All Ya Gotta Know...

Jack Moiseyev has been a horseman virtually all of his life. He has grown up in racing, and his connections to the sport run deep. Through hard work and a love of what he does, Moiseyev’s success is clear to see. By Keith McCalmont

When Ontario’s Slots at Racetrack Program came to an abrupt end three years ago, 55-year-old Asbury Park, New Jersey native Jack Moiseyev, aka ‘Jackie Mo’, could have headed back south. Instead, the veteran horseman, and his partner of 12 years, Joanne Colville, rolled up their sleeves and got to work on making their own future.

“Our focus has changed with the loss of the Slots At Racetrack Program,” said Colville on a crisp October morning at Baycairn Training Centre, in Campbellville, Ontario. “The horses we breed, we’re keeping them to train. We’re not selling them and that’s worked for us so far.”

Moiseyev and Colville wear a lot of hats in the standardbred industry. Their High Stakes Farm, just north of Mohawk Racetrack, is a busy breeding operation and home to upward of 45 horses in various stages of career.

“From broodmares up, there are probably 50 horses. We have 10 mares in foal for next year,” said Colville who at any given time can be credited as a breeder, outrider and Event Coordinator for the Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society. She also sits on the board of Standardbred Canada’s Executive Committee and Breeders Committee while also serving as the Chair of the Sale Committee.

In addition, Colville works her own farm, foaling out new crops each season, and puts in regular shifts at the training center jogging horses.

“She’s 11 years younger than me and I can’t keep up with her,” laughed Moiseyev.

Of course, Moiseyev, a man of few words, is busy in his own right. A driving legend, with more than 9,700 wins and $131 million in earnings, he is associated with such stalwarts as Precious Bunny, Presidential Ball, Fools Goal and Pacific Rocket. The good-natured Moiseyev is also a trainer, owner and breeder and much sought after resource for developing young horses.

Between the two of them, there’s not a part of the standardbred game they don’t have some hand in and their enthusiasm for the sport they love continues to grow.

“I think we’re on the right path. We have to continue to focus on working together,” said Colville. “I’m not a fan of how the government made changes with SARP, but I’m optimistic we’ll work together and help this industry rebound. Breeding numbers are up again this year, so there’s more than just us that’s optimistic going forward.”

And the veteran Moiseyev, considered by some to be a leading candidate for the O’Brien Award for Horsemanship, sealed his commitment to the industry north of the border recently by becoming a Canadian citizen.

Canada’s own Jackie Mo, eh?

Like many in the racing game, Moiseyev came to the sport through a family connection - his father, trainer Sid Moiseyev.

“My father worked for Billy Haughton and Stanley Dancer when he was younger,” said Moiseyev. “I was with him at the farm and off to the track all the time. I jogged horses from when I was seven-years-old. It’s just how I grew up.”

Moiseyev credits a youth spent working with horses to much of his success as a driver and trainer.

“I did it all. Cleaning stalls, grooming horses, jogging…you have to start at the bottom to learn about the horse before you start driving,” said Moiseyev. “A lot of these young guys starting out now, they seem to just jump right in the bike and they’re racing. But, if you asked them to take the harness off and take it apart and put it back together they couldn’t do it.”

Moiseyev was hands-on in his apprenticeship to harness racing and he credits his well-schooled father for launching a professional career that’s now well into its fourth decade.

“The horses my father had were a little bit older. They were claimers and had been around the block which made it easier to learn,” said Moiseyev. “He always had a 20-horse stable full of good claimers and that was nice when I first started at Freehold because I had something to drive right away.”

Even though he’s more than put in his time learning the game, Moiseyev still loves to be hands on with all of his young horses.

“We’re just starting to break the babies. We’ve got three broke and four more to do and then we’ll buy one more so we’ll have about 18 horses here for the winter which is a lot of work,” said Moiseyev. “But, I love it. You have to love it or you wouldn’t last a week in this game.”

Of course, when you have as much experience as Moiseyev, the hard work seems that much easier.

“Breaking a horse takes three or four days,” explained Moiseyev. “First thing you do when they come in is handle them a little bit and let them get used to you. The next day, you get the harness on them and walk around the stall. Later, you line drive them. You just stand behind them with a guy on each side and teach them how to steer outside. Usually, after two days of that, you can hook the cart on and start on the track,” he continued. “Nowadays, it’s so much easier. Years ago, it would have taken two weeks but they’re ready to go now.”

“You still get the odd rebel…,” added Colville with a grin.

Not that Moiseyev is taking all the credit for the stable’s success.

