Dalton Walls has plenty of reasons to believe

by Chris Lomon

When Dalton Walls decided to go out on his own again in 2026, he wasn’t sure whether the horses would put him back in the flow of racing or if he would have to find another career. He made the decision to bet on himself.

Long before he trained his first standardbred, the multigenerational horseman was well-versed in the outlook he needed to find success in racing.

“Being a third-generation horseperson on both sides, I grew up in a barn,” Walls said. “As soon as my mom and dad could put me to work, I was cleaning stalls and doing other jobs. I was around 10 or 11 when I started jogging horses. When you do those first training miles, you understand that rush, the feeling of going fast. But no matter what I did, you were always expected to work hard, be committed to what you were doing and do it all the right way.”

Walls, who spent a summer working for Jeff Nisonger when he was 15 said, “So, I learned a lot of valuable lessons and heard a lot of great advice — from my family and others — along the way. I remember Jeff telling me that the business comes 10 moments at a time, and the one win will get you the tough nine ones.”

He has never forgotten those words or what they mean, even when a career in racing was a question mark for a time.

“My dad [longtime horseman Bruce Walls] wanted me to go to college,” Dalton said. “I started with a couple of horses when I was around 18 or 19, but I did go to school for one year to pursue a business major. I left some horses at home with my dad. I was only 45 minutes down the road for college, but after a year, I decided I wanted to come back to racing and do that on a full-time basis.”

His first training win came in 2017, when he sent out Blue Bank K to a 19-1 upset at Scioto Downs on Aug. 16. It was the start of a three-race win streak for both Dalton and the trotting son of Break The Bank K, whom he co-owned.

Dalton never saw any of it coming — and for good reason.

“He was an inexpensive colt, who I bought at the Blooded Horse Sale here in Ohio,” Dalton said. “I struggled with him a lot early in the summer. He had been such a pain and then he got pretty sharp after that.”

The first win in the natural hat trick was, understandably, the most memorable.

“It was such a rush to win that first race, a feeling you don’t understand until you finally experience it,” Dalton said.

Keeping the faith in his often-difficult trotter emboldened Dalton.

After a four-win rookie season from 18 starts, he won seven races in 2018. His breakthrough campaign came in 2021 when he won 23 races, which he followed with a career-best 24-win season the following year.

It was Big Box Hanover, a trotting son of Uncle Peter who helped a then-teenage Dalton hit his best stride.

“He changed the course of my career,” he said. “I had him with me from 2019 to the fall of 2020. He is still racing now and just went over $1 million in career earnings. For a 19-year-old kid, it was a dream come true. He was second in a Sires Stakes final and second in a Breeders final – just a tough, hard-knocking horse who was fun to be around. He was so good to me, the type of horse you need to catch a little traction early in your career.”

Now, with nearly 500 training starts to his name, Dalton’s standardbred life hasn’t been without its share of difficult times.

“When I got out of high school, I had two great owners,” he said. “They were with me for about six years or so. Both got a form of cancer within the same year and one of them passed away. I spent the past two years working for [trainer] Ronnie Gillespie.”

This year has been a renaissance of sorts for Dalton.

After a 24-start campaign in 2024 and 19 in 2025, he wasn’t certain as to how his 2026 would play out.

Dalton went into the year with a modest mindset, looking to re-craft his operation and hopeful of achieving some success.

He has far exceeded those goals.

“It was pretty scary this year going out on my own again,” he said. “I wasn’t certain how the horses — modest-priced and homebreds — would race and whether it would put me back in the flow or if I would have to find another job.”

Dalton’s band of pacers and trotters had an emphatic answer for that question.

“They have been amazing for me, and I couldn’t be more grateful to the horses and my owners,” he said.

He reached the $1 million mark in career purse earnings this summer and is on pace for his most productive season.

“My short-term goal is to continue to keep that foothold and keep pushing in the right direction,” he said. “The long-term goal is to upgrade the stock and be successful in Ohio. I love the culture and the horsepeople around here.”

Dedication to his objectives means precious little time to pursue outside interests.

There is, however, one hobby — although that might be a stretch — that Dalton has come to enjoy.

Not surprisingly, it is played out inside the barns.

“I do play darts with other trainers, so I guess if that is a hobby, that would count,” he said. “It is just something we do to blow off some steam and give each other a hard time.”

Dalton is hoping to hit some more bullseyes on the racetrack before the end of 2026, a year in which he has already set a career-best mark in purse earnings.

“The whole barn is heading towards finals, whether it’s Sires Stakes, the Buckeye, or at the fairs,” he said. “It would be nice to see them get there and be as competitive as they can be, and then we can get ready for the baby season again.

“My dad was struck in the face [by a horse] four months ago and had to spend time in the ICU, but we finally have him back in the barn and he was out on the track jogging again. It’s a real blessing to have him back.”

Dalton has plenty of reasons to keep believing.

“Starting back up again, I have so many people to thank for believing in me,” he said. “Rob Rodrigues, Dr. Hartzel, Dr. Gilbert, Dr. Friedland, Ronnie Gillespie, and Ryan Miller – they have all supported me. When you have the support of family, friends, and fellow horsepeople, it makes you believe in yourself.

“That’s always a good feeling to have.”