The former baseball pro recently recorded his first win in the sulky in a race at Shenandoah Downs in Virginia.

by Chris Lomon

Michael Dailey is making a strong pitch for two-sport star status.

Over 30 years, the native Virginian found himself on baseball diamonds throughout the U.S., seeing the game through a unique lens in a variety of roles at the professional, college and high school ranks.

He pitched at Illinois’ Lake Land College and then at the University of Illinois before stepping off the bump to conclude that chapter of his career. After inking a contract with Major League Baseball’s St. Louis Cardinals as an unsigned free agent, Dailey returned to the Cardinals organization as an instructor during their World Series championship year in 2006.

In more recent times, his roles included pitching coach/recruiting coordinator with the Glenville State Pioneers, assistant coach/pitching coach at Davis & Elkins College, director of baseball operations at Virginia’s Radford University, manager of the North Adams SteepleCats of New England Collegiate Baseball League — where he guided several Division 1 players — and manager of the Blue Ridge Baseball League’s New River Valley Cardinals, winners of seven league championships in eight years.

To date, Dailey has had 21 players drafted or signed to play professional baseball.

“I love the game and always will,” he said. “I had a lot of great experiences, met a lot of wonderful people, and got a lot of enjoyment out of it.”

Baseball also played an integral role in leading him to another sport.

It was around three years ago when Dailey, still in baseball, was looking for something to do on a day off.

And then a thought came to mind when he recalled something from his past.

“When I was around 6 or 7, my father would take me to the races,” Dailey said. “I knew the difference between a Quinella and an Exacta by that age. I had never been on the barn side of the racetrack, but I enjoyed seeing the horses and watching the races.

“I was winding down my baseball career with coaching — I was still coaching in the New England League in Massachusetts — and we had a day off. I wanted to see if there was any horse racing in the area.”

Little did he know then that the horse racing and baseball worlds were about to intersect.

“I found Monticello [Raceway] and I struck up a conversation with the president of the racetrack,” Dailey said. “He asked me about my background and when I told him about my baseball life, he mentioned they had someone there, Joe Lee, driving and he is involved in baseball as a clubhouse attendant for the New York Yankees.

“I ended up meeting Joe in the paddock and had a conversation with him. He gave me some great advice and we’ve been friends ever since then.”

Curiosity piqued, Dailey became more intrigued with harness racing and the possibility of becoming part of its world in some fashion.

“Another day, I was in Delaware, and I was thinking about buying a horse through onGait,” he said. “I went to look at a horse and it happened to be the barn of George Teague.”

Through that conversation, Dailey set aside the idea of horse ownership, at least temporarily.

Teague offered up a suggestion.

“We ended up talking and he convinced me to come work with him instead for a three-month internship with him,” Dailey said. “So, I didn’t buy the horse, but I spent a lot of winter break that year at George’s learning the ropes the best I could. Montrell [Teague] and Clyde Francis were also there too, so I jogged horses and learned as much as I could. It was like drinking through a fire hydrant.”

Dailey soon felt right at home on the racetrack and was eager to spend more time there.

The only issue was there were no racetracks to be found near his home in Radford, VA.

There was, however, a racetrack that was a three-hour drive away in Woodstock.

On one visit, Dailey entered the racetrack’s popular “Own a Horse for a Day” promotion.

Eight contestants are selected in advance of the meet and compete for a top prize – 50 per cent of the total purse.

Second through fifth-place finishers will receive normal distributed portions of the purse as prize money. Contestants whose horse finishes sixth through eighth receive $100 USD.

“Shenandoah Downs was the closest,” Dailey said of the half-mile Virginia oval. “My wife and I would go up there a couple times and we really enjoyed it. We heard about the promotion and entered that.”

When he heard his name called, it became a life-changing moment.

“After I was picked, I realized it was something I wanted to get into,” he said.

In exactly what capacity was initially a question mark.

“My granddaughter got sick, so I had to go back home and tend to that,” Dailey said. “Once we got past that and closed the door on baseball, I was in a position to maybe own a horse, but I didn’t have any place to put that horse in.”

That would not be an issue for long.

“I talked to a couple of people around Shenandoah, including Betsy Brown, who has her farm about 10 minutes away from the track, as well as Tracy Bradshaw, who has a farm about an hour away from where I am in Radford, which is about 10 minutes away from Virginia Tech [University],” Dailey said.

And then things got rolling for Dailey, who for a time after baseball, drove sprint cars and competed at lower-level NASCAR tracks.

