News and Events

LEW 'TOOTIE' BARASCH, RENOWN HARNESS PUBLICIST PASSES

Lew Barasch, known to many by his nickname "Tootie" is the last of the major racetrack publicists from harness racing golden era, passed away. Unlike many of the flamboyant publicists of the mid 20th century, Barasch, 90, was not flashy, but was one of the most efficient at his vocation. After beginning his career in journalism and the entertainment industry, Barasch then joined the rejuvenated harness racing industry after World War II for a career which spanned from the time of the introduction of the starting gate at Roosevelt Raceway to when the racetrack closed in the late 1980s and for several years, when he continued to work on the International Trot when the race moved to Yonkers Raceway.

Before harness racing, Barasch was a sportswriter for the Long Island Daily Press and later was involved in the motion picture industry, toiling for Paramount Pictures and later United Artists where he earned a reputation for creating "stories" about movie stars for gossip columnists.

In racing, Barasch is best remembered for his work developing the International Trot into one of the sport's greatest events. Using his former background working with the top show business stars of the day helped as he was able to bring big name personalities such as Milton Berle, Jackie Gleason, Paul Newman, Merv Griffin, and Debbie Reynolds, to the racetrack for promotions. Barasch was able to bring the great trotters from Europe, Australaysia and even South America to New York for the world-wide classic. His biggest achievement was finally getting a Russian trotter to the International but the horse broke stride at the start and was never a factor. No other Russian trotter would return for the race.

Though low keyed, the always smiling Barasch was an outstanding storyteller with an arsenal of incidents about people, places and things, many told with accents and wit.

Barry Lefkowitz who replaced Barasch as Roosevelt publicist when Barasch became Special Events Director, recalls his mentor by saying: "Lew was a wonderful person, a great and special guy. He was unique. He never put himself in the spotlight. He never talked about himself and his accomplishments, which were many. Working in the same office with him enabled me to quickly learn about a phase of the harness business and its people that it would have taken years to learn otherwise. He was a personal friend of Mr. Levy [George Levy, who owned Roosevelt] and they had a great relationship."

One of Barasch's most memorable moments came when the longtime member of the U.S. Harness Writers Association (USHWA) and founding member of the North American Harness Publicists Association (NAHPA) was voted into the USHWA Communicator's Corner in the Hall of Fame at Goshen, N.Y. in 1995.

Barasch is survived by his caring wife, Bunnie, who usually was found at his side. Upon retirement, the Baraschs' resided Summers in Rockville Center, N.Y. and Winters in the Palm Beach, Fla. area.