“I’m lucky to have two good girls here in Jamie Hart and Linda Duncan. They’re two of the best I’ve ever had to work for me,” he said. “To be fair, if I couldn’t come for a few days they’d be able to do everything because they know how I like it. They’re very quiet around the horses. I trust them and that’s key.”

And despite the long hours of waking up at the crack of dawn to racing under the lights at Woodbine, Moiseyev still loves his work.

On this morning, fighting a cold which forced him to book off four drives the previous night, he still was on the training track putting his horses through their paces.

“Each horse goes four miles a day and with 12 horses in the barn right now, that’s 48 miles a day on a half-mile track. But, it’s got to be done,” he shrugged.

Most racing fans are familiar with Moiseyev’s on-track success. The superlatives have piled up over the years for the veteran driver who was successful in his first start.

“I was 17 at Brandywine Raceway. I drove one for my father. Took him down the road…,” grinned Moiseyev.

At 18, he moved over to Freehold Raceway to drive his father’s 20-horse stable, which kick-started his career. A few years later, Moiseyev was driving much of trainer Brett Pelling’s stock and from there went on to do an ample amount of driving for conditioners like Bill Robinson.

The saying, ‘All Ya Gotta Know Is Jackie Mo’ became commonplace amongst punters and horsemen around the Meadowlands and throughout North America.

The victories piled up. The good horses associated with his name doubled and tripled. But one stood out from the rest. In 1991, Moiseyev enjoyed his best season ever guiding U.S. Horse of the Year, Precious Bunny, to wins in the Meadowlands Pace, Little Brown Jug, Adios and Breeders Crown.

“Precious Bunny won every big race he was ever in,” grinned Moiseyev. “The first time I drove him was because John Campbell decided to drive Artsplace the rest of the year. As it turned out, I’d say Precious Bunny beat him 99 percent of the time.”

Memories of ‘The Bunny’ come flooding back to Moiseyev and the driver’s eyes brighten as he recalls the 1991 edition of the Meadowlands Pace as though he’d driven it yesterday.

“I could move him anywhere I want in the mile and zip, but I liked to take my time with him,” recalled Moiseyev. “In the Meadowlands Pace, Campbell was driving Artsplace and taking his time getting to the front and I was there following him. I think he wanted to leave me out when I came at him, but I came three-wide before he cleared, zipped around everybody and whoooosh…

“Precious Bunny left the gate at the Little Brown Jug faster than any horse I’ve driven in my life,” continued Moiseyev. “I had to wait for the car to get out of the way that’s how fast he was going. On that half-mile track you have to be close early. Not many over the years come from behind to win there.”

Of course, driving has its bad moments as well.

“I’ve had three bad accidents in my career,” said Moiseyev. “In ‘93 I went down at Freehold and sprained my spine, had a couple fractures in my back and a herniated disk. I was knocked out and ended up in the hospital for a week.”

It was simply a freak accident.

“I was sitting second and my horse just went down. He didn’t trip or stumble, he just folded all fours and gave up. To this day I don’t know why,” said Moiseyev. “I had a couple guys hit me from behind. One hit me right in the spine and I went flying like a rag doll. It hurt, but that’s the game.”

In 2006, while driving Object Of Art at Mohawk, Moiseyev sustained a serious laceration to his forearm when he was involved in a three-horse accident, which also saw fellow drivers Randy Waples and Keith Oliver seriously injured.

And then there was the chaotic night at Woodbine in 2011 when Moiseyev was involved in an accident during the Summertime Stakes elims that saw the driver acrobatically unseated.

Colville was on duty that night.

“She was the first one there…on foot. She ran right across the track,” recalled Moiseyev.

The dramatic incident, that also sent Luc Ouellette to the ground, played on sports highlight reels later that night.

“Jack was conscious and talking and he could tell us where he was sore. Thankfully it was just a broken leg. It could have been a lot worse,” said Colville.

The solidly-built Moiseyev shrugs his shoulders and sighs when asked if the accidents gave him pause to think about his risky career choice.

“The first couple drives it’s there, but you forget about it quick. If you thought about it, you’d never do good again,” he said.

And now, in the later stages of his driving career, Moiseyev is content to pick his spots.

“When I was young, I’d drive 22 a day. 11 in the day at Freehold and 11 at night at Meadowlands. I loved it,” he smiled. “I still love driving, but my body doesn’t love it like it used to. I don’t want to drive 10 a night anymore. I’d be happy to race my own and pick up a few good ones.”

