The last time Larry Ferrari found himself seated in a sulky racing around the Northfield oval, gasoline was $1.61 a gallon. Fast-forward to June 5, 2012 (gasoline is $3.59 a gallon) and Ferrari found himself back in the sulky and in the winner circle. He guided DWs Judy to a full-length win over Luccas Revenge, trotting home in 1:59.1 and returning $64.00 to win.
Ferrari drove his first race in 1986, and by December 2002 he had won 301 races and earned purses of $751,567. On December 20, 2002, he was aboard pacing mare Fannie K, who finished out of the money and that was his last drive.
In May 2012, Ferrari decided to make a return to the racing scene and obtained a 2012 commission license enabling him to drive. He was not originally programmed to drive on the June 5 racing card, but when Keith Kash Jr. called off, Ferrari’s phone rang.
“Darrell Rideout called me [at] about six o’clock and asked me if I could make it to the track in time to drive tonight,” said Ferrari. At the time, Ferrari was working at his other job, installing plasma televisions.
He was named on two of Rideout’s horses: DWs Judy in Race 5 and Gallows Pole in Race 10 (finished fifth).
“Larry contacted me two weeks ago and said he wanted to get back into driving,” recalled Rideout. “I let him jog a few to get the feel for it again. When I was without my driver tonight I figured I would give Larry a shot.”
“Looking at the program in the paddock I was just hoping for a cheque and not to be embarrassed,” explained Ferrari. “I definitely had butterflies before the race, but it felt good to get back into the sulky. It felt even better to get back into the Winner’s Circle.”
(Northfield Park)