by Debbie Little

Noel Daley is looking forward to new experiences in 2025.

For the first time in his career, Daley will start the year as the reigning Dan Patch Trainer of the Year and he’ll be bringing back one of the champions that helped get him that title.

Even though trainees of the 63-year-old native of Queensland, Australia, raked in earnings of $4.87 million in 2024, a career best for Daley, he thought the battle for Trainer of the Year, voted on by the members of the U.S. Harness Writers Association, would be a tough one.

“Obviously, you’ve got a case to give it to Ronnie [Burke] every single year,” Daley said. “And I sort of thought, ‘Ah, he had such a good year with these 2-year-olds, they probably should be giving that to him this year.’ So, I was generally a little surprised I got it. I thought, you know, he was just as likely to have it as anyone else. And Chris Ryder, he had a good year with a couple of different ones.

“I’m quite aware it could have gone five or six different ways. I really am. So, I don’t know how much I won by, but I imagine it had to be close.”

As it turns out, it was not close, with Daley garnering 77 votes, while Ake Svanstedt and Burke received 29 and 21, respectively.

Owner Harvey Fried has had horses with Daley for over 20 years.

“He’s very accessible,” Fried said. “He’s a gentleman, knowledgeable, and does everything he can to make the horse right, as opposed to pushing him and pushing him. Even with Sig Sauer, who was a very delicate horse to have to train early on because he had some problems, [Daley] got him ready for all the big races. And that’s Noel.

“If you call him, he’ll call you back. I probably talk to him more as a friend than I talk to him as an owner, because we go back a long way.”

But it’s not just Daley’s work on the track that stands out to Fried.

“Listen, he’s a single father; he’s special,” said Fried about Daley raising his 12-year-old son, Max. “There are not too many men like him that would have done what he did. That’s another thing that always amazes me, that he does that, taking care of his child for all these years by himself. He’s a great guy.

“I’ve got eight grandchildren, and five children, so family is very important to me. He’s just a good man.”

Fried’s Patricia Stable co-owns Daley’s Dan Patch winning double, Captain Albano, and the aforementioned Sig Sauer.

Although the plan was for both 3-year-olds to go off to stud, due to less than perfect fertility numbers, Captain Albano is coming back to race at 4, a somewhat new experience for Daley.

“The better, younger ones that I’ve had, every single one of them went to stud,” Daley said. “I raced [Mr] Muscleman [at 4 and older], because he was a gelding. So, he was the last of the good ones that I’d ever brought back, you know, because the other ones were colts, I guess, they all got jobs.”

Daley said he’s excited about the upcoming season with “Albano.”

“I just haven’t had one to race in good older races, and not a pacer at all in any of the good races, really, in God, forever,” he said. “So, I’m looking forward to it.

“If I was ever to bring one back, I was quite happy the way that he ended out the year. He was great. Since I brought him back, he looks even better. He’s a great looking horse, but he looks even better now. He’s a real character to be around. He’s got the right attitude and everything about him.”

After his success with 2005 Dan Patch Trotter of the Year Mr Muscleman, who won three-straight divisional honors starting as a 3-year-old in 2003, Daley got a reputation.

“I had luck with trotters there for a few years and the next thing you know, I was a trotting trainer,” Daley said. “And then, we bought Pebble Beach [in 2020]. He was the only pacing colt I bought that year, Pebble Beach. We bought one, and he was the best one. ‘Pebble’ started it and then we ended up with Albano. But I don’t have any preference.”

Fried, along with Martti Ala-Sepalla, are Daley’s not-so-secret weapons.

“I’m very lucky, [Fried’s] the reason why we ended up with Pebble Beach that year,” Daley said. “Harvey loves watching the videos and he’d watch all the videos of pacers. And then I’ve got Martti Ala-Sepalla, who loves watching the videos of all the trotters, which suits me just fine, because the last thing I want to do is watch 1,000 videos. Some people do love that, not me. I’d rather have them pick them out, then I’ll go and look at them. And I don’t love everything they love, but you know, it’s a good head start for me to have those couple of guys.”

Fried picked out both 2022 Dan Patch 3-Year-Old Colt Pacer Pebble Beach and Captain Albano, who has now won back-to-back Dan Patch awards at 2 and 3.

“So, this is our third year in a row [going to the Dan Patch Awards Banquet], which is shocking, but, you know, because of Pebble, then Albano, and then this year with the two of them, and I expect to be back next year with Albano again.” Fried said.

In addition to his horses being honored, Fried is happy to see Daley getting some national recognition.

“I thought he deserved it before this, but that’s just me,” said Fried.