Joe Pavia Jr. recently announced his official retirement from driving to concentrate on training full-time. The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono will honour Joe’s 40-year career with a special Winner’s Circle presentation on Tuesday, October 11. Horsemen and fans are welcome in the photo, after the fifth race.
In his career spanning four decades, the maroon and gold colours of Pavia were spotted behind the horses who won 5,478 races, putting him “right on the bubble” of the top 100 winningest drivers of all-time, and who brought back $37,888,704 in earnings to his owners.
Pavia won the two biggest stakes races for three-year-old pacers at Pocono, the Lynch with the filly Natural Ingredient and the Hempt (then the Banks) with the colt Artistic Freedom. He won an elimination for the Little Brown Jug with Easy Goer, and a Meadowlands Pace consolation with Lookout Man. Joe won three Matron Stakes and three Kindergarten Series Finals, two Championships in the Pennsylvania and Florida stakes programs, and one in New York.
In 2009, horses guided by Pavia earned $3,197,713, his best seasonal total, and he had three other $2 million years and a total of 15 with earnings of $1 million+. Joe compiled 331 victories in 2006 for his highest seasonal total, and he had 29 years in which he gained 100 or more victories, six times topping 200 wins. 2006 also saw him post a UDR of .374, which placed him 14th among all drivers in North America with 500 or more starts – and it was the best of his 12 campaigns that saw Pavia “hit” better than .300. Along the way, he picked up several driving titles at the two tracks he focused on in his recent career: at The Downs, and at Pompano Park in Florida.
Pavia is a horseman who, while never harnessing 500 horses in any season, does have 854 training victories to his credit since 1992, when the USTA began keeping such numbers. During that time, Joe has posted three seasons with the barn earning over $1 million and nine years where he achieved a UTR of .300 or more.
Upon doctor’s orders, Pavia hangs up his driving colours and will concentrate on training. The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono says “Thanks for the memories” Joe”.
(Pocono Downs)