“They gave me a lot of credit for winning, but I almost blew it. I over-revved. I had my plan and it worked. I went to the top and backed it off, saved my gas, and then I let him go at the half. It was a little bit too early and I damned near got caught.”
Earlier this month, 87-year-old horseman Bill Megens drove his homebred two-year-old trotting filly Opas Faith to a maiden-breaking victory at Flamboro Downs, setting a record as the oldest driver to win a race at the Dundas, Ont. half-mile oval.
Megens was recently featured in an article by Guelph Today where he discussed his latest winning drive and how he got his start in the harness racing industry. The veteran horseman also recounted his first of 1,188 driving wins.
“At that time, I'm 33 and I'm getting a little older and I'd never drove horses before," Megens told Guelph Today. "When I was younger, I just trained them because in them days if you weren't 40, they didn't think you had enough experience to be driving horses. Today, a lot of them retire when they get 40 or 50. It's different times.”
Megens is scheduled to be back in the sulky behind Opas Faith on Tuesday at Flamboro in the Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots Series. First race post time is 6:35 p.m.
To read the Guelph Today article in its entirety, click here.
Bill, Congrats on the win. It
Bill,
Congrats on the win. It has been many years since my time at the track with Len Feigman. All my best to you and the entire family, so glad to see you achieve this win.