- Anthony Beltrami was elected a Northampton County judge in the fall of 2005
- He's also a successful amateur harness racer
- He was voted the 2022 Amateur Driver of the Year by the U.S. Harness Writers Association
EASTON, Pa. — By day, Anthony “Tony” Beltrami ensures the wheels of justice run smoothly in his Northampton County courtroom.
On weekends and vacation days, Beltrami often is driving the hottest set of wheels in amateur harness racing. The Bethlehem resident is among the most popular and successful drivers at regional tracks such as the Meadowlands, Freehold, Pocono Downs, Yonkers and Harrah’s Philadelphia.
Beltrami, who is serving his second 10-year term as a judge for the Northampton County Court, was voted the 2022 Amateur Driver of the Year by the United States Harness Writers Association and was honored at the organization’s annual banquet in February.
In 171 starts last year, the 60-year-old Beltrami entered the winner’s circle 36 times, finished second 21 times and was third in 27 races. Beltrami has carried that success into 2023 with 22 wins, 12 seconds and 22 thirds in 151 races through Sept. 14.
“It was exciting to win (Driver of the Year) because it was a goal of mine,” Beltrami said. “To me, it was validation that I could do this. And it’s gotten me better drives. Now, sometimes I’m listed with multiple horses (for a race), and I can pick which one I want to drive.”
A lifelong passion
Beltrami and his three brothers grew up around the sport of harness racing. Their late father, Louis “Boots” Beltrami, was a popular Hazleton area businessman who owned and raced standardbreds primarily at nearby Pocono Downs.
Among the brothers it was Tony who immediately was drawn to flat-track racing.
“I think it was the combination of the horse and the wheels,” Beltrami said. “As a kid I liked to play with cars, and I loved animals. Being around it with my father was a part of it, too.”
“There’s a long learning curve. When you first start driving you have such tunnel vision it’s scary. Once you start racing a lot more, it gets much easier. I remember the first time I was in a pro race, I peeked to the outside and the next thing I knew I was three wide.”Anthony Beltrami
While he attended Penn State, Beltrami worked in the stables at Pocono Downs during the summers.
“I wanted to be a trainer, a driver or both after I graduated from Penn State,” Beltrami said.
But Louis Beltrami insisted Tony attend law school like his two older brothers.
“My dad said, “Listen, go to law school so you have something to fall back on if the horse racing doesn’t work out,’” said Beltrami, who has been a judge since 2006. “I did and went to Touro Law School in New York.”
Touro Law School is located on Long Island and not far from Roosevelt Raceway, a half-mile harness track that has since closed.
“That did play a factor,” Beltrami said with a laugh. “I went over to the barn to make connections while I was there.”
After graduating from Touro, Beltrami put a law career on hold to work for a stable in Bear, Delaware. A year of long round trips from Delaware to Yonkers Raceway and other northern tracks convinced him that father did know best.
“I finished third in my class and decided maybe I should practice law,” he said.
Beltrami was hired as a judicial law clerk by retired Northampton County Judge Robert Freedberg before opening his own private practice.
“Judge Freedberg told me one of the reasons he considered me was because of my interest in horse racing,” Beltrami said.
Back to the track
Beltrami said he owned horses “off and on” while he served Northampton County as an assistant public defender and assistant district attorney in the 1990s and then upon being elected to the county bench in 2005. It was near the latter part of Beltrami’s first 10-year term when by chance his ascension to becoming one of the country top amateur drivers began.
“One day out of the blue I got a call from Carmine Fusco,” Beltrami said. “He said, ‘How far do you live from Wind Gap?’ He told me he was thinking of building a training center there because it was centrally located to a lot of tracks.”
The Fusco and Beltrami families had known each other for many years through the racing industry. In 2012, Fusco and his partners opened Wingate Farm off Jacobsburg Road in Bushkill Township. It featured multiple training tracks, a swimming pool and other state-of-the-art amenities for standardbreds.
“Once it opened, I’d go up there once and a while on my days off and exercise as many horses as I could,” Beltrami said.
By 2014, Beltrami had earned his trainer and driver licenses. The latter, while not as nerve-wracking as passing law boards, was still extensive.
“For starters, you have to get three to five drivers as references saying you know what you’re doing,” Beltrami said. “Then, you compete in non-betting qualifying races.”
Competency in those races advances a candidate into provisional para-mutual races. In addition, budding drivers are rated by committees at each track. Eventually, all the testing culminates in a driver receiving an “A” or “full” license, which Beltrami possesses.
“I can go anywhere (to drive),” said Beltrami, who also has privileges to compete in professional races.
Success comes slowly
Beltrami never raced more than 18 times in a year from 2014 through 2020. His first two victories came in 2017. He was winless in 2018 but rebounded to find the winner’s circle four times in 2019 and five times in 2020.
“I wasn’t good at the beginning,” Beltrami admitted. In 2019, I did OK, and 2020 I started doing well at the beginning of the meet and then COVID hit.”
