From the days of the Ontario Jockey Club (OJC) circuit, through the present-day Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG) one, there have been countless ‘regulars’ in the driving colonies of tracks like Greenwood, Garden City, Woodbine and Mohawk. Other tracks such as Blue Bonnets in Montreal and Windsor Raceway have been top destinations over the years as well, but for at least the past three to four decades, the OJC/WEG circuit has definitely acted as the major leagues when it comes to Canadian Standardbred Racing - it’s where most young drivers aspire to be, and that’s also why it’s the toughest place to end up. The ones who do land there however, don’t often do so around the same time as one another - usually there’s only room for one new person to enter at a time so-to-speak. Recently though, in 2025, there have been a number of new faces arrive in the Mohawk Park Drivers’ Room, and we sat down with three of them - Travis Henry (36), Jean Rene Plante (45), and Daryl Thiessen (35) - and asked them to share parts of their journeys with us. They’re not exactly ‘kids’ as the title of this piece suggests, but they’re all currently Mohawk regulars, and they’re all going to enjoy it for as long as that remains to be the case. Interview and compilation by John Rallis & Dan Fisher.
Q. We have one of you from the West (Daryl), one from Ontario (Travis) and one from Quebec (JR)... and now, your careers have all met here, as somewhat new regulars in the Mohawk driving colony. Can each of you just give us a short history of your stops along the way, when it comes to the tracks where you cut your teeth, or learned the most?
JR: I’ve been driving for 25 years… I started [driving] in Quebec City and moved to Ontario in 2003. Minus a couple of breaks I have been at the B-tracks ever since… Mostly Flamboro [Downs]... a lot of Georgian and a little bit of Grand River and London too.
Daryl: I basically started here in Ontario [in 2019]. I had been in California, in 2018, to train Nathan Sobey’s two-year-olds, and I was going to go back to Alberta to drive. Personally, I didn’t really like the way they were driving up there at the time, so I figured if you want to be the best, why not learn from and compete against the best, so I came here to test the waters and have driven wherever - mainly the B-tracks… with a few short stints in Florida and New Jersey along the way.
Travis: I started at Flamboro… I was basically raised there, given the fact my dad [Paul] was stabled there while I was growing up. I was there forever, and then I did Kawartha Downs some nights, then Georgian, and then I started driving in London and having some luck there as well. I pretty much went everywhere - Clinton every weekend and so on.
Q. Tell us the name(s) of a person or two that first got you involved in racing and taught you a lot before you ever even had your driver’s license.
Travis: My dad taught me a lot, and of course my uncles - Trevor and Wayne - were a big help as well. I was shoeing with them early on, but I also worked a lot for Rene Allard, and worked for Isaac Waxman for a while too.
Daryl: Richard and Janet Rey, in St. Claude, Manitoba, were a big influence in my life growing up. My grandfather and dad had horses with them before I was born… they were just owners though - not participants. I’d travel around with them (the Reys) to all the fairs, and do stalls for them and stuff. I remember my dad giving me $100 when I left and it lasting me all summer (laughing).
JR: My mom and dad were never involved in the business, but they were the biggest horse racing fans and gamblers you could think of (laughing). Actually, they met at Hippodrome de Quebec in 1972… Like I said, they weren’t involved in racing but they would take me to the track a lot, so that’s how I got my exposure to the sport. In my early days, Pascal Berube, Stephane Brosseau, Daniel Potvin and Marc-Andre Simoneau were some of the guys who helped me, gave me jobs, and taught me quite a bit, even before I got my license.
Q. Was this always a dream of yours? Do you remember approximately how old you were when you learned about Woodbine & Mohawk being the top tracks in Canada, and do you also remember when you first dreamt about or imagined yourself being a WEG regular?
Daryl: For me, Woodbine and Mohawk were always just on TV… it was almost like sacred ground, you never really thought it was a realistic possibility to compete at either. Anytime we had a horse break 2:05 in Manitoba we figured maybe we should try them at Mohawk (laughing). It was so far away though - it never even seemed real. As soon as I came back from the rodeo route [as a bullfighter], and decided to do this, I knew I wanted to be at Mohawk, because this is where the best are, and it’s where they’ve always been. I’ve always believed I could be here, but a few hospital stays had me questioning it. It was only this year though that it became a real goal to actually be here though… I was staying healthy and my average was over .300… that’s when I realized that maybe it was actually possible.
JR: Before I moved here [to Ontario], that was the goal. I left Quebec with only that in mind… and then I got here and tried it and I realized that it was impossible (laughing). Even this past April and May, I still didn’t believe it was possible [to stick], until I started to shift my driving style a little. I was doing ok but I knew that I could do even better. There are still days right now where I still can’t even believe I’m driving at this circuit.
