Greg Grismore was looking for career win 6,000 in Tuesday’s 13th race at The Meadows. He got it, although it may not have been exactly the way he envisioned it. Grismore and Springboard finished second by a nose but were awarded the victory when the apparent winner, Nonverbal Hanover, was disqualified for interference early in the race.
Grismore, who grew up in Pandora, Ohio, broke into the business as a teenager, driving horses for his father, the late Mark Grismore. He had successful stints at Raceway Park and Northfield Park before relocating to the East Coast. He settled at The Meadows in 2010, though he continues to drive in Ohio as well.
“Everything I’ve ever accomplished I owe to my father,” he once said. “He was a great horseman — trained, drove and shod his own horses. He never got national recognition because he specialized in claimers and rehabilitating horses, but he was a horseman through and through.”
He counts his 2008 Jugette victory with Good News Lady as one of the highlights of his career.
“Racing at Delaware is a neat experience, and it was my first major win there,” he said. “It was a special day.”
(The Meadows)