Another Western Canadian horseman has made an announcement that he is pulling up his roots
. Billy Davis Jr., son of “The Dominator” Bill Davis, has recently stated he is Ontario bound.
“I am leaving B.C. as soon as this meet ends on June 27th," stated Davis Jr. "There is no racing all summer until Fraser Downs starts up again the middle of September and I feel the time is right to head east.
“I am not taking any horses with me, just going to Ontario and will be looking for a job there. From there, I will try to pick up some catch drives. Casie and Phil Coleman have both mentioned they would try to help me out once I get there."
Casie Coleman knows the Davis family well, as she grew up at Fraser Downs and worked for Bill Davis just before she moved to Ontario to start her remarkable career.
Davis Jr., who was born in Victoria B.C., is moving closer to his father's roots, as the Sr. Davis is from Peterborough, Ont.
“It is kind of funny,” said Bill Davis, “I moved out to Cloverdale from Ontario when I was 18 years old to follow my dream, now my son is moving from Cloverdale to Ontario at age 22 to follow his dream. I am excited for him.”
“The plan is to move permanently with the hopes of making it in Ontario,“ continued Billy, “the worst case scenario for me is to come back to B.C. I just sold the last horse I had, so right now I am doing some catch-jogging in the mornings for my Dad, and catch-driving for a few different trainers at night. My goal is to catch drive full time. I know it will be slow in the beginning, I don't expect to just show up on the scene and start driving a bunch. But I have to start somewhere.”
Billy notes his biggest win to date is Kiss My Cam when he won in 1:53 last year at Fraser Downs along with a notable second-place finish in the $100,000 Clash of the Pacific Final with Stonebridge Camelot last October.
With two years under his belt now as a driver, Billy will make the cross country journey with his girlfriend Christie Auzins, who is undecided if she will work at the track, or look for a job off the track.
“It has always been my dream to drive in Ontario, it is where the best go. I don't want to keep putting it off because next thing you know, I will end up with a lot of commitments out here, and may never get another chance to go,” stated Billy.
Billy currently has 81 lifetime wins in 801 lifetime drives, while his father Bill boasts huge numbers - 5,067 wins in only 20,581 drives.
(A Trot Insider exclusive by Todd Beelby)