Bill Davis will never forget winning the 5,000th race of his career -- not only for reaching a significant milestone, but because of the photo finish.
The 47-year-old Davis got the victory last month with the pacer Beggar Opera, who held off the fast-closing Brenchly by a nose. Brenchly was driven by Davis’ son, Billy.
“He’s beaten me quite a few times at the wire; he never gives me a break,” the elder Davis said with a laugh. “He’s come a long way, that kid. Not too many people can say they won their 5,000th race by a nose and have their son in the picture. Hopefully, he’s better than I am someday.”
Davis, who lives in Langley, British Columbia, is only the second driver based in western Canada to reach 5,000 victories, joining Keith Clark. Davis won both the driving and training titles at Fraser Downs last year and in 2003, when he won Breeders Stakes titles with Red Star Rockaway and Red Star Emerson, received the O’Brien Award of Horsemanship. In March, he will participate in the Canadian Driving Championship, with a bid to the World Driving Championship at stake.
“I never really thought about it (getting 5,000 wins). I just do my job every day and try to win some races,” said Davis, who has seen his 22-year-old son pick up 64 victories so far in his career. “You’ve just got to work hard at it and keep battling.”
Davis followed his brother, Dan, into harness racing. Dan Davis worked for General Motors, but trained a handful of horses in the afternoons as a hobby. Bill Davis assisted his brother every day after school, and by the time he was 16 realized the sport would be more than a hobby for him.
“I liked being around the horses and see what they accomplished,” Davis said. “It’s a personal high to see how well they do. It was fun. Not too many people can say they do a job and have fun at the same time.”
Davis’ stable usually features 20 to 30 horses. His wife, Laurie, helps with the horses and his son has a small stable of his own.
“Someday, I’ll have to hand the lines over to my son,” Davis said. “I’ve got a lot of friends who are in their 70s and are still training, so I could see doing that, but at some point the driving will be optional. I’ll just play it by ear and see how my body can do.
“Until then, I guess I’ll just drive on and try to hit 6,000.”
(Harness Racing Communications)