A Rewarding Reintroduction To Racing

The walk to the winner’s circle to greet Ynothos at Kawartha Downs was a special moment for Patrick Dillon, who was celebrating his first training victory in nearly 26 years.

One of two pacing mares he claimed in recent weeks to start up his own small stable again, the six-year-old daughter of Camystic romped to an 8-1/2 length victory in a $7,000 fillies and mares claiming pace just over a week ago on Saturday, Aug. 7 with Nicholas Boyd in the sulky.

“That was pretty special walking down to the winner’s circle with my girlfriend, Patti Hoskin,” Dillon told Trot Insider. “I knew the horse was claimed back, but still, it was nice to see her walking down to the winner’s circle.”

Dillon, who got his start in harness racing back in the 1980s at Kingston Park Raceway, worked with Ted Huntbach and trained a few horses of his own that raced mainly between Eastern Ontario and Quebec in the 90s. His last training triumph was on September 4, 1995 at Quinte Exhibition Raceway in Belleville, Ont., courtesy of a trotter named Soucy Guy.

“At the time, I was offered a position at OPG in Pickering at the nuclear plant so I moved up here to Durham, not near the track, so I got out of the game,” said Dillon, who has a training record reading 11-14-14 from 95 starts plus 48 driving wins. “But at work, I befriended a guy named Gary Lance, who had horses, and after talking horses on a routine basis, the itch came back – the desire to dabble in the horses again.”

Dillon returned to harness racing as an owner with Lance in 2014 and has since had horses with trainers Rob Fellows and Tom Riley as well.

Among his highlights, Dillon and Lance’s pacer Totally Kissed swept the 2018 Claim To Fame Series for $30,000 claimers at Miami Valley Raceway.

“That was quite a thrill,” recalled Dillon. “Winning the first two legs, and the final went for $40,000. Back when I started in the 80s, we went for purses of $2,000 or $1,500.”

Winning races in any capacity is a huge thrill, but Dillon admits it’s an extra special feeling when you’ve worked hands on with the horse and put in the time and effort to prepare that winner.

Now semi-retired from his career in the energy sector, the 62-year-old resident of Port Hope, Ont. has more time to devote to his passion for harness racing. In addition to Ynothos, Dillon claimed 11-year-old pacing mare Kiwi Focus N to add to his own stable based out of Craig Barss’ Grasshopper Flats Training Centre in Cobourg, Ont. She finished third in her first start for Dillon last Wednesday at Grand River Raceway.

“This year now that I’m nearing retirement, I wanted to be a little hands on at the B tracks,” said Dillon. “I got back into the game because the people are wonderful. I don’t want to sound mushy, but there’s lots of really good people around that I’m associated with that have really helped me out to get re-started. Gary Lance, Rob Fellows and Tom Riley have been great horsemen and great people to deal with. I'm very fortunate. It’s a lot of fun and there’s just nothing like having a racehorse.”