A Change Does Hennessey Good

It is no surprise to find Wally Hennessey winning a high rate of races in upstate New York during the summer. The Hall of Fame driver, who spends the non-summer months at Florida’s Pompano Park, has enjoyed countless years of success at Saratoga’s harness racing track going back to the late 1980s.

This year, though, Hennessey has spent the summer competing at Tioga Downs. He decided the change would benefit the handful of trotters in his stable, the majority of which he thought would perform better on Tioga’s five-eighths-mile oval compared to Saratoga’s half-mile circuit.

As it turned out, Hennessey’s horses did not thrive at Tioga. But Hennessey did.

With two nights of racing remaining in the 58-day Tioga Downs meet, Hennessey sits comfortably atop the driver standings with 131 wins. The total is a record for the track, which opened in 2006, shattering the previous high of 91 shared by Jim Marohn Jr. (2014) and Howard Parker (2007). Hennessey’s win rate at Tioga is nearly 28 percent.

Wally Hennessey victorious with Americanprimtetime

“My main reason for going wasn’t that I was thinking I was going to be the leading driver,” Hennessey said. “My reason was because of my stable. As it turned out, I didn’t do as well as I expected to do with my own stable and I did way better than I expected to do driving. So, you never know.”

Over the past 10 years, Hennessey won nearly 900 races during his summer sojourns in Saratoga, so it was not an easy decision to change his routine.

“I love Saratoga, I love the town, I love the people there,” said Hennessey, who turns 63 on Oct. 4. “I’ve seen kids raised and families and I’ve known people a long time. But this is a business, and this was a business decision. It wasn’t something I was doing with my heart. I was doing it with my head.

“When you’re making a change, especially at my age, the older you get, the harder it is to do. There is always that unknown. But it couldn’t have worked any better. I met so many nice people, and I think in life that’s quite a thing too, that you’re able to meet new people.

“The people were so friendly and respectful. That’s kind of the way I was raised on Prince Edward Island. They remind me of the same type of people. I enjoyed it. I don’t know where I’m going next year, but if that’s my choice, I wouldn’t be second-guessing it.”

Hennessey, whose decision to race at Tioga was made easier knowing that a number of horsemen from Pompano spent the summer there, graded his experience an “A-plus.” He will drive the final two nights at Tioga Downs and then return to Florida and get ready for the Pompano Park meet, which begins Nov. 3. He will use October to get his stable ready for action after turning out his trotters three weeks ago.

“My horses were just fair,” said Hennessey, who has won the past four driving titles at Pompano. “Good isn’t good enough for me, I have high expectations. My horses didn’t race that great. I’m not sugar-coating nothing. They were not near as good as I thought they should be. I shut them down to refresh them for Pompano.

“I won’t be doing any driving (until Pompano resumes), and I need that as well, mentally and physically,” he added. “But I’m very happy.”

(USTA)