Brian Sears resurfaces, sparks speculation on his future

by Brett Sturman

A buzz of sorts was created this past week when for the first time since 2023, Hall of Fame driver Brian Sears took to the racetrack in a pari-mutuel race. From two drives for trainer Hunter Oakes at Pocono Downs on Tuesday (July 21), Sears steered his way back into the winner’s circle with a couldn’t-lose 2-year-old colt named Celebrity Hunter, who won by a margin of 12 lengths.

The next morning at Pocono, Sears qualified to win a 2-year-old filly he co-owns named Papi’s Bride. By Papi Rob Hanover, Papi’s Bride is out of the standout mare Native Bride – who had been owned in her racing days by Sears father, Jay.

The natural question then raised through these events is: Does this mark the beginning of a potential full-fledged return to driving for Sears? At this juncture the answer unfortunately is probably not.

I reached out to Sears, but was unable to connect with him before deadline. But, sporadic quotes from him over the past year have been consistent in not yet indicating a desire to make a formal comeback. In a DRF Harness column this week by Derick Giwner, the quote that maybe sums it up best is Sears stating on Tuesday, “I was just having a little fun.”

As unlikely as it seems now, everyone in this sport loves a good comeback story – and what better story than to think what a Sears return would look like.

Even if Sears returned on a limited basis, it would immediately have an impact on Grand Circuit driver designations. Leading up to and including Sears’ last year of racing in 2023, don’t forget that Sears was getting top call for horses from Marcus Melander. That includes world champion Gimpanzee throughout 2020, 2-year-old’s of 2021 Joviality and Temporal Hanover while driving those two horses again at age 3 in 2022, in addition to Kilmister as a 2-year-old that same year in the Peter Haughton.

At present, driver go-tos for Melander have become Dexter Dunn and Scott Zeron, but having Sears even as a time-to-time possibility would change the driver calculus. Not only for the Melander barn, but for any trainer of stakes-quality stock.

Sears is now 58 years old, but it doesn’t seem like it. The math adds up, but I still see him as the same guy from the 2000s decade at The Meadowlands. He was still as good as anyone when driving on a reduced schedule three years ago. So, aside from maybe having to shake some initial rust off in real high-speed race scenarios, I’d think he would be as capable as ever.

It is hard to believe based on how time flies, but you have to go all the way back to 2008 for Sears’ highest earning year driving. That year, he earned purses of more than $16 million, including horses such as a 2-year-old you may have heard of named Muscle Hill and a who’s who of other top horses such as Arch Madness, Mister Big, as well as multiple stakes wins with the aforementioned filly, Native Bride.

The statistics alone don’t tell a full story since that time. Sears’ last season over $10 million came in 2013, but that’s almost entirely a function of Sears’ own choices to drive less frequently. At no point between then and now was he ever regarded as anything other than one of the most premium drivers.

Putting all of the “what-if’s” aside, the speculation runs into reality where Sears is yet to indicate any of the above. The drives last week were attributed simply to a trainer relationship with Hunter Oakes as well as interest in one of his own horses and, at least for now, that’s the extent of it.

I don’t know if anyone knows how long it will last for – potentially not even Sears himself – but the show will continue again next week at Pocono. That’s where Sears is listed on two more drives for Hunter Oakes, including the career debut for Papi’s Bride. Harness racing is more interesting with Sears in it. And If nothing else, another week of Sears racing will help to keep the speculation alive.