Travis: I never really thought of coming to Mohawk because I was doing so well at the B-tracks. I always had people telling me that I should make the leap and try it, but for me, I was making a solid living with the way things were - I didn’t need to try and risk ruining that by going to Mohawk to just drive a couple. It [making the move] was a big risk. Things are working out right now though. Truthfully, when I was a little kid I never had interest in being around the horses all the time and working with them everyday. It wasn’t until I was16 or 17 [years-old] that I became heavily involved.
Q. Who were your driving idols, and did you ever end up meeting them and/or driving against them?
Travis: Other than my uncle [Trevor Henry], my driving idols were Jody Jamieson and Mark MacDonald. It’s pretty surreal that I’ve gotten an opportunity to compete against guys like them on a nightly basis.
Daryl: When I was a little kid, Jody, ‘Greek’ [Chris Christoforou Jr.] and JC [John Campbell] with the white gloves and everything… it was hard not to love him. Back home, and being from Manitoba, Al Cullen was definitely someone that I idolized too. We didn’t have the racing channel at home so I remember going to my grandparents’ house so I could watch Al drive at Windsor - that was just amazing to me!
JR: For me, that’s an easy one… It’s Daniel Dube. To be honest, he’s the reason I’m driving. When I was 15-16 [years-old] going to the track, and watching him drive, he made everything look so cool… I said, ‘I just have to be that guy.’
Q. Tell us exactly who/what initiated your current stint as a WEG regular? What was the actual impetus behind you starting to drive there every night?
JR: I needed a spark, and I needed a challenge. Two years ago, I worked for Luc Blais and I trained a lot on the bigger track - at Classy Lane. Training for him, you had to stay locked in all the time… and training on the big track and getting a chance to sit behind a lot of his trotters, that made me itch to want to try the big track out. Last winter, Louis [Philippe Roy] was off for a while. We’re very good friends… I worked for him, picked up a few of his drives and even drove some of his horses. Slowly but surely, I started to develop a lot of confidence. I still help Louis and his trainer/partner Eric Nadeau out once in a while if they need it, and those relationships and experiences kind of helped me to say, ‘You know what, let’s try it.’
Daryl: I drove Lyons Franky J at Sarnia for Kenny Oliver and told him what a nice colt I thought he was. He asked me if I wanted to drive him at Mohawk too. Truthfully, I was unsure as to whether I wanted to come just for the one drive, knowing I’d be giving up a full slate of drives at the B-tracks. As Travis mentioned earlier, it’s a big risk… but I did it and from that commitment I ended up getting to drive Kenny’s entire stable - and Lyons Franky J ended up second in the [OSS] Grassroots Final. From there, I ended up getting some opportunities for Joshua McKibbin too, and then from there I was approached by guys like Cory Giles and Randy Waples, who both said to me, ‘If you’re going to commit here, you have to commit.’ Maybe the finances and a bit of the volume will take a hit [in the short term], but if you can get a crack at Mohawk you have to try and tough it out.
Travis: I got hooked up with Garry Merner last winter driving Whichwaytothebeach… he asked me to come to Mohawk to drive him one night. That night that I came, and I picked up a couple of extra drives when some of the other guys were away. The following week, the same thing happened again, and I picked up even more drives from guys like Rob Fellows and Mark Etsell. At that point, being listed by guys like that on a few horses at Mohawk, I had to come to the conclusion that this was the time to try and make the leap, so I decided it was time. Once Mark [Etsell] knew I was going to be here regularly, he started listing me on everything.
Q. How long was it before you felt comfortable with leaving your suits and helmets etc in the Mohawk Drivers’ Room? Were you superstitious about that at the beginning at all?
Daryl: I’m really superstitious (laughing). After Lyons Franky J won an OSS Grassroots leg there, [drivers’ valet] Chris Baise said he was going to get me a locker... I told him “No! Please don’t!” (laughing)... I told him I didn’t want a locker and that I didn’t want the guys to chirp me and all that. I thought that if it happened and I became a regular, it happened, but I didn’t want a locker. Chris said to me, ‘It’s my fu#%ing room, and if I want to get you a locker, I’ll get you a locker.’ So of course I show up the next time and he’s smiling at me saying ‘I got you a fu#%ing locker.’ I mean, that was pretty cool. Coming from little Manitoba, when you think of all the drivers and trainers who have stepped in that room over the years, it’ll give you goosebumps. Whether it lasts another week, another night, or twenty more years, having a locker in that room is pretty damn cool. I still don’t feel totally comfortable in there (laughing).
JR: I couldn’t agree with Daryl more. For me, every day is surreal. I’ve kind of retired four-five times in my life, so knowing I have a locker up there now, in that room, is pretty damn surreal.
Travis: I didn’t have a locker and I used to bring my bag every time. The one day I showed up, Chris just shoved my stuff in my locker and that was it. I used to bring my suit home all the time and wash it myself, but once he started seeing me there regularly, he just gave me a locker.
