Pembroke Dewey is a happy horse. Which is only fair, since he spends a lot of time making owner Bill Varney happy.
Heading into Sunday’s Maine Standardbred Breeders Stakes championship at Scarborough Downs, Pembroke Dewey has won 12 of 13 races this year and was second in the other. Of the lucky 13 races, 12 were in the MSBS.
The three-year-old pacer, a son of Baron Biltmore-Partial Payment, has the kind of character traits that owners, trainers and drivers can’t get enough of.
“He has a great personality,” Varney said. “Actually most of the Biltmore babies do. We’ve had quite a few and they’ve all had the personality.
“He’s good to be around. He’s happy to do the work and do the job. All of them have been pretty impressive.”
That personality turns cutthroat on the track. Pembroke Dewey has won 16 of 24 lifetime races and earned $97,774.
“He likes to win,” Varney said. “He’s right there. He can go either from behind or take the lead. He doesn’t like to be passed and loves to pass other horses. He’s just real nice to be around.”
Pembroke Dewey is one of four horses Varney has racing this weekend in different classes, including two three-year-old trotters and a three-year-old filly pacer.
“All of them have a pretty good shot, but the draw is a big thing,” Varney said. “If you don’t get a halfway decent draw, it’s pretty tough.”
Varney owned both of Pembroke Dewey’s parents – Baron Biltmore and Partial Payment. Baron Biltmore has had 18 starters this year, with 15 finding the winner’s circle a total of 58 times.
“We had high hopes for his mother, but she got hurt,” he said. “Biltmore had some injury issues too, he had a suspensory problem, but he has a (good) winning percentage this year. He’s doing well.”
Baron Biltmore, who won 21 of 62 career races and earned $229,085, was trained by Jack Bailey in New York and Varney bought him as a four-year-old.
“The combination between the stallion and the mother seemed to click with Pembroke Dewey,” said the owner, who at age 71 is an interesting story in his own right.
Varney used to help his grandfather with racehorses as a young boy and was always interested in the sport. But as a successful insurance businessman, he could not spread himself too thin. Still, driving was something he always wanted to do, and at age 60 he became part of the USTA Driving School’s Class of 2001.
“I always had the desire I just never had the time,” said Varney. “I got the encouragement from Valerie Grondin (a leading trainer in Maine) and Heath Campbell (the leading driver in the sire stakes). They said get in and jog a little, get in and train a little. They said ‘You can drive.’ And after a while I got my regular license.
“When I saw the Driving School advertised, I wanted to do it,” Varney said previously. “My boys were taking over more of the business responsibilities and I wanted to get out of their hair – and they wanted me out of their hair. I thought the school would be a good way to learn. At my age, you don’t want to make many mistakes.”
Not only did he make few mistakes, he had ample successes with 44 wins. But after winning in 2011, Varney decided to step down.
“I had some other business interests and interests in a few other things,” he said. “I won my last drive so I figured it might be time to retire.”
Then again . . .
“I’m seriously considering coming out of retirement.”
Varney bought a place in Pembroke, Maine – the town all his horses are named after – that was idle for a long stretch.
“I built a little barn down here, rejuvenated the track and refurbished it,” he said. “We had the first race here in years and had two heats of racing, so I drove in those.
“Hopefully next year I’ll take a couple down to train and work with and maybe do some amateur driving. I really miss it.”
Obviously, in order to get in the sulky Varney has to do a little more than a driver in his 20s and 30s.
“I stay busy,” he said. “I have a little bit of (workout) equipment I use and I do a lot of work in the garden and things like that. I keep busy and stay in pretty good shape.”
And with a horse like Pembroke Dewey, he has been in great shape this season.
This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S. Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.