Dave Tingley and Peaceful Way. The trainer and the trotter always will be linked. Yet by the end of their five-year association, there was no tranquility for Tingley. He was addicted to painkillers and miserable. He had to change his life. He believes he did
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Tingley has only trained two horses since 2007, two that he owns -- Duke and, ironically, Saved By Grace. Duke, a six-year-old pacer Tingley turned over to trainer Jamie Copley, has yet to lose this year and leads all harness racing horses in North America with eight wins this season.
“He’s been a blessing and it couldn’t have rained on a drier spot,” Tingley said, laughing. “But when I left racing, I wasn’t so worried about paying the bills as I was saving my life. Now, everyone thinks I’ve lost my mind. I’m happy for the first time in my life. I found my mind.”
Duke has raced exclusively at Rideau Carleton in Ontario. He didn’t begin his career until last season, at the age of five, after falling through the cracks as Tingley tended to his trotters. In addition to Peaceful Way, who was an award-winner in the U.S. and Canada while earning $3.2 million in her career, his successes included War Paint and Honour Way.
“I always knew (Duke) had potential, but he had his issues and wasn’t maturing properly,” Tingley said. “I had so much on the go, and he was so much work, that I didn’t have time for him. Since I owned him, I turned him out. I thought when things slowed down I’d bring him back. He’s got good speed. He just kind of got lost in the shuffle.”
Duke, driven by Todd Warren, has won his eight races at Rideau Carleton by an average of eight lengths. He best win time was 1:53.3.
“He seems like he’s turning into a real nice racehorse,” said Copley, who, like Tingley, is a native of Nova Scotia. “He’s got a lot of talent and he’s going some pretty quick miles over the track at this time of year. He’s got a lot of classes to race here, so I’m not anxious to take him anywhere. His confidence level is pretty high right now.”
Tingley trained Duke’s mother, Maddys Image, who was a successful open mare in Ontario and made $492,301 in her career. Duke’s father is Dexter Nukes, who won a million dollars as a three-year-old.
“Duke is a super nice horse to have around,” Copley said. “Anybody could look after him. He’s the quietest horse we’ve got in the barn. He’s a nice bodied horse. He looks the part.”
As for Tingley, he is in the process of writing a book and restructuring his life. He expressed remorse for his actions and behavior, particularly as it affected Peaceful Way.
“Her last year, she knew I’d quit on her,” Tingley said. “I have to apologize. We’re supposed to be looked up to and I fell to addiction. People don’t understand that giving back and helping others is more important than racing horses to me right now. I lived a selfish life of addiction. I have to give back.
“I have a lot of potential for the future. All my writing is straight from the heart. I have to let go of the past, but I have to put it out there. When you read my book, you’re going to really get to know me. There are a lot of children and people suffering. If you don’t understand your addiction, nobody can relate to you. Hopefully, I can relate to a lot of people. I’ve been to hell on Earth and now I’ve been to heaven.”
(Harness Racing Communications)