(...........CANADIAN and AMERICAN...........LAST RACED) (...USTA ONLY...)
           STARTS 1STS 2NDS 3RDS       MONEY  UDRS    DATE TRACK    STARTS     MONEY
    DRIVER
    2012        0    0    0    0          $0 0.000                    0           $0
    2010        1    0    0    0          $0 0.000
    LIFE:           23              $131,057       30-JUL-2010 FLMD
    TRAINER  (CANADIAN ONLY)  (Effective 1999)
    2012       14    2    0    1     $19,810 0.166
    2011      371   78   59   43  $2,089,849 0.337
    LIFE:          361            $7,417,234       21-JAN-2012 WDB S
   

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How did you become involved in harness racing?

I was born into a harness racing environment. My father Larry was once a part-time trainer and driver who raced during the late 1970's in Ontario. He also had his own farm with a band of broodmares. I credit my father for passing on the values of horsemanship and patience to me. When I was around 13 years old, I took some of my savings to buy into a horse partnership with my father.

How did you proceed to gain a working knowledge of the business?

When I was 13 years old I landed my first job working for Armstrong Brothers. For the next seven years or so, I took care of yearlings and broodmares for 10-20 hours a week during the school year and on a full-time basis during the summer. When I look back at my time at Armbro, I feel grateful that I had the opportunity to work for such an industry-renowned organization and for managing to make a lot of industry contacts through them. I also worked for trainer Blair Burgess for one summer while I was in High school.

When did you first start to train horses?

When I was 20 years old I went to work as a second trainer for trotting specialist Pierre Bovay. While working there, I also had the opportunity to work together with Jim Takter and Jean Pierre Dubois, both of whom were stabling some horses at Bovay's Ontario farm at that time. When I was 21, I worked in both Chicago and Florida as a second trainer for the late Brian Pinske. At times the Pinske stable would have upwards of 100 horses in his barn. I worked there for one year and gained some invaluable experience working with a large number of yearlings.

When and how did you go off on your own?

Since I was 13 years old, I have always owned or co-owned at least one racehorse. In the year 2001, Pierre Bovay encouraged me to branch out on my own and establish my own stable. In the fall of that same year, I decided to open my own public stable.

Tell us about your career since going off on your own.

I initially started training a few of my own claiming types and some younger conditioned-type horses. I've picked up a few new partners in the past year. I currently have a mix of claiming types in my barn.

What types of horse partnerships are you looking for?

I am willing to become an ownership partner and trainer for just about any type of standardbred racehorse. My stable is starting to grow but I've still got room in my barn to expand. I like to own pieces of horses which I'm training as it reassures the other owners that I'm willing to invest my own money. This also gives me an opportunity to share in the horse's earnings. Ideally I'd like to have stake-calibre horses to train, but I'm also quite willing to play the claiming game.

Who drives your horses?

I have my driver's license and I drive occasionally at the B tracks. At Woodbine/Mohawk, I use the top WEG circuit catch drivers to drive my stock, as they are the best drivers in Canada. What are some of the advantages you can offer to horse owners?
My stable is centrally located at the Waples Training Center (about 10 kilometers north of Mohawk Raceway). I am within an hour and 40 minutes' drive (or less) from 8 different Ontario harness racetracks. I am willing to travel to different tracks to have the horses properly classified. My barn is well-kept and I've got a 1/2 mile and a 5/8 mile training track at my disposal, both of which are being maintained to a very high standard. I always try to surround myself with the best available resources and help: Veterinarians, blacksmiths, and caretakers. I don't believe in trying to cut corners when it comes to keeping a horse in top shape.

Career highlights/Milestones

• Recording my first lifetime training win in my first lifetime training start on July 7,1999 at the old Barrie Raceway with Odd Spices.
• Qualifying and then winning a maiden race at Elmira Raceway (June 29,2001) with 'Pure Power'. Pure Power, a Balanced Image trotter that Pierre Bovay was training for Jimmy Takter, was having problems staying flat in the qualifiers. I was the first driver to successfully qualify the horse. I subsequently drove him to victory in his first lifetime start...which just so happened to be my own second lifetime driving start!
• Walking into work at Pierre Bovay's barn and getting to see Moni Maker, the richest standardbred of all time everyday while she was in Ontario. I also had a chance to jog her on a few occasions.
• Winning my first stakes race, an OSS grassroots event with 'Taking Over' in his second lifetime start (Hanover, July 7, 2001). Taking Over was the first yearling that I broke and developed on my own.
• Winning WEG's Silver Reign Pacing Series final on March 18,2002 with 'Campressious', where she broke her maiden winning by 10 lengths.
• Setting a new lifetime mark for pacer 'Tarnished Halo' - 1:50.4 on June 20, 2003 in a WEG claiming race.
• Mr Ontario wins OSS Gold at Georgian Downs and sets new track record for 2-year old trotting colts in 1:59.2 (July 12, 2005)
• Fast Pay sets OSS record in 1:49 at Mohawk on August 10, 2009
• Prodigal Seelster Wins The Battle Of Waterloo In Record Time
• Prodigal Seelster Wins First Confederation Cup Elimination
• Meirs Hanover Takes New Mark At Mohawk - fastest Menary career mark of 1:48.4

What are your goals?

To acquire more racehorses and improve the quality of my stock. My long range goal is to have WEG and stakes-calibre horses filling up my barn.

Final thoughts/Comments?

I am a young trainer looking to establish a foothold in the business. I realize that no one started at the top. Therefore, I am hoping that my training performance and hard work will get noticed and that eventually this will snowball into attracting new business.

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