USHWA Names Amateur Driver Of The Year

Published: December 17, 2009 03:46 pm EST

Todd Whitney lives an enjoyable lifestyle. Whitney, from Auburn, Maine, owns a Concrete Foundation and Floor business and says his main joys in life are his work and his racing stock.

Though the Whitney and Sons Concrete Company pays the bills, more often than not Whitney can be found at the Cumberland Fairgrounds tending to his horses or occasionally at a race track somewhere driving his own stock.

This year Whitney is enjoying the best season of his amateur driving career. As of mid-December he has recorded 29 wins, 30 seconds and 16 thirds in 187 starts and was again among the leaders in the CKG Billings Amateur Driving Series.

When contacted by phone to tell him of his honour, he initially chirped “Don’t be making any crank calls,” and then when he realized that he was actually named USHWA’S National Amateur Driver of the Year, he added in his distinct Maine accent, “Wow, I’m totally ecstatic because there are so many real good amateur drivers out there and to be singled out as tops this year… man, what an honour. It don’t get any better than this!”

Whitney won 11 amateur races in his home state of Maine and had won a dozen or so races against then-pros at Plainridge Racecourse in Massachusetts. He also won five events in the Billings Series, including the Eastern Region Final where his point total in the ‘Grand Circuit of Amateur Driving’ ranked him second on the Billings year-end leaderboard.

“I was lucky to get a nice horse to drive in the East Regional Finals at Chester (Racetrack) and winning that race was probably the highlight of my year, that is, until I was told that I won National Amateur Driver of the Year honours,” he explained. “I still can’t believe it.”

With 29 amateur wins this year, 23 last season, and 18 the year before, Whitney, now with a total of 95, has certainly earned respect from his peers.

Like almost everyone who gets into the horse business, Whitney started with a pitchfork in his hand.

“I got involved with race horses when I was a kid of 13,” Whitney related. “I worked for a gentleman by the name of Robert Allen in his greenhouse. He had some race horses too, and cleaning stalls was part of my daily workload.”

“When I was a kid, nearby Scarborough Downs raced 88 nights and I think my dad and I would attend 85 of the race cards,” Whitney chuckled. “My dad loved harness racing. He didn’t own or drive a horse but he loved the sport.”

“When I got older I bought a couple of horses and I wanted to be my own trainer, so Donnie Richards, a top horseman in the state of Maine, helped me get my trainer’s license, and along with the trainer’s license I was sent a 'Q' (qualifying) and 'F'(fair) drivers license. I drove in some qualifying races and got along OK, but when I raced for money, man, there was a big difference. It was every man for himself,” he said, emphatically.

Whitney, who now has six horses, likes to joke about the way he obtained his all time favourite, Scooters Laag, whom he often refers to as his “pride and joy.’

“Years ago I did some concrete work for Leigh Fitch another top horseman from Maine, and when I finished Leigh paid part of the costs, but said couldn’t come up with the all the money he owed me, so he asked if I would take a horse instead,” Whitney explained.

“I said 'yes,' and that horse happened to have been Scooters Laag, who ended up winning over $46,000 for me and gave me an incredible amount of pleasure when I drove him. I can’t tell you how many times people referred to Scooters Laag, as ‘the horse Whitney traded for a concrete slab.’”

There are arguably few people in the country who enjoy their lifestyle more than Whitney does.

“Life is short and I always try to do what I like to do,” the amateur reinsman said.” I love to pour concrete and I love to work with the horses. For me it doesn’t get any better than that.”

(USHWA)

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