James MacDonald isn’t about to pretend that stakes victories and purse earnings don’t matter to him, but he has gone on the record as saying that being named an O'Brien Award winning driver is his “ultimate goal, regardless of the money or wins or anything like that.”

MacDonald’s comments have come via one of Dave Briggs’ recent columns in the Guelph Mercury. In it, MacDonald stated that he is very pleased with the way his driving campaign has gotten underway this year. "I've had a lot of good horses to drive and I'm starting to get some good stakes horses,” he said, adding that he has “a lot of good people behind me. It's made my job a lot easier."

Briggs asked MacDonald if he’d rather win the nation’s money-winning title or be named the O’Brien Award winner as the top driver in Canada. "Obviously, the O'Brien Award," he replied. MacDonald went on to say, “it's tough to get nominated for an O'Brien Award. You've got to win those big stakes races… Hopefully this year, next year or one of these years I'll have a good enough year to be nominated. That would be a big boost, that's for sure."

For more on the O'Brien Awards, click here, and to view a list of the past winners, click here.

MacDonald, 29, currently sits third in earnings in the country, as the horses he has driven have banked $1,555,495 in purses. Pilot Sylvain Filion currently leads the category, as his mounts have earned $1,824,266. MacDonald in ninth in Canada in terms of races won this year, with 101. Alfie Carroll currently leads the nation with 212.

Although MacDonald is pretty sure about his goals, he remains humble. He told Briggs that he would like to capture one of the sport’s greatest stakes events, but said that there may be a bit of a process in getting to that point.

When asked which stakes race he’d like to win, MacDonald said, "Obviously, one of the big ones. When it comes to big-money events, the North America Cup or something like that – Meadowlands Pace or the Hambletonian; one of those major stakes. It might be a little out of reach for this year, but we'll see. You never know. You get the right horse and you never know what could happen."

(With files from the Guelph Mercury)