The young driver is sporting a UDRS of .358 and is on pace for his best year in the bike.

by Murray Brown

If one were doing a genealogy assessment of Brett Beckwith, one would say he was linebred four by three to harness racing; four through his sire Mark who is a third-generation horseman through his father Bert and three through his mom Melissa who is a daughter of Hall of Famer Jerry Silverman. Certainly, one would believe, the horsemanship flowing through Brett’s blood is responsible for a great deal of the success young Brett has achieved thus far at the age of just 21. One might be tempted to say that even at such a young age, if only as a driver, he has already surpassed the achievements of his forebearers. 

In 2023, prior to the age of his being legally allowed to consume alcohol, he won 453 races and his horses earned $4,409,597 in competition. Thus far this season, well before the half way point, he has already won 299 races with earnings of $2,259,367. Barring any possible misfortune, those numbers from last year will almost certainly be buried before too long.

I spoke with Brett the day after he had, in effect, swept the card at Saratoga visiting the winner’s circle five times including two New York Sires Stakes events.

Saratoga is headquarters for you at present, but it is far from the only place where you ply your trade.

“I go wherever I can get the most competitive drives. In a given week, I will drive at as many as a half dozen racetracks. I suppose that, in addition to Saratoga, I might be considered a regular at The Meadowlands, Plainridge and Freehold. I hope to broaden that experience this coming season by picking up drives at all of the New York tracks. I now occasionally drive at Yonkers, but if the drives become available, I hope to go anywhere and everywhere I can get good horses and maybe sometimes not so good horses to drive. If destiny smiles on me, maybe I’ll get to the point where I’ll pick up some Grand Circuit drives. If that should happen, I hope to be ready and able.”

What is your favorite track at which to race?

“The Meadowlands. That is our sport’s Yankee Stadium or Madison Square Garden. It’s the place where so many of our top races take place and where all of the top stables come to compete. All of the great drivers race there. At least in my opinion, if you cannot do well there, then you may be an excellent driver, but you are not among the sport’s elite few.”

Speaking of drivers are there those which you admire more than others?

“Two that immediately come to mind are David Miller and Wally Hennessey. It wouldn’t be fair to call them old, but they amazingly have been around at the very top of their profession for a long time. Not only are they still very competitive, but in racing against them it seems that they haven’t lost a beat. They are both ultra prepared and are true professionals. I have great admiration for Dexter Dunn as well as the McCarthy brothers. I find that a young guy like me can learn a lot by watching guys like this both in races and outside of them.”

How about when you were just a kid, just watching racing, was there one driver that caught your eye?

“If you were speaking of just one, that one would probably be John Campbell. What impressed me most about him was what I thought he didn’t do. He didn’t make too many mistakes out on the racetrack. I think that the absence of mistakes is what separates the good drivers from the great ones. All drivers make mistakes. The better ones make fewer.”

What one word would best describe you and your status in harness racing today?

“Just one word? That’s not an easy question. I suppose if it came down to just one word, that word would be ‘learning.’ I’d like to think that I know more about the sport than I knew just a short while ago and less, hopefully far less, than I will know in the not-too-distant future. I look at the great drivers in the game, especially the old timers like David and Wally. From the outside looking in, it seems to me that they are never satisfied with their achievements. They are always looking ahead to the next good horse and to the next big race. I would hope that I learn from watching guys like them never to be satisfied with the status quo, to be always looking ahead. One thing I’ve learned in my young life is that you don’t stand still. If you don’t move forward, you fall behind.”

I have heard more than one of the better drivers describe you as the sport’s next superstar. Would you agree with that?

“I don’t know. I doubt it; not yet anyway. There are several very good young drivers out there. Look at Braxten Boyd for example. On Sunday, he swept the card at Tioga winning five races. Just yesterday [Tuesday, May 28] at Pocono he won four. That wasn’t just driving against guys named Al either. He races against some of the better drivers in North America.”

In the last three days, you’ve won five races (Saratoga), five races (Plainridge) and two races (Plainridge). That certainly cannot be a coincidence.

“Ultimately it has to do with the horses. You’ve got to have a horse that is competitive in order to win a race. That’s not necessarily the best horse in the race, because it’s horse racing and the best horse doesn’t always win. I’ve been fortunate in that I’ve mostly been put down behind horses that are competitive. Another element to my success is that I often drive horses from my dad’s stable. My father is an exceptional horseman. His horses are almost always fit and ready to do battle. That certainly gives me an edge, as slight as it sometimes might be, over the competition. That’s not to even mention his great guidance which continues to influence my career.”

In a conversation with John Campbell some time ago, he mentioned how the terrain when speaking of top drivers has changed over time. It used to be, he said, that most of them tended to congregate at a few of the top tracks. The lesser tracks and the fairs were mostly inhabited by older guys who trained and drove their own horses. Obviously, that did not hold true for all, but it was stereotypical of how the ground was laid out. Today, he said, anywhere you go, you are going to come across talent, perhaps unhoned, young talent just waiting for the opportunity that will raise them up a level. Would you agree with that?

“Most definitely. In my case I’ve been fortunate in that the opportunity was at hand and I was able to seize upon it.”

What is it about your ability to drive a horse that allows you to rise above the ordinary?

“If in fact that is the case, probably several factors, one of which is adaptability. An example is that I feel I can drive most types of horses on all sized tracks. I consider myself to be relatively patient and a good strategist, especially with a young horse, which, just like I am, is still learning. I don’t view myself as being cocky. I think there is more that I need to learn than what I already know.”

Do you look upon 2024 as being a breakthrough year?

“Probably not. If there was one in my career, it was probably last year. I look upon this year and hopefully all years in the future as giving me the chance to get better and improve my numbers. We are just getting into stakes season. I hope to pick up some drives in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York Sires Stakes races. If I do well, maybe catch a few Grand Circuit drives. Then hopefully onward and upward.”