty sure.  With the new variables of horse shortages and the TrackMaster Ratings, how different is being a racing secretary today? It's funny, I retired from being a racing secretary in 2018 and the TrackMaster things were just coming into play. I think they are a worthwhile tool that can be used with regular conditions.  If you had the power to change one thing in the sport, what would it be? I would change our visibility to the general public because we are really not that visible to a great amount of people.  How do you view the future of harness racing? I've been working at racetracks for 40 years and I'm still involved in racing, so I hope it is good. Right now I think it is a good time to own a horse; people can make money and pay their bills. It is worrisome though because the entire sport is basically subsidized. It has worked for a while and I hope it continues. Fingers crossed. Time for the stretch drive.  Best Horse you ever saw: Niatross. Best Driver: It is a hard question because there are different skill levels needed on a half, five-eighths and mile tracks. On a big track, for big money, John Campbell.  Best Trainer: Jimmy Takter. Favorite TV Show?: Blue Bloods. Trotters or Pacers?: There were a lot of days at The Meadowlands where I was happy to have trotters, but I would say I'm a pacing guy.