|
Dan's interview |
| |
| Tell us about your family's
background in harness racing: |
| My father, Norm Clements, owned many standardbred horses
including the champion racehorse 'Cam Fella'. After Cam Fella retired,
Norm set up a stable called Prince Lee Acres in Uxbridge, Ontario, and
Pat Crowe became his exclusive trainer. When I was 13 years old, I
started to work as a groom for Pat Crowe and continued on that way
throughout my teenage years. |
| When did you become a trainer and
driver? |
| When I was 19 years old, I got my trainer's and driver's licenses
and my father set me up near Pompano Park (Pompano, Florida) with my own
stable of about 5-6 horses, most of which were castoffs from his own
barn. |
| Tell us about the early days of
your training career? |
| In the early 1980's, I raced mainly at Pompano Park. The best
horse in my barn back then was a pacer named Ludell Hanover. In the 1983
season, Ludell Hanover recorded about $50,000 in purse earnings, racing
primarily in the invitational class at Pompano. When the Pompano meet ended for the season, I used to ship my
horses back to Canada to race on the Ontario harness circuit. It was
during these interim periods that I picked up my first ever catch
drives. I recorded my first career win as a catch driver at Kawartha
Downs in 1983. |
| How did you break in to the
business as a catch driver? |
| In the early-mid 1980's, catch driving became a popular trend in
the industry. During that period, I did some catch driving and started
dreaming about making it my full time occupation. In 1986, a new harness track called Canterbury Downs opened up in
Minnesota. I decided to gamble, and set up shop nearby with the hope
that this represented a golden opportunity to become a full-time catch
driver. In the first few months of its operation, in addition to
training and driving my own stock, I did a lot of catch driving for
other trainers. Ron Pierce actually drove there in the early days of his
own career. Unfortunately, the purses at Canterbury Downs had to be
drastically reduced because of its disappointing handles. I decided that
it wasn't worth it anymore and moved my horses back to Ontario in 1987.
|
| How did you proceed with your
career after your experience in the USA? |
| In 1987, I took over as trainer of Prince Lee Acres Stable. At
the time, there were about 50 horses in my father's barn. For the next
few years or so, with the help of about 8 grooms and 2 assistant
trainers, I did the training and most of the driving. It was a grinding
task, as I usually had to race 5 days a week on the OJC circuit,
Wednesdays at Flamboro Downs, and Sundays at Orangeville Raceway. In the early 1990's, I moved back to Florida with a few horses
and raced at Pompano Park for the next 4 or 5 years. In 1995, I returned to Ontario and and set up a public stable
(Finally Home Stable) with a few horses which I had purchased privately.
Over the next couple of years, some of these horses did very well for me
and I eventually started to get into the claiming game. I decided to
give up catch driving in 1997 for a few years in order to concentrate my
efforts on the training side. |
| What are some of the highlights
of your training career? |
- Daylon Finesse - Made about $300,000 racing mainly in OSS races
as a 3 year old filly pacer. In 1997, she actually won an elimination of
the Fan Hanover (OJC) in 1:52.4.
- Bosuns Mate - A pacer which I purchased privately as a 3 year
old. As a 4 year old, he won about 6-7 races in a row racing mainly in
upper-end conditioned races on the OJC circuit. He also finished second
in the Cam Fella series final. I eventually sold him for a handsome
profit.
- Your Nemesis - A private yearling purchase of mine. As a 2 year
old pacer, he won the Battle Of Waterloo at Elmira in 1:57.4, which was
a track record at the time. |
| How did you get back into driving
horses? |
| In 2002, I decided to refocus my efforts on pursuing my dream of
becoming a full time catch driver. I started driving my own horses at the newly opened
Georgian Downs in Barrie, Ontario. I also started to inform other
trainers that I'm eager do catch driving for them. |
| Career driving highlights? |
- Corinas Mission - Driving this 3 year old filly trotter to
victory in the OSS Super Final on November 16, 2002. This horse had a
solid OSS campaign as a 2 year old but was having problems returning to
form this year. She gradually improved as the season unfolded, and it
all came together for her at the right time.
