Michael Dailey, fresh off a 30-year career in baseball at the professional, college and high school levels -- and just six months removed from finishing third in the Virginia Harness Horse Association's "Own a Horse for a Day" promotion -- completed a successful transition to harness racing when he collected his first pari-mutuel driving win last weekend at Shenandoah Downs. The 58-year-old directed trainer Henry Lewis's four-year-old gelding pacer Singforyoursupper to an impressive 1:54.4 wire-to-wire score in a United States Harness Drivers Club race on Saturday, Oct. 19.
Entering action on Saturday, Dailey had one previous win in a non-betting race, driving his own three-year-old gelding pacer Bobbys Blue Chip this past August in a Pennsylvania Sire Stakes at the Honesdale Fair -- that also marked his first career training win. Dailey's 15 training starts this year have all been with Bobbys Blue Chip. He has 29 drives to date with 10 'in-the-money" finishes, with horses he's driven earning $18,538.
"It was a thrill to win for sure," said Dailey. "Somebody asked me if it was anything like hitting a grand slam. I said I wouldn't know; I was a pitcher and I've given up a couple."
Prior to his latest foray, Dailey had an extensive baseball career that included more recent stints as Pitching Coach/Recruiting Coordinator with the Glenville State Pioneers, Assistant Coach/Pitching Coach at Davis & Elkins College, Director of Baseball Operations at Virginia's Radford University, Manager of the North Adams SteepleCats of the prestigious New England Collegiate Baseball League -- where he managed several of the nation's top Division 1 players -- and Manager of the New River Valley Cardinals of the Blue Ridge Baseball League where he won seven league championships in eight years. Dailey has had 21 players drafted or signed to play professional baseball.
Dailey played at Lake Land College before finishing his career at Illinois. After signing with the St. Louis Cardinals as a non-drafted free agent, he returned to the Cardinals organization as an instructor during their World Series championship year in 2006.
"I have been on the other side of horse racing for a long time," said Dailey. "At six years of age, I knew the difference between an exacta and a quinella. But I wasn't on the backstretch side. After I retired from baseball, I had free time and an opportunity to finally get involved. I met Joe Lee, who is a top amateur driver in the northeast and is also Assistant Clubhouse Manager for the New York Yankees. He and I met at Monticello Raceway one day when I was coaching in a summer league up that way and he pointed me in the right direction.
"Soon after, I walked into George Teague's barn one day with the intention of buying a horse from onGait," continued Dailey. "He talked me into not buying a horse and instead signed me up for a three-month internship with him where he showed me how to dress a horse, jog a horse and a lot of stuff I didn't have a clue about."
After tending to family matters post-internship, and a period where he drove sprint cars and competed at lower level NASCAR tracks to fulfill his need for action, Daily got the chance to pursue a horse purchase. After talking to Virginia trainers Betsy Brown and Tracy Bradshaw, the path led him to trainer Steve Wetzel, whose Edinburg, Virginia farm is near Shenandoah Downs. Dailey bought Bobbys Blue Chip from Wetzel and they campaigned him on the Pennsylvania fair circuit this summer.
"I love driving but really have no desire to train," said Dailey. "There is no thrill to that part of the business but it is a necessity to be able to drive. At my age, nobody's really out there putting me on horses so I have to have my own to drive."
Dailey's encounter with Wetzel follows a similar path other "Own a Horse for a Day" contest winners have experienced at Shenandoah the past several years. Wetzel won the contest in September 2021 -- and the $2,000 USD winner's share of the purse that came with it. Shortly after that experience, Wetzel went all in on harness racing, purchasing a farm, horses, then obtaining his trainers license. He has since recruited local residents Barry Shrum and Ivan Foltz -- "Own a Horse" winners from the 2023 class -- to each purchase a racehorse. Next was Daily, who won the contest in April of this year and became the fourth contest participant to bite.
Daily has four drives at Saturday's Shenandoah's 14-race card, including two in the U.S. Drivers Club amateur races and one aboard Bobbys Blue Chip in the 10th.
Shenandoah Downs ushers out its annual fall season this Sunday, Oct. 27 with the $720,625 USD Virginia Breeder's Championship card. The first of 14 races will go to post at 1:05 p.m.
(With files from Shenandoah Downs)