Woody Allen once said that 80 per cent of success is just showing up. George Brennan does more than just show up, but his workmanlike punch-the-clock attitude has led to a still growing list of accomplishments
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This year, Brennan is the leading harness racing driver at the Meadowlands Racetrack and ranks third among all drivers in North America. Brennan, who entered Monday with 107 victories this season at the Meadowlands and 117 triumphs overall, holds a 26-win lead at the 'Big M,' and since the beginning of 2009, no one has won more races at the North Jersey oval. Over the past five seasons, only Brian Sears has won more races than Brennan at the Meadowlands.
“Everything is going good,” said Brennan, who with $1.64 million (U.S.) in purses this year leads all drivers in North America. “I just show up every night, race all the horses I can, and try to do the best I can. It’s really nothing different than I’ve done my entire career. I don’t think I’ve changed my driving style at all. Everything is the same.
“I have to credit all the trainers and owners and caretakers; everybody that puts all the work in for us.”
Brennan has ranked among the top five drivers at the Meadowlands in 11 of the last 13 years. His best finish was in 2008, when he was second to Sears.
“I’ve always been happy with the way my meets have gone at the Meadowlands,” Brennan said. “I’ve always been lucky enough to do well. If [winning a driving championship] did happen, it would be a great bonus and I’d be proud of doing it, but it’s no goal that I’ve set. I’m certainly not looking at it right now, either. The primary concern for me is getting done safely every night, and then having a solid meet.”
Brennan missed more than four months of the 2008 season because of a fractured wrist; otherwise, the 42-year-old has been remarkably consistent. Excluding 2008, when he was limited to 177 victories, Brennan has won no fewer than 312 races and no more than 356 races since the beginning of 2003. He twice topped $9 million in seasonal purses during that span.
He currently is on pace to win in the vicinity of 600 races this year, but does not expect to reach such lofty heights.
“Right now, I’m racing six days a week; later on, I won’t be,” Brennan said. “I just don’t put up that many starts to win 600 races. I kind of max out my starts right around 2,000 or 2,200 for the year. I enjoy playing golf, I enjoy going on vacations. That number (of starts) right around there keeps me fresh. I feel good at that number.
“I’m not going to do double-headers. That’s plenty of enough starts for me.”
Last year, Brennan won nine races worth $100,000 or more – with nine different horses. His top victories came with Shark Gesture in the Canadian Pacing Derby, Celebrity Deville in the Elegantimage, If I Can Dream in the Art Rooney Pace, and Hana Hanover in the Breeders Crown.
In 2007, he won two Breeders Crown titles, with Stylish Artist and Artists View. In 2006, he won a Breeders Crown with Shark Gesture and completed Glidemaster’s Trotting Triple Crown with a victory in the Yonkers Trot. Other career highlights include the 2004 Hambletonian Oaks with Silver Springs and the 1996 Meadowlands Pace with Hot Lead.
As for the rest of this year, Brennan makes no predictions.
“I don’t make any plans; I just play it by ear and hopefully will have some good horses to go here and there,” Brennan said. “We’ll just have to see how it goes. In the meantime, it’s just the grind. But I’ve got no complaints. I’m glad to be able to do it.”
This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S.
Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.