by Victoria Howard

Maria Rice is closing in on a very important milestone in her career as a harness horse trainer. After being in the sport for almost 18 years, Rice is approaching 1,000 wins as a trainer.

Although this may not seem like such a feat after seeing larger stable trainers’ stats, for a smaller stable, this is quite an achievement.

Born in Syracuse, NY, and growing up in Chittenango, NY, Rice’s mother always made sure her daughter owned a horse which kept young Rice busy showing her four-legged friend.

When mother and daughter relocated to Vernon, NY, they began going to the harness track and the young girl was hooked.

“While I was in college my mother met and married a harness horseman who introduced me to harness racing,” Rice said. “I began taking paddocks for trainers William Bailey, Jack Bailey and Rocco Manzi. When I met my future husband, trainer Jack Rice, we started working together and today we operate a stable of 15 horses we train in Kentucky.”

At that time, Jack was a top catch driver who raced mainly on the Monticello/Vernon circuit.

Jack and Maria met 23 years ago when Maria’s sister was working for Jack at Vernon Downs. In 2013, Jack and Maria loaded their horses in their six-horse trailer and relocated to Buffalo Raceway and never looked back.

“Today, we mainly base out of the New York State, but the past two years we have been shipping to race at Oak Grove in Kentucky,” Maria said. “We call these three months ‘a workcation.’ Although we still work full time, it seems like a little break for us, thus, we combine work while enjoying horse heaven.”

Kentucky is now the place to race your standardbred for the program they offer is phenomenal. The state highly supports our industry and subsidizes the purses. The Kentucky Sires Stakes are open to the foals of any mare that resides in the state for six months.

Although the Rices have not yet had a world champion, they have trained a lot of track record holders and open class horses who raced at smaller venues.

Jack’s accomplishments include more than 1,500 wins, $5 million in purses, three dash titles at Vernon Downs and a win in Russia while representing the U.S. at the Annual International Driving Tournament at the Moscow Hippodrome.

The Rices recently have added yet another track record holder to their resume, the 4-year-old trotting filly, Yanaba.

On May 9, the Trixton mare won her second Kentucky Sires Stakes in 1:52, making it two in a row at Oak Grove. That win lowered the previous track record for aged trotting mares of 1:53 by Beltassima that was set in July of 2022.

After driver John MacDonald cleared Yanaba to the front over the odds-on favorite Eternal Lee, the Trixton—Zanna Royal daughter took home the honors for owners Ann-Mari Daley, Jared Daley, and Oleg Ivutin. That was Yanaba’s sixth win in 25 tries, and pushed her winnings over $200,000.

When Ann-Mari Daley had to entrust her stakes mare, Yanaba, to someone other than her husband Dan, she immediately reached out to the Rices, assured that her ‘baby’ would be in good hands.

Jack and Maria make a great team and have never had a fight in nearly 24 years. That’s a remarkable feat for any husband and wife who works, lives, and plays together for that long.

“Jack and I consider every thought and detail and it’s 50/50 on all decisions,” Maria said. “We don’t consider this a job, but a passion, and are blessed to be able to do this on a daily basis, together, and earn a living.”

Some of the team’s stars are: China Dream, Noble Legend, Protect Blue Chip, Little Joke and Queenie Rocks, among others.

Amongst all those stable stars, Maria doesn’t have one favorite, but two.

“I would say it’s a tie between Queenie Rocks and China Dream,” she said. “Both have a special place in my heart, but there are many others that I’d need an entire page to list.”

Maria’s fastest win as a trainer was with Surfer Beach (1:48.4) taken last year at Oak Grove..

Presently, the Rices have no youngsters in training, and admit they prefer trotters to pacers for “they are more challenging, rewarding and a trotter is one of the most beautiful things to watch when in full stride.”

What does Maria think is the secret to their success?

“It’s a combination of having great owners, partners and a lot of extreme hard work,” Maria said. “But most of all it’s the love of horses and harness racing. I’m living the dream.”