Driver Carter Dalgety is making waves in the U.S. after making the trek from his native New Zealand. Off to a hot start in his brief stateside stint in the states, the 21-year-old Dalgety joined host Dave Little at The Meadowlands as part of its In The Sulky segment on Saturday, Aug. 31.
"I've always had a strong interest in American racing," recalled Dalgety. "It probably started with my father (Cran), back in his younger days he was here. Obviously being connected with Dexter (Dunn) in a lot of ways and watching him, I thought I have to give this a go at some point so here I am."
Dalgety was a phenom in New Zealand, becoming the quickest junior driver to reach the 100-win plateau before coming stateside. Dalgety explained the junior driver status is assigned to someone driving within the first six years of receiving their license to drive. As to what allowed him to make history with the junior title, Dalgety was quick to give praise to the equine athletes.
"I was very lucky early on to pick up some nice (horses)," Dalgety continued, "It probably went a lot better than I thought, to be honest. First year of driving you normally just pick a couple (drives) up here and there, you hope to get a win, but to get a hundred I was pleasantly surprised."
The kinship between Dalgety and Dunn extends beyond their homeland as Dalgety looks at the four-time USHWA Driver of the Year "like a big brother." The Dunn and Dalgety families go back for generations, with Dexter working for Carter's father, Cran, prior to making his move to North America. Dunn has now welcomed the younger Dalgety into his stateside home.
On the track, Dalgety has gotten off to a quick start, picking up 11 victories in 88 drives (as of Sept. 2), including a pair for fellow Kiwi and recent U.S. Hall of Fame inductee, Chris Ryder. However, in making the move to the States, Dalgety wasn't even originally sure if driving would be in the plans.
"I have to thank Dexter for that for encouraging me to get out there and getting trainers and promoting me," said Dalgety, "I've just got to get out there and point them in the right direction, but it's definitely gone a lot better than what I was planning on."
While enjoying plenty of success on the racetrack, Dalgety has set himself up for success off the racetrack as well. The young horseman completed his education in New Zealand while also balancing his racing duties, obtaining a Bachelor of Commerce degree while double-majoring in global commerce and supply chain management. Putting his school smarts to use, Dalgety runs his own clothing line, Fuego Collection.
"We're still in the promoting steps of it, small steps, doing all the nuts and bolts, but hopefully one day we can take it to some heights," Dalgety explained. "I sort of focus around sporting codes and their greatest players, Michael Jordan, Lionel Messi, Muhammed Ali, Tiger Woods, little lines and collections."
While this initial run in the U.S. will be short-lived for Dalgety, he'll return down under at an optimal time as they start the bulk of their stakes season with plenty of opportunity on the horizon.
"I can only stay here for a few months, so I'm going back in about a month's time," Dalgety explained, "It's actually perfect timing for me because our stakes season starts up [at the] end of September, start of October and our biggest meetings are in November. I'll be back for them, hopefully can get back on horses."
As for a return to the U.S. similar to that of Dunn's, Dalgety is hopeful that may still be in the cards in the future.
"I think down the track I would love to do it (return to the U.S.)," Dalgety continued, "I think you have to be very established to come over here, I probably have a few more things to tick off in New Zealand before I make the permanent move. I'm only 21 so I've got a few years to go, but eventually I'd love to be here."
(Standardbred Canada)