by Debbie Little

Driver Brett Beckwith being named Dan Patch Rising Star Award winner for 2024 came as little surprise, especially since he finished second in the voting the previous year, just one tally behind 2023 recipient Jay Hochstetler.

One person who saw the writing on the wall was Hall of Famer Wally Hennessey.

“When I saw Brett Beckwith — which was a no brainer for him to get the Rising Star — I texted him right away, and I said to him, ‘I don’t know what the plan is, but it would be an honor for me to sit at the table with you that night,’” Hennessey said.

Hennessey is close to Beckwith’s family, especially his dad, Mark.

“Mark’s family to me,” Hennessey said. “I’ve driven tons of horses for Mark, but it’s not a business relationship, it’s a friendship. So, I’ve known Brett Beckwith since he came out of the cradle.”

Hennessey talked about watching Brett grow up.

“As a young boy, he’d ride the golf cart around delivering egg sandwiches from the kitchen, at eight or 10 years old, and he’d drop by me and say, ‘You want your egg sandwich today, Wally?’ and I said, ‘I don’t really want one,’ but he wanted me to get one because I always gave him a $5 tip,” Hennessey said with a laugh.

Hennessey, who owned the first horse Brett ever jogged, said there’s a lot to like about the young horseman, who turns 22 on Jan. 22.

“First off, the greatest quality he has is his respect and just who he is with people,” Hennessey said. “Those are his biggest attributes. That’s going to take him a long way. But a lot of people have that and don’t have much talent. He has talent and he has horsemanship. He has the whole package. I can’t sing his praises high enough, I really can’t.

“And then the other thing is, for his age, we’re talking a kid 21 years old, how grounded he is at that young of an age. You know, here he is, a young boy, and he’s already investing back into the business with horses. I mean, he’s investing his money back into the business… as a kid at 21, that’s quite a package.”

Brett’s star has risen pretty far pretty fast, but not without a certain amount of sacrifice as the young reinsman acknowledged he sometimes feels there’s not enough free time in his life right now.

“Yup, a lot of times, but when I do have down time, I end up just wishing I was racing anyway,” Brett said.

The Saratoga County, NY, resident, whose first full year of driving was in 2021, racked up the miles on and off the track in 2024, making for a career year where he finished third nationally in dash wins behind Aaron Merriman and Jason Bartlett.

“I mean, that was a fun run,” Brett said of finishing third. “I was really trying to try to grab the second spot, because I knew keeping up with Merriman was almost going to be statistically impossible. I give him all the credit in the world. No one understands that kind of schedule that he puts through year in, year out for the last 10 years. It’s unbelievable. But I was really trying to catch Jason. I kept reminding him that I was going to catch him, but unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance to.”

Brett also won his first driving title at Saratoga Raceway, and a title at Plainridge that ended in a tie with veteran reinsman Bruce Ranger. Brett may have finished 12^th in the standings at The Meadowlands, but he had fewer starts than all but one driver above him.

According to Brett, racing at The Meadowlands is a bit of a family tradition.

“Well, it was always a place that my mom’s side of the family raced, like my grandfather Jerry [Silverman] and then my uncle Richie [Silverman],” Brett said. “So, when I was like 16 or so and I went to the races, and I saw my grandfather watch a couple of his horses there, and just watched the races, it made me change my perspective maybe on that track as a whole.

“At the end of the day, it’s still where almost 80 per cent of Grand Circuit events are held. And if you ever want to be a Grand Circuit driver, you have to know how to drive that track.”

Brett said his views of wanting to be a Grand Circuit driver have changed a little from last year to this year.

“Last year, I’d always say to myself that the end all, be all goal is to be a Grand Circuit driver,” Brett said. “And now, in the last year or so, it’s made me realize that if it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen, and if it doesn’t, it doesn’t. You can still make a good living doing anything, as long as you love it. But I mean, hopefully, it happens one day, but if it doesn’t, I’m still content with my life the way it is now.”

According to Brett, racing at The Meadowlands puts him in a better position to, hopefully, at some point, get those Grand Circuit drives.

“I tell everyone, at the end of the day, when I race at Saratoga and Plainridge, there are only so many people watching those tracks,” Brett said. “They may see on the USTA or Facebook that you won four or five races, which is good and it’s good publicity, but at the end of the day, people see you at The Meadowlands. Even when someone’s at home eating dinner with their family, they have it on RTN, if they’re at a party or some big gathering, it’s on the TV, and it’s always The Meadowlands. So, you know, no matter what time of the year it is, it’s always a pretty watched track and a pretty heavily bet track, so people are watching you, and you just get more recognition. One win at The Meadowlands is almost equivalent to three or four wins somewhere else.”

Brett said that there are many to thank for helping him get to where he is today.

“I’d be a dummy to not say both of my parents, my mom and my dad,” Brett said. “I mean, they’re literally one of the biggest reasons I am where I am today. In my opinion, if you don’t have a great support system and great parents behind you, it’s hard to make it very far.”

In terms of support, Brett also mentioned his friend, Carl, who is not in the business, but gives him a chance to vent if needed, as well as Saratoga trainer Gary Levine and the aforementioned Hennessey.

“Gary Levine always called me when I was on my way home from racing, whether it’s at midnight or 3 a.m.” Brett said. “He was always keeping me up and awake, and he helps me, he helps me a lot.

“[Wally’s] been someone who’s been there from the beginning to where my career is now. I’ve actually gotten a chance to go to dinner a pretty good amount with him this summer, and he’s just always a great person to talk to. And he’s always great for advice.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to have a great support system by me pretty much all the time, but it’s taken me almost until really this year, to fully learn how to turn the page a lot better than I used to. And I used to get really upset with myself, never at anyone else, but I was always constantly upset with myself after a race, and I’ve gotten slightly better, as I’ve developed as a driver. But I mean, at the end of the day, people wouldn’t put you in pressure situations if you weren’t good enough to handle them.”

Hennessey said that Brett is wise beyond his years.

“Everybody always wonders, how does a racehorse like a Foiled Again or a Moni Maker ever become what they are?” Hennessey said. “They were born that way. You know what I mean? You can’t make those kinds of horses; they were born that way. Well, Brett Beckwith was born to do what he’s doing now. A lot of us were born that way but at his stage of his game, where he is and where I was [at that age], it was two separate universes.

“To be honest with you, I don’t think anybody could have foreseen this, or predicted it, or even had any inclination that this rise that he’s on could have possibly risen like a meteor that quick. And this is what a guy that’s been in the business my whole life is going to tell you. I don’t think you’ve seen anything yet. That’s my opinion. Hey, listen, the sky’s the limit. You’ve heard that saying before, the sky’s the limit, but the sky is definitely the limit for this kid.”