The pandemic struck Beltrami hard.
Carmine Fusco, who had moved from Freehold Township, New Jersey, to the Easton area, became the first Northampton County resident documented to have died from COVID on March 18, 2020.
The virus also claimed the lives of his mother Grace, his sister Rita Fusco-Jackson and brother Vincent. All are suspected to have contracted COVID at a large family dinner held earlier in the month, according to published reports.
Beltrami considered Carmine Fusco his mentor, and Carmine’s lessons lived on after his passing.
In 2021, Beltrami started 106 races and won 22 (21%), placed 11 times and finished third 19 times. His purse earnings soared to $184,955. Beltrami’s 22 victories were just one behind the 23 registered by Tony Verruso, who was voted the 2021 Amateur Driver of the Year.
Both Beltrami and Verruso, a flight attendant by trade, are members of the Gural Settlemoir Yarock (GSY) Driving Club based at the Meadowlands.
“There’s a long learning curve,” Beltrami said. “When you first start driving you have such tunnel vision it’s scary. Once you start racing a lot more, it gets much easier.
“I remember the first time I was in a pro race, I peeked to the outside and the next thing I knew I was three wide.”
Beltrami belongs to a number of amateur racing clubs. The clubs serve a dual purpose. They coordinate and organize races for the amateurs, and they often assist tracks to fill out their daily cards. According to the U.S. Trotting Association, more than 500 drivers belong nationwide to amateur clubs.
“The horse population is dwindling and with meets running at the same time, the tracks will ask amateur clubs to fill slots,” Beltrami said. “Sometimes, the Meadowlands will have five (amateur) races in one night.”
The amateurs are bet on just like any pro race.
“They are one of the best bets at the track because anyone can win,” Beltrami said.
For instance, last November at Freehold, Beltrami won an amateur race with Dark Pool, a 9-year-old gelding co-owned by the judge and Paul Fusco, and it paid $19.20 to those placing a $2 win bet.
Beltrami and his competitors maintain their amateur status by donating their winnings to the clubs, which use the funds to benefit various charities.
“I can keep the (prize) money if I drive my own horse, but I donate it. I also can keep the fee if I drive in a pro event. Then, I’ll write a check (to charity),” Beltrami said.
Speaking of the pro races, Beltrami provided an interesting analogy to describe the experience of going against the best while controlling a horse and cart speeding along at 30-40 mph.
“The pros, it’s like anything else. You could be a great amateur golfer, but when you play against the pros it’s a different ballgame,” Beltrami said. “In a race, you’re making split-second decisions, and if you’re a pro and doing it 10 to 20 times a night you’re going to be so much better than someone just racing on weekends.”
Representing the Red, White & Blue
Beltrami has come a long way in less than a decade.
“I still see people who saw me when I first started and they just laugh,” Beltrami said. “It was scary.”
Beltrami, known by the nickname “The Judge” on the racing circuit, credited the Fusco family and Minnesota-based trainers Maria Alvarez and Williams Hernandez for believing in him and providing him with better horses to drive.
On Aug. 31, Beltrami drove Red Overbach, trained by Paul Fusco, to victory at Yonkers. He also won comfortably with Red Overbach earlier in the month at Harrah’s Philadelphia as a 3-5 favorite. On Sept. 16, he guided his own standardbred All Rise to a win in the $9,000 opening preliminary of the American Harness Drivers Club fall trotting series at Freehold. All Rise, also trained by Paul Fusco, paid $11.20 to win.
In July, Beltrami enjoyed the spoils of his recent success when he was selected to join a team of drivers who represented the United States in Italy against some of the Italians’ top drivers.
“The North America Amateur Drivers Association sponsored the Italy-USA event, and we were invited there,” said Beltrami, who was accompanied by his wife Gina. “I was one of the four American drivers. There were a series of races. When they tallied up the points, I had the most points.”
Beltrami will never forget the series’ first race, which he won.
“We got to the starting gate, and it looked like the Wizard of Oz off to the right it was so dark, and it was pouring,” Beltrami said. “After I won, I turned to go to the winner’s circle, and something started hitting my helmet – it was giant hail – and there was no one there.
Obviously, they canceled the rest of the races that day.”
Beltrami, who speaks a little Italian, admitted he might’ve had an advantage in that opening event.
“Right before the race, a guy whispered to me in Italian, ‘You have the best horse in the race,’” Beltrami said.
What’s the future hold for Beltrami?
“My (judge) commission expires in 2025,” Beltrami said. “I’ll probably become a senior judge and be able to set my own schedule. There are races I can’t get to now because of my schedule.
“I’d also like to be more involved as a trainer because I like to be hands-on. This is something I’ve always been passionate about.”
Corky Blake is a freelance writer who has covered Lehigh Valley sports for more than 40 years. He can be reached at corkyblake1313@gmail.com