With wife Ann, son Jim, and mom and dad McNeight in attendance, the 4th of July was a very special night for trainer-driver Jim McNeight, as the Lockport native recorded his 3,000th win.
McNeight guided Hugs Again to a five and a half length victory in the fourth race at Buffalo Raceway to reach the milestone mark.
“My whole family was here, so it was very special,” said McNeight. "My mentor was my dad, who always had a couple of horses, and I started helping him when I was 12. I remember winning my first race for my dad on a horse named Jersey Night."
When asked, who was his favourite horse to drive, McNeight quickly answered, “Jack Sparrow, he was an Open trotter, and I always preferred trotters over pacers, but Avon Rainy Road was a really good pacer I used to drive.”
McNeight’s biggest win came aboard Dee Magic Man in the $90,000 Hopeful Stakes at Buffalo in 2001. The two-year-old pacer won by five and a quarter lengths in 1:56.4, which was stakes and track record at the time.
“That race meant a lot to me,” recalled McNeight. “I finished second in the Hopeful the year before with a horse named Golfman, who was Dee Magic Man’s full brother,” he said with a laugh.
At 47 years of age, McNeight is one of the most respected horsemen on the Buffalo-Batavia circuit, currently serving on the Western New York Harness Horsemen’s Association board of directors, representing drivers and trainers.
Hugs Again ($4.70) is owned and bred by John O. Sixt and trainer Judy Blaun. The win was her second this year in 13 attempts, and the winning time of 1:56.1 established a new season’s mark for the mare.
(With files from Buffalo Raceway)