Kevin Lambright has made pushing longshots over the wire his trademark.
The reinsman scored a grand slam of victories on Tuesday, July 14 at Harrah's Hoosier Park, with three of those wins at 8-1 odds or higher. His most recent win behind an outsider came with Flagman, paying $30.40 on Saturday at Hoosier. Lambright has developed a knack for pulling off an upset, even in Indiana Sire Stakes (INSS) races.
On June 12, Lambright brought home $85 price Door Dash in the $131,944 second leg of the INSS for three-year-old pacing males. Lambright said the trip couldn’t have been better.
“I thought if I could get up close, I could get a cheque,” the Anderson, Ind.-based driver said. “I didn't think I'd win, but it worked out perfectly. He's a really nice horse. I don't think we've seen the bottom of him yet. [...] He's always kicked home. But with the fractions, they were a little stiffer and he still kicked home like he always has.”
Last season, Lambright had a breakout year at Hoosier, increasing in almost every statistical category, including being the only driver with a qualifying positive return on investment at 1 per cent.
“I had a couple guys [that helped], like Robert Taylor, and I had elite guys that gave me a lot of drives,” Lambright said. “I started winning with a couple of longshots, and a couple of guys saw it and started putting me up. So, that's what helped a lot.”
As a result of this success, Lambright collected 68 wins and $1,081,960 in earnings from 505 starts in 2025. He secured wins in the INSS with Brooklets Rockette (Oct. 3) and Bluebird Atomic (Sept. 3), both trained by Taylor.
The up-and-coming reinsman shares the credit with those in his corner.
“Robert helped me a lot, and I worked for LeWayne Miller before him,” Lambright said. “He helped me a lot. He taught me a lot. Those two are the big ones that helped me.”
Lambright’s positive numbers were buoyed by his longshot wins. He achieved victories with outsiders on back-to-back nights last August — on Aug. 19 with Blinding Lights As (56-1, $115.60 to win) and the following day with Quickreturn (115-1, $232). He also won with 73-1 shot Rose Run Yankee on Oct. 4, circling the field with that gelding to put a $149.60 payoff on the board.
Lambright's interest in driving was sparked when he raced ponies with fellow Hoosier Park sulkysitter Atlee Bender in Indiana. He makes it a priority to take any opportunity he can, like his first career pari-mutuel win in 2020 with Explosive Swan — naturally, an 18-1 longshot.
“The first one is always the greatest,” Lambright said. “[Trainer] LeWayne Miller gave me the opportunity to drive her, and if you get opportunities, you have to make the best of them.”
The 33-year-old is excited for more INSS action this season, along with seeing more promising two-year-olds. One of those rookies is Sassie Kassie, trained and owned by Lambright’s wife, Kassandra.
“[Sassie Kassie] actually surprised me the first two races here, but she turned out be pretty nice,” Lambright said. “I didn't stake her to the Sire Stakes because right when the payments were due, she was pretty sore. I thought I had to quit with her, but I gave her a couple weeks off and she bounced back, and she is where she is right now. So, we'll give her a couple decent starts.”
Lambright said the young filly keeps the family invested in the races whenever she is in to go.
“My wife likes her, [our] little kid, he loves her,” Lambright said. “It means everything. It gets my kid involved in it, and just seeing him out here makes it special.”
Sassie Kassie has started her racing career with wins in all four of her lifetime purse starts on the Indiana Sired Fair Circuit, including a victory at Hoosier Park on June 16. Lambright is looking to build momentum down the stretch of the season with stakes races becoming a nightly affair.
“I'm hoping to improve and trying to get more Sire Stake horses,” Lambright said. “With the two-year-olds starting, hopefully, I can get a little bit more.”
Lambright is in the top four drivers in return on investment percentage at Hoosier this season as of July 17 and has more starts than any of the drivers ahead of him.
“You can get a good horse from all the trainers, put them in the right spot and try, especially the favourites,” Lambright said. “It's kind of tricky sometimes. If you can get them in the right spot and win with them, (trainers) all put you up again.”
Lambright is hoping to have more consistency in his drives for the second half of the year by putting not only longshots but the favourites in the right spots to give them the best chance at a visit to the winner’s circle. He has $2,608,056 in career earnings with 202 wins from 1,645 starts and is on pace for a career-best season in victories, currently sitting on 48 with 20 to go to match his previous high.
(Hoosier Park)