Buffalo News' Bob Summers Passes Away

Bob Summers of the Buffalo News, who covered all types of racing for the paper, passed away at 66 on September 4th. The avid harness racing fan hopefully got to see the big night of racing that evening from Mohawk via simulcast, because you know he was sure to be paying attention.

Bob followed along here and commented on our harness racing posts - if I ever checked the logs for the website and saw a click from Buffalo, it would be Bob from the Buffalo News.

During 2008 when the Hambo Top Ten poll had Dewey on top over Beach and we were wondering why, Bob would chime in here and offer his opinion. Bob was one of the few writers with a vote that had the Beach on top each week, but he (politely) admonished me for sometimes being so hard on people who chose to vote differently. It showed class.

The Buffalo News' obit called him a "happy handicapper". A lot of us could use that lesson from time to time, I think. I know I can.

Rest in Peace Bob, and I thank you for following our sport with such passion. There is one less harness fan in our world today. My sincere condolences to his family and friends should they stumble upon my post.

(Photo courtesy the Buffalo News)