George Ducharme, who last month was inducted into the New England Harness Writers Hall of Fame, will enter his 2022 campaign with 999 career wins as a trainer. A 60-year-old Massachusetts native who got his start in harness racing at Foxboro Raceway, Ducharme is spending the winter in Florida, where he is preparing his stable for the upcoming season.
Ducharme is best known for conditioning 2013 Hambletonian champ Royalty For Life and his success with young horses on the New York and Massachusetts stakes circuits. His stable has surpassed $1 million for seven consecutive years and Ducharme has been honoured as the U.S. Trotting Association District 8 Trainer of the Year each of the past three years. District 8 encompasses the majority of upstate New York.
“Royalty For Life was for sure my best horse and really got my business to take off and for everyone to recognize me,” Ducharme, the 2013 Good Guy Award winner, told the U.S. Trotting Association’s Wendy Ross during a recent video interview. “It’s opened up opportunities and we’ve come up with a few others that have done OK.”
Among the horses with Ducharme in Florida is three-year-old male trotter Testing Testing, a multiple winner on the Grand Circuit in 2021. To hear Ducharme discuss Testing Testing and other aspects of his career, watch Ross’ full interview here.
“It’s been a helluva ride,” he said of his time in the sport. “I’m really tickled.”
(USTA)