Committee Member Profile—Anna Zweig

Before Anna Zweig met her husband, she viewed horses primarily as work animals. Tractors were still uncommon, so horses provided most of the power on her parents' dairy farm in the small town of Nassau in Rensselaer County, about 15 miles southeast of Albany.

After receiving her BS degree in agricultural economics from Cornell University's College of Agriculture in 1952, the future Mrs. Zweig returned home. Although she had taken a job with the phone company, the sudden death of her father turned her attention back to the daily routine of dairy farming. Helping her mother and brother keep the farm operating brought Anna into contact with the local veterinarian, Dr. Harry Zweig.

"He was a professional in his thirties, he was good looking and charming," Mrs. Zweig says. "He was most famous, or rather I should say infamous, for how fast he drove his car over the back roads."

Despite his high-speed driving, she accepted when he asked her out. Their first date? The Saratoga Raceway.

A young Harry Zweig, known for his love of high-speed driving, courted Anna at the Saratoga Raceway.

She learned that Zweig's passion for harness racing had been fanned by a casual dinner about a decade earlier with actor James Cagney's horse trainer Aubrey Rodney. The trainer had lamented that Cagney felt shipping racehorses was becoming too expensive so the actor intended to sell one of his young trotters, Gypsy Hanover. Zweig couldn't resist the terms and bought the horse.

Anna couldn't resist either. She and Harry Zweig soon married. At the time they joined forces, the Nassau Veterinary Clinic was a two-DVM practice that served small and large animal owners and provided boarding facilities. The age of answering machines, beepers, and cell phones had not yet arrived so the family shared the work, making sure information was received and forwarded. Everyone assisted wherever and whenever they could.

The Zweig family grew and Mrs. Zweig was busy with their three sons and three daughters.

"That meant involvement with school programs, PTA, library funding, music lessons, sports, and ride sharing, not to mention local political and neighborhood affairs," she recalls of those hectic days.

Within a few years, Harry Zweig's interests in standardbred horses widened. He became increasingly involved with statewide efforts to improve the health and welfare of harness racing in New York. His influence was instrumental in getting the Laverne Law passed, which allows the New York Sires Stakes Program to provide incentives for standardbred breeding in the state.

"And a very personal endeavor of Harry's was to work for the return of harness racing to the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse," Mrs. Zweig adds.

Subsequently, the Zweigs established Middlebrook Farms and the family became involved in breeding and raising pacers and trotters, and selling their yearlings at auction.

"All of us shared feeding, grooming, and maintenance. Everyone learned the joys of success and the disappointments of poor performance," Mrs. Zweig recalls. "An immeasurable benefit was the common bond created among everyone in the family. Now, we often have a good laugh about a near disaster long ago."

The untimely death of Harry Zweig in April 1977 triggered many changes. For some years, Middlebrook Farms continued to operate. Mrs. Zweig participated in all phases of the harness business. She became active in the Harness Horse Breeders of New York State, eventually becoming a director.

As a tribute to Dr. Zweig's efforts, the New York State Legislature, guided by longtime friend Jack Hardy, established the Harry M. Zweig Memorial Fund for Equine Research in his name. The fund is administered by a committee primarily comprised of breeders, trainers, owners, veterinarians, and state officials working in the horse industry. Mrs. Zweig is pleased to be included in this group.

"I believe that the research supported by the Zweig Fund has proven to be a valuable boost to improving the health and performance of all horses," she says. "Harry would be pleased to be remembered with this foresighted effort to enhance the lives of horse and owner."

Today, Anna Zweig still lives on Middlebrook Farm where she boards horses with the help of an employee and her daughter Susan. Susan also keeps the family informed about winning bloodlines. Mrs. Zweig's son Brian is now the only horse owner in the family.

"These days, I have more time for traveling, gardening, reading, and family ventures," Mrs. Zweig says. "I credit my good fortune and good health to my lifelong connection with farming.