Trainer Robert Taylor celebrated a milestone victory on Thursday, Sept. 11 at Harrah’s Hoosier Park, scoring his 1,000th career training victory when he drove Forward Path to victory in the evening’s eighth race.

Making his first start in the Taylor barn, Forward Path was sent away at odds of 5-1 from post four in a field of eight conditioned claiming trotters. Taylor landed Forward Path in the fifth position on the first turn while Winning Vibes (John De Long) cut the opening quarter in :28. Taylor eased Forward Path off the cones just before the half of :57.3, and the gelding surged first-over and to the leader’s wheel on the far turn at three-quarters in 1:27.1. Forward Path pulled alongside Winning Vibes at the top of the lane, grabbing a short lead in mid-stretch before trotting clear by two lengths to win in 1:55.1. Winning Vibes was second, followed by E V Cocoa (Jordan Ross).

Forward Path, a sophomore son of Tactical Landing-Fate Smiled, is owned by Taylor Racing LLC, along with Kevin and Kassie Lambright. He is now four-for-22 lifetime.

Since beginning his training career in 2001, the 42-year-old trainer has been a Midwest staple, racing primarily in Illinois in the start of his career before making Indiana his home base in the second half. That said, the Taylor barn has continued to pick up steam of late, posting consecutive career-best years in 2024 and 2025. Taylor enjoyed his first seven-figure earnings campaign in 2024 with earnings of $1.5 million while posting what was a career best of 89 wins. Robert Taylor has already surpassed that number of wins in 2025, having won 92 times already. The Mississippi native currently sits in a tie for sixth in the Hoosier Park trainers' standings with 46 victories thus far during the 2025 meet.

Taylor’s prowess with young horses has been on full display in recent years, having trained sire stakes stars Falcon, Jusmakinyalook, Danger, and Agent Of Fortune.

Live racing continues at Harrah’s Hoosier Park on Friday, Sept. 12, with a monster 15-race program headlined by the $368,950 USD Peter Haughton Memorial and $464,400 USD Jim Doherty Memorial. The undercard features the $84,750 USD Hoosier Cup for Indiana-sired three-year-old pacing colts where Rock Shines Again looks to remain undefeated in his 11th seasonal outing in Race 7.

Additionally, two-year-old pacers and three-year-old trotters will contest divisions of the Indiana Sire Stakes, which include the co-fastest two-year-old in Hoosier Park History, Odds On Mr Mamba, in the evening’s third race, and On To Norway, in search of his 14th consecutive victory, in Race 5.

The Friday card also features $10,000 guarantees in the Late Pick 4 (Races 12-15) and Late Hoosier High 5 (Race 15) done in partnership with the USTA’s strategic wagering program.

(Hoosier Park)