He has come a long way from his island roots, but Austin Sorrie appears to be just getting started. The 21-year-old native of Prince Edward Island, cutting his teeth at Charlottetown Driving Park and Summerside Raceway in his first full year of racing, made a move to Ontario on a whim in the winter of 2019.
“Two years ago, I came here because the racing at Charlottetown shuts down for the winter,” Sorrie said to the Hamilton Spectator. “If I was going to stay, I would have to get some sort of job. [Fellow] Maritimer Patrick Shepherd encouraged me to come and he would push some drives my way.”
Sorrie left the island having won 32 races from 272 with $65,758 in purses earned. Though success came quickly, keeping Sorrie in Ontario to race mainly on the province’s “B” tracks with occasional calls to race at Woodbine Mohawk Park. Sorrie’s first year in Ontario saw him visit the winner’s circle 80 times in 654 tries with $412,253 in purses earned, and in 2020 Sorrie is on track to nearly double his success from 2019.
“I have said I set a goal of 160 wins for the year but with the loss of racing for three months due to COVID I’m going to just miss,” Sorrie said. “But I’m pretty happy with the result.
“I’ve been told that you have to learn how to drive the poor horses,” Sorrie also said. “When one can do that, then the good horses will come.”
With the opportunities building for Sorrie so early in his career, he remains grounded in Ontario, racing seven nights a week as the Canadian winter bears its frost and chills through to the new year. He even manages a single-horse stable out of Baycairn Training Centre, owning and training JJ Powerball -- a winner of his most recent start at Western Fair on Dec. 7 and back in-to-go on Dec. 20 at Flamboro.
The move to Ontario, along with a strong support system both on the track and at home, has ultimately proven fruitful for the burgeoning reinsman.
“I guess you would say my dad is my mentor—when I first talked about moving west he said to do it while I was young,” Sorrie said. “I could always go home and I do get the itch every now and then but I’ve settled in here now. It was a big culture change and the seven nights a week schedule is demanding. I try to make sure I’m rested to handle it all.”
Sorrie is one of three nominees for Canadian harness racing's 2020 Future Star Award, with the two finalists to be revealed on Monday (Dec. 21) with the other 2020 O'Brien Award finalists.