- Winning 6 races in a row at Georgian Downs.
- Winning 8 in one night at Grand River.
- Driving Buckeye One to victory at the Battle of Lake Erie at
Northfield Park |
| What was your inspiration to set
up OnlineHarnessOwner? |
| I was eating lunch one fine Saturday a couple of years ago and my
son Ryan and nephew Matthew had an idea about starting a ownership
opportunity that would allow someone with limited funds, such as
themselves, to become owners of a racehorse. I thought they were just
trying to get a horse out of me. So I claimed for them a 5 claimer and
said good-luck. Thus here we sit today. |
| What is OHO's target market
(horse owners)? |
| It originally was setup for the small player. That type of person
can still get in, but we have found out it just is not worth having
cheap horses. The owner's expectation is too high and it really makes it
tough to cover the monthly nut. We have made each horse into 40 shares
aka 2.5% position, basically to try and cater to our original members.
Our focus now has become quality over quantity. |
| What's the upside of fractional
ownership? |
| At OHO, you have control over your holdings without having
to manage it. For example, say you claimed a horse for $15,000 and you
watched him race and thought he was a bad claim, you would have the
ability to sell your shares at a price that you feel is right for you.
Another option is if you have money in your account you can purchase a
share you feel is under-valued, while it is still managed by OHO. You also can get in on
a horse like Mr.Saratoga for around $1500 - the original price. |
| Why did you join the Pompano
driving colony? Tell us about your experience there so far. |
| Basically I can't stand the cold and my beautiful wife and I have
owned a condo down here since the early 80's. My son Ryan also went to
grade 3 here. Our dream was always to come back when Ryan moved out of
the house and here we are. The racing here is unbelievable tough. You
have drivers that are tops where they came from and everybody here is
used to winning. They go unreal trips for no money and the driver talent
is deep. |
| Differences between Pompano vs.
the racing in Ontario? |
| There is more money in Ontario, tougher racing here, IMO. But you
have to pay something for the sunshine, don't you? |
| Any plans to return here? If so,
when? |
| I feel I am where God wants me. I basically feel like a
missionary here. If you don't already know, I have had some personal
issues with drugs and alcohol over the years. I have been able to get
involved with a couple guys down here that reach out to fellow addicts
and we have a meeting every week at the condo. Basically we have about
10-20 guys that count on us weekly/daily. My wife Mary and I also lead a
study about who and what God is. So to answer your question, if I have
to suffer with less money but have a fuller life then I will only return
if they close the doors here. |
| OHO highlights? |
| Mr.Saratoga winning the Cam Fella a couple of weeks ago. Our
family has been chasing that race for 22 years. We have come close a few
times and sold a couple who got the job done. But it was a thrill seeing
my son, nephew and my dad holding the trophy. I feel Norm deserves to be
in the hall of fame for the way he handled Cam Fella for 2 years. No one
else could or would have done what he did with that horse. A lot of people
became horse racing fans because of the way he showcased that horse.
Anyway, that has been the thrill to date. |
| Long term goal for you? For OHO? |
- I am in the best shape of my life and I have come to embrace that
this game is what I do and know. I think I have another good 10 years
left in me driving if I can stay healthy. My son Ryan is going to become
a trainer, hence I will pass on to him what I know and see what happens.
But I could basically be a groom all the way to being a judge or running
a racetrack somewhere. We will see where God leads me. But right now I
am enjoying driving and look to continue that for another stretch.
- I have a plan for OHO. Right now we are in a mental switch and
look to improve our stock more than our statistics. If we can make it for
another couple of years, I think you will see us expand to the U.S. and
become a player at the sales and in big time stake races. It is a
process right now run by 2 college students and a catch driver - but
just like TC from the "A" team, I do have a plan. |
