by Chris Lomon

It wasn’t so long ago that Clint Coy believed his driving career was over.

Just over a year ago, the young horseman, in what was shaping up to be a personal-best campaign, was ready to throw in the towel.

“I wanted to quit,” Coy said. “It just felt like things weren’t going right. I wasn’t mentally tough enough at that point to deal with the ups and downs.”

A conversation with trainers Doug and Julie Rideout convinced Coy to keep his wheels in motion.

“I work for Doug and Julie,” Coy said. “I went to them one day and said, ‘Can I just stop driving?’ They would probably call it tough love — I didn’t feel it at the time — but they ended up convincing me not to give up.”

Now, all Coy had to do was go out with a renewed purpose and confidence in his abilities.

The night of Sept. 5, 2023, would be an ideal test for his newfound outlook.

“After our talk, Doug and Julie put me in to drive in an Indiana Sires Stakes race,” Coy said. “The purse was $96,000. It was the biggest race I had driven in.”

Leaving from post 5 at Hoosier Park, Talent Scout, a trotting son of Swan for All, and Coy went to the front and carved out an opening panel in :27. The outer flow kicked in through a half in :55.4 but Talent Scout kept his rivals at bay heading into the final turn.

Down the lane, Talent Scout trotted away from his pursuers, coming home in :28.1 for the win in 1:52.3, a new lifetime mark.

Sent off at 31-1, Talent Scout rewarded his backers with a $65.80 win payout.

Trained by Doug Rideout, the brown gelding is owned by Julie Rideout, Dr. Alan White, and Dave Gamble.

A $14,000 Lexington Select Sale yearling purchase, Atlantic Trot Inc. and Steve Stewart bred Talent Scout.

“It was a very rewarding win on a lot of levels,” Coy said. “Not long before that, I wanted to quit and then this happened.”

The victory prompted several moments of self-reflection.

“I used to dwell on all the little things,” Coy said. “Whenever I did well, I would never enjoy it. It was more along the lines of, ‘Well, I didn’t screw that one up.’ After I won that race, it was, ‘I can do this.’

“After that, I would let a bad drive go and I would take time to enjoy the wins. It has been a slow grind, but the needle is pointing up and to the right, so that makes me feel good. I can say that I truly enjoy racing.”

Just as Coy did early on in his life when he would go and watch the races.

He was immediately fascinated by everything that he saw playing out in front of him.

“My parents divorced when I was young,” Coy said. “I lived with my dad, Scott Coy, and he was gun-shy about me getting into horse racing. My mom, Ann Rose, was actually the person who got me into it.

“We went to the fairs and to Hoosier Park to watch the races. She bought a horse for me when I was 15 — her parents and her grandparents were also in racing too — and I would go see her on the weekends and clean stalls, learn to harness, and eventually, she taught me how to jog a horse. Some of the old-timers at the fairs would help us out.

“From the first time I jogged a horse, I was hooked.”

An early role model for Clint was a driver who put himself in the record books.

Although he hoped to achieve something similar, Clint recognized early on in his career that it would be an impossible feat to duplicate.

“Growing up, I always watched Tyler Smith and he made it look pretty easy,” Clint said. “He is the youngest driver to reach 1,000 wins. I learned early on that I wasn’t on the same path as he was.”

He has great admiration for another contemporary, someone he followed closely before Clint ever contested his first race.

It wasn’t only the reinsman’s skills that caught Clint’s eye.

“Purple is my favorite color,” he said. “I would see Brandon Bates at the fairs, and he became my favorite driver because he wore purple. I got to know him, and I ended up copying his colors. The only difference is that I have black trim and he has Kelly green, with diamonds across his back and chest, and I have stars.”

Those stars were out for all to see at the Shelbyville Fair on June 27, 2018.

After a 2017 rookie campaign in which his best finish was a second from 10 starts, Clint was champing at the bit to visit the winner’s circle.

The moment came just over six years ago to the day.

“I worked for trainer Larry King, and he gave me a horse by the name of Shoot To Win to race for the summer,” Clint said. “I got him when he was training in about 2:40, and we trained him down.

“We ended up winning the race at Shelbyville. We had the 2-hole and I popped out in the backstretch and went right on by. He won by almost five lengths. It was a slow mile, 2:07.1, but we got the job done. When I crossed the wire first, it was a huge relief to finally get that first one. My dad was there, and my mom was working, but she was quick to give me a phone call after the race.”

Now, more dialed-in than he has ever been in the race bike, Clint is on the path to another milestone moment.

“Going into this year, I needed 33 wins to reach 100,” Clint said. “I have about 20 more to get there. The way the year has been going and the way last year went — I had 33 wins in 2023 — I think I can reach that mark. That would be cool.”

As would be achieving another objective, specifically, reaching the 1,000-win plateau.

Clint will look to a particular pair of pacing fillies to add some more victories to his stats sheet.

“One that I have right now, Sweet N Speedy, won her first two starts at the fairs,” he said. “The other one, C C Rockin Rosie, who I own a quarter of, is a little behind, but she is training down well. We had to have throat surgery on her. So, we will work to get her to the races and hopefully, we can have a fun summer with the both of them.”

Fun is a word Clint now uses regularly.

For a time, it was a term that never came to mind.

But after a life-changing talk and a new, optimistic point of view, the driver from Portland, IN, is more comfortable and content in the sulky than ever before.

He isn’t about to let that feeling escape him again.

“Last year, everything seemed to finally come together at one point,” Clint said. “Before, I felt like I was a step behind everyone else. Near the end of last year and into this year, I feel like I belong.”