by Chris Lomon

At odds of 27-1, Irvin Crews and the bay mare were considered longshots at best on the night of March 25 at Saratoga Harness.

Race 2, featuring a purse of $6,000, took place at the half-mile oval in Saratoga Springs. The dash included eight horses, one of which was Premier Delainey, a daughter of Always A Virgin—Premier Indigo.

Crews had already become familiar with Premier Delainey, bred by Premier and Associates Farm in Howell, MI.

In their past four pairings, the duo combined for a sixth, third, second and third.

When he jogged Premier Delainey by the tote board on that late March night, Crews didn’t turn his head to see what the odds were beside the No. 4.

“I never look at the tote board, it means nothing,” said the Nova Scotia-born horseman. “I want to drive each horse as if they are the favorite. I don’t want to start putting anything in my mind, that I don’t have a chance because of what those odds say.”

So, as always, Crews warmed up his horse and readied for the countdown to post time.

He had already notched his first driving win this past October, a 15-1 upset with Rocks Fantasy — the pacer, who he owns, also gave him first two training triumphs — at Fryeburg, a half-mile oval in his now home state of Maine.

One thing missing from his resume, however, was a pari-mutuel victory.

“Could this be the night?” Crews said he thought to himself as the starter car picked up speed at Saratoga Springs just over a week ago.

The start wasn’t ideal — Premier Delainey and Crews sat sixth after the opening quarter in :26.4 — but Crews didn’t panic.

What he did do, however, in football parlance, was call an audible.

Crews moved Premier Delainey to the outer flow just after the first quarter and into fifth through three-quarters in 1:25.2.

But there was still plenty of work to be done to chase down the four horses in front of them.

“I kept her three-deep and I wondered if we were going to be able to get there,” he said. “But I had to give her a shot. We started making headway, we found open room and I started having a good feeling.”

Third at the stretch call, Premier Delainey powered past tiring rivals as Crews braced for the challenge of any closers.

With less than 50 feet to the wire, he didn’t hear any hoofsteps coming.

“As soon as I passed the horses on the inside of me, I thought, ‘Wow… this really is a dream come true,’” Crews said.

Crews, who also trains three horses of his own, wasn’t the only one celebrating.

Back in the paddock, Crews checked his phone, where congratulatory messages were already flooding in.

“I was back in the locker room about a half hour after the race and it was already on Facebook,” he said. “People were reaching out to congratulate me. It was an amazing feeling. I was dreaming about that moment for a long time, and I finally got it done.”

And he did it with a fitting horse.

“She has been a family project,” he said. “My brother-in-law, [trainer] Zack Gray, and my wife, Dawn, have worked on hard her. We got her right once she came to us and Zack said he was going to give me the chance with her.”

The milestone victory has boosted Crews’ confidence and drawn the attention of more trainers.

With the victory now in the rearview mirror, he’s looking to forge a new chapter in his racing career.

“I’m at a beautiful track here in Saratoga,” he said. “It’s a tough place to start out, but I felt if I could get that one win, it would open the door to more. It has helped me grow and I feel like my driving is getting better because I am driving with the pros.”

Crews, who also lists horseman Bobby MacNeil as a strong racing influence, started his path to the sulky in Nova Scotia before it took him to the Pine Tree State.

His fascination with racing began at an early age.

“I grew up watching Heath Campbell and Drew Campbell drive; they were idols,” Crews said. “My dad grew up with Heath in Lower Sackville [NS] and then he took me to watch some races at Bangor Raceway, where it all started for me.

“When I turned 15, I went to work for Heath Campbell and Valerie Grondin, and it snowballed from there.”

Though his career is still in its early stages, Crews sounds very much like an experienced horseperson when it comes to the challenges of a racetrack life.

“There are always going to be ups and downs, and nothing is going to be handed to you on a silver platter,” he said. “Nothing comes easy, so work ethic and listening to other horsemen – that is a big key. There are going to be tough nights, but learn from it, just brush it off – you never want to hold onto that.

“You learn from others, so I listen, pay attention, and do my best to follow in their footsteps. I have a lot of peers and people, including my parents, who have taught me a lot about racing and the right type of person to be in life.”

Crews has also added some of the things he learned from his hockey-playing days into his racing repertoire.

“I find it is the quick mobility, the ability to make split-second decisions, that is the same in both sports,” Crews said.

It all adds up to a carefully constructed game plan that has served Crews well, a blueprint he doesn’t see changing any time soon as he looks to sharpen his skills and expand his profile.

In the short term, the main objective is to earn his ‘A’ license.

His long-term goal is to win one of the most celebrated harness racing events in Eastern Canada, namely, the Gold Cup and Saucer.

Since the early 1960s, the race, an open event for mares, horses and geldings aged 3 years and older, held at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park, has drawn thousands of spectators and top horses and horsepeople each year.

“I would love to win that race; that would be a big one for me,” Crews said.

And if it does come to be, don’t expect the young horseman to pay any attention to what the infield tote board is showing.

Odds are 1-9 that Crews will be focused on the task at hand.