Justin Parker has a long way to go to equal his father’s win total when it comes to harness racing, but that’s not a priority at the moment. The son of renowned driver Billy “Zeke” Parker Jr. has a more modest goal than approaching dad’s 11,288 career victories.
“Right now I’m just focused on 100 [wins],” said a laughing Parker, who has 55 triumphs. “I’d like to see if I could get enough drives to get 45 more this year and try to build from there.”
The 34-year-old Parker, a native of Maine, has driven sporadically for the last 17 years. On Thursday night, he will drive Post Time Terror for trainer Lisa Zabielski in the seventh race at The Meadowlands. The race will be the first of three Thursday to be aired on “Meadowlands Harness Live” from 9:30-10:30 p.m. on SNY.
Parker enjoyed his best year in the sulky in 2008, when he raced at Pompano Park in Florida and won 10 of 93 starts. He returned home to Maine soon thereafter, taking a track job at Bangor while continuing to drive a modest schedule on the side. Parker also was on the track crew at Pompano and has spent the last year as the lead track superintendent at Harrah’s Philadelphia.
He hopes to drive as often as his schedule permits.
“I’d like to try to break in around here [in Pennsylvania and New Jersey] and make a name for myself,” said Parker, who also had a business shoeing horses while in Maine. “I’ve worked for some class-act horsemen over the years and they helped me as much as they could. I’ve had some opportunities, but never got a lot of power.
“I love driving. I’ve always had to work, but it’s what I’ve always wanted to do. I’d like to be able to get four, five, six drives a night. Or maybe I could get to the point where I could start my own little stable. Hopefully something might come my way.”
This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S. Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.