At his peak, Moiseyev offered the ultimate combination of quantity and quality. In 1991, he drove his way through 3,896 starts winning 769 races and banking in excess of $9.5 million.

The number of starts have tapered down over the years for Moiseyev, but he continues to drive at a good percentage while transitioning from prominent driver to stable trainer for their farm’s burgeoning crop of homebreds.

In 2014, he posted a UDRS of .382 as a trainer winning six of 27 starts. This season, Moiseyev is clicking along at .325 having conditioned 35 winners from 150 starts.

His efforts have caught the eye of track announcer Ken Middleton who, if voting started today, would tick the box next to Moiseyev’s name for the O’Brien Award of Horsemanship.

“The horsemanship award is based on someone with multiple roles. It’s not just one skill category, it’s a combination of driving, training and more,” explained Middleton. “Jack’s training average this year, for the longest time, was up around .350 close to .400 and that’s not just on one or two horses, that’s on a pretty big test sample. If you can bat .350 in baseball, you’d be doing pretty well and Jack is doing it here on the toughest circuit in racing.

“He gets young horses, racehorses, trotters, pacers it doesn’t matter,” continued Middleton. “To me, that’s the true meaning of a horseman. It’s not someone who can just do older horses or just do yearlings and turn them into racehorses. Jack takes claimers, overnight horses, he does it all. He’s a well-rounded horseman.”

Middleton, along with his partner Stacey Reinsma, put their trust in the veteran driver time and again this season in developing Lady Marina, a two-year-old Art Colony filly.

“When you have young horses, it’s crucial in the first couple starts to do the right thing for the horse,” said Middleton. “Some drivers can be very aggressive and that’s just how they are. But Jack, being a horseman, he works with young horses every morning and has a good sense of how to bring them along.

“He teaches them early on how to race and pass and be fast at the end of the mile and finish with pace,” continued Middleton. “He doesn’t leave them tired at the end of the mile. Jack is more old school and he’s a student of the game. He does what’s right for the horse.”

That hard work developing Lady Marina came good on October 15 when the filly graduated from the maiden ranks in fine style at odds of 10-1, at Woodbine. Unfortunately, Moiseyev, in the bike for the filly’s first six starts, had to book off with a cold leaving Jonathan Drury to pick up the spoils.

“Jack did all the leg work bringing her along as nicely as you could. He didn’t put her in compromising positions early in her career and that’s so important for those first couple of starts to not ask them to do too much,” said Middleton. “Sure, it looks good when your horse goes out and wins first time in :51 or :52 but sometimes that hurts them. He drives them accordingly. When he qualifies them, he gets a feel for them and lets you know what they’re capable of in their first start.”

It’s that type of horsemanship that catches the eye of a man who sees more races than anyone in the country.

“Jack is in high demand come sires stakes time in June, when the baby races start rolling at Mohawk. He drives for a number of stables not just one power stable,” said Middleton. “When the time comes, he gets my vote.”

Moiseyev and Colville continue to set a great example for the standardbred community. Both have a strong sense of family. Colville’s daughter Emma, 13, is well-known in the industry and, in addition to wanting to emulate her mother as an outrider, she is learning the game from the ground up, much to Moiseyev’s amusement.

“We have Daylon Magician turned out on the farm right now and he’s getting to be a bit of a handful,” started Moiseyev. “So much so, that one of the guys that works for us was having a tough time walking him in and out. He was a little scared of him to be honest.”

But, not young Emma.

“Bold as can be, there goes Emma to take care of it saying, ‘I’ll show you how to do it,’” laughed Moiseyev. “And she went out and took ‘Daylon’ out of the paddock and walked him into the stall like it was nothing. No fear.”

Moiseyev has three children of his own, Amy (27), Danny (24) and Michael (18) who live back in New Jersey. “My boy Danny is here helping us out at the farm right now,” said Moiseyev. “Family is very important for us. Joanne and I have a bunch of new young horses coming every year and having that family help is key.”

Not that he’s looking to pass the torch just yet.

“This game, it gets in your heart and once there, it’s tough to get it out,” he said. “I get a lot of satisfaction breaking my own horses and seeing them turn out decent.”

“You’re always chasing that dream. It’s like buying a 6/49 ticket,” added Colville.

So, they’ll continue to breed horses and work hard and hope for the next big thing. And, Moiseyev won’t mind waiting. If anything, he’ll just continue to enjoy the ride.

“If I had to choose one thing that’s most important when it comes to horsemanship,” grinned Moiseyev. “It’s patience.”