Indiana Hall of Famer Don Eash scores career driving win 2,000
by James Platz
Veteran horseman Don Eash reached a milestone on June 26 that is yet another highlight in a journey that began 35 years ago. Steering freshman Willow Larue, the owner/trainer/driver moved the young pacer to the lead and never relinquished in two circuits over the Harrison County Fairgrounds strip. The duo finished nearly two lengths in front to secure Eash’s 2,000th career driving win. He would finish the day with four winners on the 13-race card at Corydon, the first of a two-program fair stint in southern Indiana. He reached the plateau with little fanfare, and downplayed the accomplishment while still acknowledging its significance.
“I never really stopped to count them, I guess,” Eash said. “It wasn’t any goal or anything. I just kind of went with the flow and wherever the business led me. It makes me feel kind of old, I guess, but, it’s exciting; it’s an accomplishment.”
Don and his wife, Rosie, have achieved a bevy of accomplishments over the years. This milestone is just the latest in the string. From the early beginnings in Goshen, IN, the couple built their Eash Racing Stable Inc. into a perennial powerhouse in the state. Beginning in 2009, Eash was named leading driver on the Indiana fair circuit in nine out of 10 seasons while earning the distinction as the top conditioner each year during that same timeframe. Eash also topped the standings at Harrah’s Hoosier Park multiple times.
At Eash Racing Stable’s peak, the barns were filled with 65 to 70 head and Eash was conditioning and driving champions that included Foxy Maneuver, Mayflower’s Song, Jesse’s Trigger, Bewitching Karen, Awesome Becky, Rustle’s Chip, V J Miss Money, Helen’s Priority and Duke Of Love. The stable eclipsed $1 million in purse earnings for the first time in 2002, then proceeded to top $850,000 in 14 of the next 16 seasons, exceeding seven figures seven more times. That sustained success earned the horseman enshrinement into the Indiana Horse Racing Association Hall of Fame in 2022.
Now 70 (he’ll turn 71 in September), Eash has downsized the barn dramatically, and wants to continue to do so. The focus on developing horses that perform on the track remains, although without the pressure of the bottom line.
“We’ve got it cut down now to about 25 horses, so it’s not really financially goal-oriented so much anymore,” he said. “I just try to get good horses and get the most out of them and whatever they make, they make.”
In that pursuit, the stable continues to achieve. Last season, for instance, Eash sent out 74 winners, and all starters combined to earn just over $600,000. And he is succeeding with young horses, as well as a select few he keeps after the sophomore campaign. A case in point is pacing mare Rose Run Vision. The Time To Roll 8-year-old is a 42-time winner, with $609,000 on her card, $113,000 of that earned just this season.
“I’d like to cut it down even a little bit more. If I get it down to maybe five, six or eight yearlings every year, that would be my goal and just go with them and sell them at the end of the 3-year-old year,” Eash said. “If I have 15 head total, that would be enough for me.”
The owner said that the challenge of cutting back is more difficult than expanding the stable. The operation includes racehorses and some broodmares, and staffing is also a consideration.
“You’ve got employees involved and good horses involved,” Eash said. “It’s kind of hard to do, but we’re getting there.”
Currently, one of the outfit’s homebreds is tearing up the fair circuit. Sophomore ER Bethany began the season at Hoosier Park, winning a leg of the Mya Tri series. Since moving to the fairs, she has captured three of four starts, setting two track records in the process. She lowered the mark for trotting fillies at Converse on June 11, shaving two seconds off the previous best with a 10-length romp, stopping the clock in 1:57.2. Last weekend she was a 34-length winner at Kentland, setting another mark with a 2:03.3 performance. Sandwiched between those starts, ER Bethany trotted away from the field by 13 lengths the same day Eash reached the milestone.
ER Bethany’s dam, Becky’s Law, made over a quarter million for Eash Racing Stable on the track. She is the daughter of Awesome Becky, one of the top mares the stable campaigned at the height of their success that helped establish their breeding program. Becky’s Law is a 100-per cent producer, with two other winners to her credit.
With more than 2,600 training tallies on his resume, Eash is proud that nearly all his driving wins have come steering his own stock. While he still enjoys racing at the fairs, he is not as keen to travel from his home in northern Indiana to sit behind a few at Hoosier Park.
“I can go to the fairs and drive eight to 10 horses and then come back home and be done,” Eash said. “Hoosier, I just about can’t do that anymore because with everything else I’ve got going, it’s too hard for me to spend my whole night down there in the paddock waiting to drive horses. For the most part, I’m willing to just use other drivers down there and not try to do so much myself anymore.”
Eash may be slowing down and cutting back, but he’s still enjoying the task of developing young horses and the thrill of competition.
“I still like the sport and I still like the horses. And yeah, it’s something I’ve always enjoyed and probably always will enjoy,” he said.
