Ryan Clements, a software developer and founder of The Farm Ventures, recently discussed his roots in harness racing and how he would like to work with the Standardbred racing industry as it moves into the future.
“I grew up in the horse racing industry on a horse farm, and it’s in my blood,” said Clements, 33, who recently sat down for a brief one-on-one for the inaugural video piece from COSA TV.
“My grandfather was lucky enough to own half of Cam Fella – horse of the year 1982, 1983 – so, I’ve been in the industry a long time. At the time, he bought and built Prince Lee Acres, which has been a breeding farm ever since.
“Following him, my dad was a trainer and driver, so he drove mainly in the Ontario circuit. He was the top driver at Grand River and Georgian Downs around 2004/05. He’s now retired from driving, but is still active as a trainer.
“I’m sort of that third-generation horseman that never became a horseman.”
During the one-on-one, Clements explained that he considered diving headfirst into the harness racing industry, but ultimately decided not to.
“I worked as a groom a couple of times when I was younger. I even got my set of colours and my helmet,” said Clements. “There was part of me that wanted to become a driver. I remember when Scott Zeron and Doug McNair were just about to get their licence – I’m a little bit older than those guys – but it was kind of right around that time where I was like ‘I think there is an opportunity here.’
“The previous generation, there was a bit of a gap, an opening. [I was thinking] ‘maybe I can do this.’ It was something that I always wanted to do, but never really got that close to actually doing it.”