Nearly 30 years later, the now seasoned horseman knows he made the right choice.

by Chris Lomon

Bob Barnard had long ago given up on the idea of winning his first driving race. A 4-year-old trotting mare had different plans.

He had sat in the race bike sporadically since 2002, earning a few seconds and thirds along the way, but never having his picture taken in the winner’s circle.

On the night of Oct. 13 at The Meadows, that would all change.

Barnard, paired with Alana Hill, a daughter of What the Hill—Andis Alana, was one of six hopefuls lined up behind the starter car in a $10,000 leg of the Great Lakes Amateur Driving Association (GLADA) Trot.

The bay, bred by Cornerstone Stock Farm, was the slight 7-5 choice on the tote board.

Barnard put Alana Hill on the front end, reaching the half 1 ½ lengths on top in :59. The lead, which had widened to two lengths after three-quarters, ballooned to just over three lengths in the late going.

At the wire, Alana Hill, trained by Bill Daugherty, was a 3 ¾-length winner, stopping the teletimer in 1:56.4.

“She was 10 times the best, so it really wasn’t that much of a surprise,” said Barnard. “It was almost as though I was along for a buggy ride. As far as what it meant to me, I guess you can say it was a long time coming. I gave up on winning races as a driver a long time ago. But it was kind of nice. Everybody congratulated me afterwards. And I have to thank Bill for his support and for letting me drive such a nice horse.”

Although the story of his win made its way online and through social media, Barnard has experienced several other memorable moments over the years, including 225 wins as a trainer and sizable contributions as a second trainer.

It appeared, for a time, that farming, not racing, would be his career path. That course altered, however, when he was in his early 20s.

“I was 22 and a friend of my dad’s had racehorses,” Barnard said. “As soon as I saw that horse, that was it for me. I knew racing was for me. I grew up on a beef farm in West Alexander, PA, so I gave up cows for horses.

“I started out at The Meadows and eventually started working for George Napolitano as a second trainer. I did that for two years and that’s where I got my trainer and driver’s licenses. He taught me a lot about horses, how to train them and how to get them ready.”

Barnard also honed his horse racing craft in Canada, specifically, Quebec, when he worked for Colin Johnson.

“I met my wife, who is from Montreal, at Pocono,” Barnard said. “We moved to Montreal for 10 years where we had our kids. Her mom is Linda Turcotte, who is the daughter of [late horseman] Theo Turcotte. When I was in Quebec, I worked for Colin. He had around 70 to 80 horses, so I got a lot of experience there.”

One of the biggest lessons learned in his racing education was understanding the importance of what makes others successful.

Picking up useful tips and habits from other horse people enabled Barnard to incorporate some of what he saw into his repertoire.

“That was my theory,” he said. “I was a little bit older when I got into the business, so I wanted to see what other people did, and what made them successful, and take little bits of pieces of that and add it into what I was doing. I always tried to work for the top people, those who are in the top five at the racetrack. I just kept my eyes open.”

Others have taken notice of Barnard’s abilities over the years.

One of those people is former driver Tim Twaddle, the highly respected horseman who is closing in on 1,000 career training wins.

“I met Tim from being here at The Meadows,” said Barnard. “I had a falling out with an owner and lost a bunch of horses. Tim had a bunch of babies and asked if I would be interested in coming to work with him. I will have worked with him for a year come December. I started out helping him break the babies and he kept putting me to work.

“Tim is a very good manager. He does a great job of staying on top of everything. We see eye-to-eye on everything, which is a good thing. We always agree on everything and never butt heads.”

When Barnard isn’t focused on tending to the band of Twaddle pupils, he makes time for Mr Pink Pie, a horse he bred and trains.

The 3-year-old son of A Rocknroll Dance holds special meaning for Barnard.

“Miss Pinky Pie had a foal, Mr Pink Pie, who is now racing, I would like to win a stakes race with him or one of her foals,” Barnard said. “That would be great. He was third in a fair final this year. Miss Pinky Pie was a great mare. She never did well on the road. She wasn’t a top-class mare, but a level under. She raced hard. She was my girl.”

Over a 214-race career, Miss Pinky Pie, bred by Michael Gill, won 23 races, and posted 62 top-three finishes. She also bankrolled $239,615 for her connections.

Her final win came on Aug. 13, 2018, at Northfield. Her last start came three months to the day later.

For Barnard, Miss Pinky Pie’s only trainer, the mare’s ability to show up and deliver top efforts in the mornings and on race day made her a respected competitor.

Much like Barnard himself.

“I’m just a workhorse,” he said. “It’s not a career, it’s a lifestyle. I went from the farm, where you work all day, to the horses, where you also work all day.”

Don’t expect Barnard to hang up his horseshoes anytime soon.

“I’ll probably do this until I can’t anymore,” he said. “I fell in love with horses and racing all those years ago when I was 22 and I still love it to this day.”