“Both Betsy and Tracy steered me towards Steve Wetzel, who has a farm about 10 minutes away from Shenandoah,” he said. “He’s a former ‘Own a Racehorse for a Day’ winner and so is Barry Shrum. I went out to see Steve and Barry.”

By the end of their conversation, Dailey was a proud horse owner.

“I bought a horse from Steve named Bobby’s Blue Chip, who was Pennsylvania eligible,” he said of the bay son of Betting Line—Day Blue Chip.”

Dailey would then add driver and trainer roles to his resume.

“Steve and I went to the Pennsylvania fair circuits and that’s where I kind of cut my teeth,” Dailey said. “I got 15 or 16 drives at the fairs and did a couple qualifiers at The Meadows. Scotty Egger, who is the judge at The Meadows, helped me a lot as did Jack Remy, a judge at Shenandoah and Rosecroft, who asked me to do a couple of qualifiers in front of him.

“Maybe Jack was taking pity on me, seeing me running all over Pennsylvania to try and get some drives in. I wouldn’t be anywhere without him or so many other people.”

Dailey had won a qualifying race with Bobby’s Blue Chip at Shenandoah on Sept. 14 and earlier in the summer, he piloted the 3-year-old gelding to victory in a non-wagering Pennsylvania Sire Stake event at the Honesdale Fair.

His next goal was to earn first pari-mutuel victory.

Six months after the “Own a Horse for a Day” experience, Dailey was back at Shenandoah on Oct. 19, this time on the other side of the grandstand fence.

In race 9 on that autumn day, he partnered a 4-year-old pacer by the name of Singforyoursupper.

“It was something unexpected – I didn’t know I was going to get that drive,” Dailey said. “Henry ‘Brooks’ Lewis, the gentleman who owns the horse, put me down on the horse. So, I only found out the day before. A friend of ours, Barry Shrum, called me and said, ‘Hey, I’m here with Brooks in the office and we want to put you on “Sing.” It took me no time to say yes to that drive.”

Dailey wouldn’t regret his answer.

Sent off at 5-1, he guided Singforyoursupper to a 1:54.4 coast-to-coast victory in a U.S. Harness Drivers Club race.

“Having the rail and being behind this horse was a double plus,” Dailey said. “I was very excited about that. It was a very easy drive. He did exactly what we wanted, and it was exactly the strategy that Brooks and I had talked about before the race. A one-finger drive is what it was. The horse did all the work, and I was just along for the drive.”

Dailey had a big cheering section and several familiar faces waiting to welcome him in the winner’s circle.

“All my friends were waiting there for me,” he said. “Steve [Wetzel], who boards my horse, and everyone, like Barry [Shrum], who took care of my horse for a month after he had throat surgery, [trainer] Oscar Johnson — you can’t miss him, a 6-foot-5 former NFL player — he was waiting for me with a very cold bucket of water to pour on me; all of it was so nice.”

To date, Dailey has two wins and 10 top three driving finishes. He has one win, to go along with four seconds and three thirds from 16 training starts.

His greatest joy is found with the people he has met along his horse racing journey.

“There are so many people at Shenandoah Downs, who are good, down to earth, salt of the earth individuals, who have gone out of their way to help me,” Dailey said. “As you get older, you get more particular about the people you spend time with — at least I do — and I want to be around good people. And they certainly fit the bill.

“Even if you are racing against them, they are just great people. Archie Buford, who drives there, put me on one of his horses when he didn’t have to, and Oscar Johnson did the same thing. Steve Wetzel, his wife Nicole, Barry Shrum and his wife Robin, as well as Brooks – they have all been such good people who have become friends of mine, and I am very grateful to have them in my life.”

Just as he is grateful to have found another beloved sport.

Dailey intends to enjoy every minute of it.

“I am just going to ride it out for as long as it will have me,” he said. “I am in decent shape, and I feel I can do it. If I get off the bike and it takes me 10 seconds, then maybe it is time to stop. It is kind of fun racing against 20- and 30-year-old guys. If you look after yourself, it is possible to stay in this for quite a few years.

“It’s fun, entertaining and it provides a hell of a challenge for me.”

Just like the days when Dailey would strike out a batter on a full count with the bases full or celebrate a hard-fought league championship.

Some three years after that trip to Monticello, Dailey has discovered a new, but equally treasured field of dreams.

He’s looking forward to where the next road trip will take him.

“Everything has worked out and I’m happy,” he said. “We are strategizing as to what our next move is, and we will go from there. Wherever that is, I can’t wait to get going.”