Mark MacDonald’s driving and thriving back home in Canada
by Murray Brown
Mark MacDonald has been driving horses for well on 30 years. He still loves the competition among his peers and the beautiful steeds which they steer every bit as much as the first time that he first sat behind one in a race at the age of 16.
What has changed in those three decades?
“An awful lot in so many areas:
• The horses: They are so much better in so many ways. They are faster. In many cases, much faster. They are able to carry their speed longer and for lack of a better term, they are generally easier to get along with. Perhaps most importantly there are so many more good ones.
• The drivers: There are probably more good drivers out there than there were in the past. That’s not to say that there haven’t been great drivers in just about every generation. I know I’m leaving a lot of names out, but I’m just picking out a few names that stand out in my memory. Guys, like Campbell, O’Donnell, Lachance, Filion, Abbatiello and numerous others would have been great whenever they drove. The fact that there may be more of them than there were in the past probably speaks to our age of specialization.
• The racetracks: There are so many fewer of them today than when I was first starting out. Three that specifically touched on my career were Blue Bonnets, Windsor, and Greenwood. Of course, just this year, we’ve lost Rideau Carleton and all horse racing in British Columbia.”
What else has changed?
“The sport has become far more specialized. When I first came out, there were still a good many trainer/drivers. Now there are fewer. Drivers today, generally drive and trainers train.
“I first came out as a catch driver, although I was still training my own small stable, under one of the first great specialized trainers in Bob McIntosh. Bob was not only one of the first of his genre, but to this day remains one of the very best ever.
“When I first began driving for Bob, I was so fortunate, and not only in being given the chance to drive for him. Here I was a young kid, barely out of his teens, given the chance to sit behind some of the very best young horses in North America. In addition, I was given the opportunity to learn from him as a horseman. I still had my own small stable then. I was able to better learn how horses should be treated by watching how it was done, by one of harness racing’s greatest horsemen.”
Like several Maritimers you began working for Mike MacDonald in Montreal. What can you tell us about those days?
“My brother Anthony and I began working for Mike [MacDonald, no relation] at Blue Bonnets. There were four of us sharing a small apartment in Montreal. We worked hard and we probably played just as hard.
I think I was just 16, but I already realized that harness racing was where I wanted to spend my working career. Aside from the native Prince Edward Islanders, there are too few people who realize how great a horseman and person that Mike MacDonald was. Many think that I probably learned the most from Bob McIntosh. That might be right. Bob was a great teacher. But without Mike MacDonald, I might never have even known or had the chance to drive Bob’s great horses. Mike taught everybody with who he came in contact how to interact with horses. If I had not worked for Mike, I doubt that I ever would have been able to start my own stable, nor likely would I have caught the eye of Bob McIntosh. I’ve carried Mike’s influence through my racing career, in that my racing colors trace back to those worn by Mike.
“I’m sure my brother Anthony would probably praise Mike, too.
“Mike’s PEI roots probably ruled his harness racing career. He won five Gold Cup and Saucers – more than anyone else. He did spend most of his racing career racing in Montreal, the New England states and in the other Maritime provinces, but it was in PEI where his heart was.”
In terms of your catch driving career, from the outside looking in, it would probably be generally classified as three eras, those of the trainers Bob Mcintosh, Casie Coleman, and Ray Schnittker. Would you agree?
“I guess that probably would be right. Bob, started me off by giving me drives, on horses the likes of which I had only dreamed of someday driving. I then transitioned to driving some of Casie’s best horses like Sportswriter and American Ideal. I think even 20 years later, for pure speed, American Ideal might have been the fastest horse I ever sat behind. Then, when I picked up my helmet, whip, and colors and moved south, I got the chance to regularly sit behind the horses in Ray Schnittker’s New York-based stable.”
Just as those opportunities presented themselves, each of their denouements were somewhat similar in that their endings, so to speak, were marked by a horrific, some might say, nearly deadly accident on the racetrack. What effect, if any, have those accidents had on your psyche and on your ability to shunt them aside and go forward?
“I’ve been unlucky in that I’ve found myself each time in the wrong place at the wrong time. There was nothing about those wrecks that was preordained or caused by human error, by myself or by anybody else. They were events that normally occur in racing. In each of them, I unluckily found myself as the recipient of something that had happened beyond my control, or probably beyond the control of anybody else. Things happen, especially out on a racetrack.
“Indeed, I’ve been seriously injured at least four times, where initially the prognosis was far from great. I’ve been fortunate in that the road to recovery from each event has been excellent. I now find myself at 47 feeling as good as I’ve ever been. I still look forward to each day whether it is on the racetrack or sometimes on the golf course. I find both my body and my mind raring for action.”
You are back in Canada where it all started. What led you back home?
“My last racing accident resulted in my being out of action for a year, the longest I’ve gone without competing on the racetrack. I thought maybe a change in scenery might be in order. What better place than in my native land?
“Things have worked out well. I’m getting drives. I think I’m driving well and winning my share of races. The competition up here is very strong.
“It’s a little different than it was when I was last here. Back then, among my greatest competition on the track were guys like Rick Zeron and Paul MacDonell. Now instead of competing against them, I’m sometimes driving for them on horses that they train.
“One of the biggest differentials is in the driving colony. Back then guys like Steve Condren and Doug Brown and the aforementioned Zeron and MacDonell led the pack. Now it’s the youngest MacDonald, my brother James, who not only up here, but arguably, together with Dexter Dunn, might be among the very best reinsmen in the world.”
We’ll close with James and his success. Does any of it surprise you?
“Not at all. Although, James started in harness racing later than me or Anthony, he is the most naturally gifted athlete among us. He started working for Anthony after he had shown talents in golf and hockey, but he was a natural in harness racing from the start. In addition to his great athleticism, James is blessed with a great nervous system and remarkable patience. Horses know when they are being guided by someone who relates to their best instincts. That is the case with James and I believe to a lesser degree, with all great drivers.”
