[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 45 (Wednesday, April 22, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E627-E628]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    VINCENT A. BERGAMO'S OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS TO HARNESS RACING

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENJAMIN A. GILMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 22, 1998

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, it is my honor to announce the well deserved 
retirement of Vincent A. Bergamo from the New York State Racing and 
Wagering Board. There will probably never be another individual who has 
accomplished or meant as much to the sport of Harness Racing as Vincent 
Bergamo has. Due to Vincent's career of hard work and dedication, 
harness racing has been improved for the better.
  Having had the honor and distinction of working with Vince, I believe 
he exemplifies all that is great about this sport: he is dedicated, 
hard working and honest. Mr. Bergamo has served Harness Racing for 40 
years and will be sorely missed.
  Mr. Bergamo's distinguished career began in 1958 at the Monticello 
Raceway. However, his love for harness racing began long before. As a 
native of Goshen, NY, Vince early became acquainted with the sport. As 
a young man he worked as a stable boy for the Harriman Family and then 
for five years, while teaching history and math in Middletown NY, he 
worked summers as a judge at several race tracks. At the age of 23, 
Vince's love for the sport became a full time commitment, as he became 
the youngest Presiding Judge in the history of the Saratoga Harness 
Racing Track.
  Throughout his distinguished career Vince fulfilled the presiding 
judge responsibilities at every track in New York State and at tracks 
in the state of Florida, Maryland, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania. 
Known for being tough, but fair, Vince fostered an environment of true 
integrity and competitiveness in the sport wherever he went.
  As one of its founding members, Mr. Bergamo has been devoted and 
responsible for saving and preserving the Goshen Historic Track, the 
oldest existing sporting site in the United States. The Goshen Historic 
Track was greatly endangered when the Harriman Family relinquished its 
title after nearly a century of ownership. Vince's exhaustive efforts, 
purely voluntary, on behalf of the track, directly led to its 
designation as a Historic Site in the National Register. Today, the men 
and women who serve on the Goshen Historic Track Board of Directors 
successfully keep the track alive and well, as a non-profit 
corporation.
  During his illustrious career Mr. Bergamo has been the proud 
recipient of numerous awards and honors, including: 1994 William 
Houghton Memorial; 1993 Elected Trustee of the Harness Racing Hall of 
Fame and Museum; 1992 Presidents Medal of Harness Racing; 1991 National 
Amateur Lifetime Award; 1987 USHWA Distinguished Service; 1986 
Recognized for 25 Years Historic Track with ``Bergamo Day''; 1986 
Member of the USHWA; 1971 Founded C.K.G. Billings Series; 1961 Founded 
the Goshen Matinee Program.
  Along with all of his accomplishments, Vincent A. Bergamo is also a 
family man, who has raised 10 children: 7 sons and 3 daughters. He is a 
dedicated man, whether it be to

[[Page E628]]

his family or to the sport, and there will never be another quite like 
him. His years of selfless volunteering have earned him a long and 
plentiful retirement.
  Mr. Speaker I invite my colleagues to join me in saluting a 
remarkable man on the conclusion of his great career, and in wishing 
Vince, his wife, and their family many years of good health and 
happiness in the years ahead.

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