Dave Palone, harness racing’s all-time “winningest” driver with 19,683 victories, added another honour to his Hall of Fame career on Wednesday (Sept. 15) at The Meadows.
When he piloted the Ron Burke-trained Lous Sassin to victory in a $63,750 Keystone Classic division for freshman pacing colts and geldings, Palone passed $150 million (U.S.) in career purses. The win lifted his earnings total to $150,003,463 (U.S.).
“It’s cool for a lot of reasons,” Palone said. “The horse is by my favourite horse on the planet. He’s owned by the Burkes and Weaver-Bruscemi, my biggest supporters throughout my career. And my future son-in-law, Sage, was in the paddock taking care of him. So it was an awesome, awesome win.”
Lous Sassin won his last start in 1:51.2, but in the Keystone Classic, he trailed stablemate Birthday by two lengths in the stretch. Palone was confident he could get by.
“Ronnie’s spot on about most of his horses, and he said this guy warmed up great and is starting to figure it out,” he said. “At the sixteenth pole, my horse still had gas.”
Lous Sassin downed Birthday by a head, with Good Deal third. Panhellenic Stable also participates on the winner’s ownership team.
Palone’s success might not have been predicted as he had no harness racing in his background when his father Butch, a car dealer, introduced him to the sport as a fan at The Meadows.
“My dad barely knew the difference between a trotter and a pacer, but he loved the game, and he passed that along to me,” said Palone. “When he took me to my first Adios, I was hooked. I was always competitive in sports, and I knew right away this was what I wanted to do.
“I wouldn’t have dreamed my horses would earn $150 million. It would take me a long time to make that working at a convenience store, which is about all I’m qualified for except this. So I’m very appreciative.”
After learning the trade from trainer Herman Hylkema and others, Palone began driving in 1982 when he earned a less-than-robust $1,955 in 14 starts. But as he gained confidence and attracted more competitive horses, the purses began flowing. Between 2008 and 2011 alone, Palone’s mounts earned more than $41 million (USD).
He’s been the leading driver at The Meadows for 33 straight years — he’s almost certain to wrap up No. 34 — but he’s dramatically reduced his presence on the Grand Circuit.
“It was great getting those opportunities, and I cherished being in those big races and getting to drive the top horses,” he said. “But I never, ever liked the travelling. These days, the fellas jump on a plane and travel together. I was always the only guy from The Meadows who had to find my way. It was hard for me to get to places. That makes for a long night if you don’t do any good. Thankfully, we had a good run, and I’ll never forget those times.”
Palone said his most memorable wins came in the Little Brown Jug (P Forty Seven, 2005), the Adios (Washington VC, 1999), and the Breeders Crown (In Focus, 2008; Uncle Peter, 2011; Sweet Lou, 2011). But he also cites a lesser-known triumph with Dontellmenomore in the 1991 Beacon Course Trot (now the Stanley Dancer Trot), a Hambletonian prep at the Meadowlands.
“That was important,” he said, “because it was a $400,000 race, the horse wasn’t eligible for the Hambletonian, and I hadn’t had much exposure racing against the Campbells and O’Donnells of our sport.”
Although he’s been driving a little less each year, Palone said he has no immediate plans to retire.
“My biggest fear is not being able to fill a day because I can’t sit still. You can only play so much bad golf, you can only drive your wife nuts so much. I still love driving horses. I don’t love the nasty weather or chasing at 30-1, but I still love being in the hunt. How many 59-year-olds get to compete with their sport’s best?”
That $150 million in purses has meant $7.5 million in commissions for Palone, and he allows that has changed him in a way. For most of his career, the first thing he did each morning was check his “doubles,” races where he’d been named to drive more than one horse and needed to make choices. That’s no longer the case.
“The first thing I check now,” he jokes, “is the stock market.”
$68,100 Keystone Classic — Two-Year-Old Filly Trot
Dreamonhigh is the fastest two-year-old trotter ever at The Meadows and the Pennsylvania champion to boot, but she has been unruly at times behind the gate. That made driver Ronnie Wrenn Jr.’s mission in the Keystone Classic clear.
“I kind of let her do what she wanted to do,” Wrenn said. “I sat in the two-path through the first turn and let her get comfortable. She’s plenty fast, and she definitely laid over the field. She got really comfortable, and I wasn’t worried at all about her running.”
Dreamonhigh got away third but was out before the quarter to grab the lead. The daughter of Andover Hall-RCs Dream cruised to the expected victory by 7-1/2 lengths in 1:55.4, with Miss Principle and Woman of Power completing the ticket. Jennifer Bongiorno conditions Dreamonhigh for KAT Stables.
In the other division, the chart will tell you that Phannys Matter scored a front-end victory in a career-best 1:58. But it won’t reveal that winning driver Aaron Merriman reluctantly held the point only because 2-5 favorite Gumdrop Hanover broke while trying for the lead.
“Heavens no, I didn’t want the lead,” Merriman said. “I was hoping Mike (Wilder, with Gumdrop Hanover) would keep going. But my horse is well-travelled, been to the fairs, so I knew she would be okay.”
Gumdrop Hanover recovered and threatened Phannys Matter late, but the daughter of Explosive Matter and Phannys Photo held firm to defeat her by a length for trainer Linda Schadel, who owns the homebred with Tony Schadel. Gingerzzz earned show.
Wilder and Palone each piloted three winners on the 13-race card.
Live racing at The Meadows continues Thursday (Sept. 16), when the program features a pair of Keystone Classics for three-year-olds: a $58,150 stakes for pacing fillies and a $63,550 event for male trotters. First post is 12:45 p.m.
(Meadows Standardbred Owners Association)