by Chris Lomon

Whether it is the pacers or trotters he pilots or those he drives for, it is a true team effort every time Joe Chindano, Jr. puts his wheels on the racetrack.

It would be easy for the rising star in the race bike to tout his own accomplishments, but the 25-year-old reinsman prefers to look at success through a much wider lens.

“My father and my mother had a barn when I was younger, and they have always guided me and pushed me to chase my goals,” Chindano said. “The support you get from family is amazing. They are always there when you need them. It has been wonderful to do this with them.”

But not only them.

Chindano’s wife, Maggie, has been along for the ride too.

“We have been married just over a year and we started a barn together,” Joe said. “It’s been great. She is training and I’m driving all her horses.”

The horseman has high praise for Maggie.

Those compliments extend well beyond her talents in the barn.

“My wife, who I met through racing, is great with the horses,” he said. “She is always coming up with ideas to improve the horses; she is always on top of everything.

“But she also supports me through all the ups and downs. If I am having a bad night or a tough week, she is always there to help me strive to go forward.”

Whatever the couple’s formula for success is, it is working, both individually and together.

Joe, who started driving in 2015 and training three years later, has reached the 100-win mark in the former role in the past four seasons.

He hit the century mark this year on July 13 at Buffalo Raceway.

Fittingly, the victory came aboard Boston Delight, a 3-year-old pacing son of Boston Red Rocks, trained by Maggie.

“Any win we have together is special for me,” said Joe, who established career highs with 179 wins and $1.47 million in purses as a driver in 2023.

Joe, who has competed at several racetracks including Monticello, The Meadowlands, Pompano Park, Rideau Carleton and Tioga Downs, just to name a handful, is at the top of his game once again in 2024.

So too is Maggie, who has racked up impressive stats in her rookie season.

Their results at Buffalo Raceway are a perfect example of the year they have had so far.

“We have enjoyed a good meet here at Buffalo,” Joe said. “Maggie was second-leading trainer [46 wins], and we were able to finish second [95 wins] in the driver standings. It was cool to say that we did that together. Those have been the highlights of the year so far.”

Another came with Boston Delight, who gave Maggie her first stakes win, the victory coming in the New York Excelsior Series at Saratoga this May.

Joe was in the race bike.

“It was nice to see Maggie have her name in lights for a few minutes there,” Joe said.

Time in the limelight might become a more frequent occurrence for the couple.

“It’s nice that we get to build this together,” Joe said. “It wasn’t as though we each had our own thing going and merged things. We have done this together and it has been so rewarding for both of us. At the end of the day, whatever kind of day it was, we were able to experience it as a couple. You appreciate that opportunity.”

The couple also appreciates the chance to share the horse racing world with their young daughter, who will turn 1 in August.

She has already developed a fascination with the 15 or so horses in her mother and father’s barn.

“You can see how happy she is to go to the barn,” Joe said. “She drives around the barn in her little scooter and goes up to the horses. They will lean their head out of the stall and lick her or nuzzle her. She enjoys it. You can tell she is going to be a sucker for it.”

Time together isn’t confined to the racetrack.

“Any chance we get to spend as a family is very important to us,” Joe said. “Whether it’s taking her to the zoo, the park, or doing anything that is fun for her is what we enjoy.”

Joe’s success hasn’t put him on the fast track to a big ego.

It is the exact opposite, in fact.

“I just try to keep getting better, to learn from my mistakes,” he said. “Whenever you lose, you want to go back and see what you maybe did wrong and accept that. You might be disappointed, but if you can watch video and go over it with a positive attitude and learn from it, then it will help you the next time you drive.”

Chasing wins is anything but self-serving for the couple.

“We try to win as many as we can, whatever the race happens to be,” Joe said. “We want to do the best we can for our owners, for ourselves, and for the horses.”

Continued success for the rest of the 2024 campaign is also on their list of shared goals.

It hardly seems like a longshot for the team-first couple.

“We would like to finish up the year as strong as we started it,” Joe said. “It is always nice when you can maintain that consistency throughout the year. Maybe we can finish up even stronger.”