As he bears down on the world record for career driving wins in the sport of harness racing, Dave Palone has opened up about his introduction to the industry, chasing the record and the pressures surrounding it, and the man that currently holds the title.
As of Thursday (November 13), Palone is five wins away from being the leading harness driver in the world. He won three races on Wednesday and has 16,749 wins at the end of racing on November 12.
Palone recently spoke with Joe Tuscano of the observer-reporter.com about the upcoming milestone and everything else surrounding it.
Speaking about his introduction to the sport of harness racing, the 52-year-old spoke of the influence of his late father, Marion ‘Butch’ Palone, who passed away earlier this month.
“My dad was everything to me,” Dave said. “I would have never been involved in horses had it not been for him dragging me here when I was 10 or 11 years old and sitting in the box with him. I remember my first Adios. He was responsible for getting me started in the business. With a friend of his, they got me my first horses and took a shot with me. I learned on their quarter. I owe everything to my dad. I was his biggest fan.”
It is staggering how far Palone has come in his career. The current world record of 16,753 wins is held by Heinz Wewering of Germany. Palone – as of Thursday – needs four wins to tie Wewering and five victories to surpass him and take the record. Wewering has seven drives scheduled on Sunday, November 16. Palone took the time to acknowledge Wewering’s professionalism and perseverance in the racing industry, something that is not lost on Palone or anyone else.
Palone told Tuscano that Wewering’s work ethic is “unimaginable.” The Meadows-based reinsman stated that his work day starts when he races horses, but that Wewering’s day starts at 4 a.m. when he begins training scores of horses. “When he gets done training, he gets into the sulky and would drive all day,” Palone said. “I commend him for what he’s done.”
Palone acknowledged that the idea of breaking the record has been in his thoughts. “I can’t say it hasn’t been on my mind,” he said. “It doesn’t get easier when you get older and are competing with these younger guys. But yeah, I’ve been thinking about it since we broke Herve’s record.”
Both trade and mainstream media have been focusing on the upcoming milestone, something Palone is well aware of. He has stated that he does not want to the moment to be lost on him.
“As (the record) gets closer, it gets tougher,” Palone said. “The press is following it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve answered the question: When’s it going to (happen). Oh, if the horses could talk. I’m really trying to enjoy this. It was tough banging out the North American record, so I just want to enjoy the moment.”
(With files from observer-reporter.com and Harness Racing Communications)