Hunter Myers figured he was unlikely to realize his harness racing goals this season when the calendar turned to June. The sport had been shutdown for two months because of the coronavirus pandemic, and the first night racing returned to MGM Northfield Park in late May, Myers was involved in an accident that sidelined him for an additional three weeks.
Yet despite the obstacles, the 22-year-old Ohio resident did accomplish his goals, primarily improving upon his previous season’s stats. Myers has set career highs this year for starts (1,772), wins (189), and purses ($1.39 million). He ranks sixth in victories at Northfield Park and 43rd among all drivers in North America.
“It’s been a rough year, but I’m very grateful for how it’s turned out,” Myers said. “Really, I couldn’t have asked for a better year, even with all the downsides of it. I’m just going to keep plugging along and see how much more I can get accomplished before the end of the year. Then I’ll start next year fresh, set more goals for myself, and hopefully reach more accomplishments.”
The rough part of Myers’ year included fracturing both sides of his jaw in a May 26 accident at Northfield. In addition to being forced to give up racing for a while, Myers was forced to part ways with solid food.
“I could talk, but I couldn’t open my mouth wide or laugh,” Myers said. “I was on an applesauce and smoothie diet for a couple weeks. We would go somewhere, and people would be getting nice meals and I was eating broccoli-and-cheddar soup. It wasn’t fun.
“The first thing I wanted to eat when I felt comfortable eating again was steak. A hundred percent, steak.”
Since returning to action, Myers has added some sizzle to go with his steak. In September, he produced a 17 per cent victory rate that resulted in 43 trips to the winner’s circle. In October, he notched the biggest triumph of his career when he guided Checkmate to victory in the Ohio Fairs Championship for two-year-old male trotters; and last month, he won the Election Night Series final for trotters with 25-1 long shot Muscular Superstar.
Myers, the son of trainer Michael Myers, launched his driving career in 2014, winning 19 of 110 races while appearing at 29 tracks as he looked to establish himself on the Ohio fairs circuit. The next season, he made it to 38 tracks and won 55 of 272 starts.
“I was going from north to south, from east to west; I was all over,” said Myers, who has won 670 races lifetime. “If there was a fair that I was down (to drive) at, I was going to do whatever I could to get to it. Sometimes I drove one fair in the afternoon and another at night. I had to put myself out there and get noticed.”
At Northfield, Myers competes against some of the winningest drivers in the sport, including five-time North American dash champion Aaron Merriman and 2014 leader Ronnie Wrenn Jr. This year, four of North America’s top nine drivers in wins — Merriman, Wrenn, Kurt Sugg and Chris Page — have made at least 400 starts at Northfield.
“I like to watch and learn from them,” Myers said. “If I’m not in a race, I’ll see what they do in different situations. I always observe to see what I can do. And if someone has advice for me, I’m all ears. I take any advice I can get. I like getting input from people.”
Myers is enjoying his time at Northfield, but might look to add some other tracks to his rotation next year. He has raced some this year at The Meadows, Dayton and Scioto Downs.
“I could just experiment,” Myers said. “My attitude is to take it one day at a time and pretty soon my chance to shine will come. Every year has been getting better and better. It’s a good feeling.”
(USTA)