Q. Have you had an “I’ve made it” moment at Mohawk? Was there ever a race or a happening that made you feel like you were now a Mohawk regular?
Travis: I really don’t feel like it’s happened yet. Winning the OSS Grassroots Final with Nickel And Dime was pretty cool if you ask me. But even if I’m averaging seven drives per night right now, it still doesn’t even feel like I’ve made it… I just hope I can continue to build more memories and be part of more moments.
Daryl: Not that I’m saying I’ve made it, and I definitely haven’t, but a few weeks ago when I won my first three drives in the mud at Mohawk, that was pretty surreal for me. My aunt - who I was very close to - had just passed away. I wasn’t even sure I could go out there and drive without hyperventilating. Then I won my first three. I also got a text from Ron Pierce one night, saying that I was doing a great job… that was pretty incredible too.
JR: Anytime I’ve heard Chad [Rozema], Randy [Waples] and John [Rallis] talk about me on the broadcast for some of my driving accomplishments, it starts to make you feel pretty cool.
Q. Is there another driver or two who have helped you get acclimated at Mohawk? Maybe someone you’ve turned to for advice?
JR: I’m a fan of all the top seven-eight drivers, and I try to pick up on everything, but Louis-Philippe Roy’s friendship has been extremely valuable. He doesn’t give me advice, per se, but just to get a sense of his thought process and see how he handles himself in certain moments is something I always appreciate watching.
Daryl: Travis Henry is someone I can call whenever to pick his brain. Tyler Borth has always been in my corner, and is someone who always reminds me how much I suck from time-to-time too (laughing). James has been great to me. I probably shouldn’t even admit this, but I’ve actually just idolized Jody my entire life - he’s just so cool (laughing). He’s also someone I can talk to and he’ll always answer.
Travis: Bob, James, Doug, Jody, and my Uncle Trevor are all guys who have helped me to some capacity. There was one night where Trevor and I had a stretch drive, where we were head-to-head the entire way, and he texted me randomly later that night and said ‘I wish your dad was still here to see that.’ That was pretty special. Usually he’s the one getting his picture taken in those spots too, but I think that I was able to get the best of him in that one too.
Q. You’ve all enjoyed sporting a high UDRS and win percentage at other tracks, but, as can be fully expected when you first break into the drivers’ colony at the top track in the country, your numbers - other than purse money won - suffer a bit. Do you just ignore the lower numbers to a degree and accept it as a necessary growing pain, or do you fixate on it and let it bother you to some degree?
Daryl: It’s a conversation you have to have with yourself internally. I had kind of wanted this to be my resume year, stats-wise… My UDRS is still above .300, and while I knew that statistic is going to lessen, it’s better going into the big track with a good rhythm than going in when you’re struggling. So that’s the mentality I came into [driving at] Mohawk with.
Travis: I don’t pay attention to my stats, to be honest. My father-in-law always fills me in on them anyway (laughing). I didn’t even know I was close to 3,000 wins recently, and when I dropped Kingston [my son] off, on my way to the track, to his grandfather’s, he told me, ‘You’re just five away.’ He keeps me in the loop (laughing).
JR: Honestly, I don’t keep up with my stats too much… and my stats here on the big track for me don’t matter, because I know they won’t stand out. When I finish 4th or 5th with a 60/1 shot though, it feels like a win, honestly, because those are the types of horses I started out driving when I came here. I just try to get the best out of every horse.
Q. You had all won races at Mohawk before 2025, but tell us about your most memorable win there over this past year.
Travis: Other than the OSS Grassroots Final win with Nickel And Dime, sitting behind Whichwaytothebeach when he crossed the $1 million threshold in career earnings, that was really cool; especially considering he was the sole reason I started coming here.
Daryl: On a personal level, the night I won the three straight drives at Mohawk, kicking off the night with Jayport Cash on the night I lost my aunt, that was pretty cool. It’s nothing I want to have to be involved with again, but that horse just picked me right up that night, and lifted my spirits in a difficult time.
JR: Winning a pair of [$75,000] OSS Grassroots Finals on one night [with Simply The Best and Time Passer] was obviously a highlight, but winning the Fillies & Mares Preferred with In The Spotlight N for Dave Menary was awesome. She was also the first horse I won with going sub-1:50… She’s given me a couple of great memories.
Q. Tell us your professional - not personal - New Year’s Resolution.
Daryl: Staying healthy and continuing to show both horsepeople and horses all the respect in the world. I believe that if there’s two drivers standing there with a similar skill-set, and one is an asshole and one isn’t, the guy who isn’t is going to usually get the drive.
JR: I want to beat this year’s numbers next year.
Travis: I just want to keep showing up and keep having success, all while continuing to learn in the process.
This feature originally appeared in the January issue of TROT Magazine. Subscribe to TROT today by clicking the banner below.
