Where some top drivers stand on the all-time wins and earnings lists.

by Bob Heyden

Before we see you in September, let us take a look at how some top drivers currently stand on the all-time lists for wins and earnings.

1. Yannick Gingras (#4 all-time with $238.6 million) recently rattled off a record 10-win day at Harrah’s Philadelphia — the first seven in a row — coming the same month he broke through in the Hambletonian with Karl. He’s well on his way currently with $8 million, with a week of August left, to the goal of hitting at least $11 million again. The only reason he’s not going for his 15^th-straight year of $11-million plus is the COVID year of 2020 ($9.2 million).

2. Dave Miller is at $286.7 million for his career as the #1 active earning driver with a week to go in August. He’s the record holder with 17 $10-million seasons and incredibly with three others at $9.7 million plus but not quite $10 million. With 85,420 drives both he and Gingras have never had a 3,000-drive single season. Somewhat forgotten is that Miller’s six biggest seasons in victories came the six seasons prior to his move to the East Coast, 1993-98. His .327 UDRS as of mid-August 2024 — if he maintains it — would be his personal highest since his .384 of 1998. Miller’s had four $12 million seasons.

3. John Campbell, more than seven years since he last drove, he still holds a trunk full of records. When Gingras posted seven-straight it brought back memories of that rainy night in the first week of February of 1983 at The Meadowlands where, on a 10-race card, Campbell won the first seven, then had a scratch with the aptly named Rain In The Face, then was second in his last drive. They were not obvious choices either: Tiger Chris ($10.60), R Ds Hots ($9.40), Arbor Bachelor ($6), Travel Agency ($11.40), Sams Butch ($13.40), Point After ($5.40), and Sunny Airliner ($5.40). The record at that time for consecutive wins was eight by Herve Filion and currently it is Stephane Bouchard at 11 on the same day.

4. Dave Palone, currently at 20,921 victories in 81,079 attempts, owns the highest winning percentage at 25.8 per cent of any of the top 25 winningest dash-drivers ever. Walter Case, Jr. is the only other over 25 per cent. Palone’s first win was on March 15, 1983 at The Meadows with Reds Folly who he also trained. The 4-year-old daughter of Plucky Boy—Lisa Havens went 2:04 2 and paid $5.20 in the claiming event for a purse of $2,100, where she was in for a tag of $14,500. Palone had turned 21 the month prior and in limited action in 1982 he was winless in 14 tries.

Back when Palone was breaking through 41 plus years ago, Instrument Landing was training down about to start his epic career in a few months and John Campbell was training 11: Beckilyn Almahurst, Bright Bunny, Contender, Hunterdon, Keystone Shore, Lifland, Marias Nero, Megawatt, Stop The Yankee, Strong Warren, and Teco Hanover.

5. Peter Wrenn recently edged past John Campbell into the #15 spot all time in victories, 10th among active drivers with 10,683. Wrenn remains, unless foolproof evidence comes forth, the only driver ever to be the leading driver at nine separate tracks.

And finally: Sept. 1, 2024 is fast approaching. It marks the 48th anniversary of the opening of The Meadowlands in 1976, the 30th anniversary of the opening of Hoosier Park in 1994 and the 35th birthday of one, Dexter Dunn. Sept. 2 marks 84 years since Roosevelt Raceway introduced nighttime harness racing to the world in 1940. Roosevelt fell just a couple months shy of the 48 years The Meadowlands will soon realize closing on July 15, 1988.