When the Running Aces season kicks off on Sunday, May 14, the countdown to 4,000 wins will also begin for one of the track’s top drivers who needs just seven more victories to achieve the big milestone.
Lemoyne “Mooney” Svendsen is one of the most popular drivers at Running Aces and for good reason: he is a very talented horseman. There is another reason why Svendsen fits in well at the Minnesota oval: he is a native Minnesotan (born in Albert Lea) and his Nordic heritage fits in quite well in the region. He is a third-generation horseman who grew up around the harness racing game in Iowa and Minnesota.
Svendsen has built a long and prosperous career that has taken him all over the U.S. spanning more than four decades. In addition to his impressive and growing win total, he has also finished in the top three more than 12,000 times and his mounts have banked more than $15 million in purses along the way.
For many years now, Svendsen has split his time between Cal-Expo Harness in Sacramento, California and Running Aces, and he especially enjoys the time he is able to spend near family during the summers in Minnesota.
Svendsen recently spoke about the approaching milestone and the start of the new Aces season and he shared that, “To be able to achieve another big milestone like this, it really means a lot to me … but the best thing about it is that I can do it here, close to my family.”
Svendsen, who endearingly wears his heart on his sleeve, got a little bit emotional as he continued.
“It’s all about family for me. The Svendsens, we are very close. I do this, accomplish things, I do it for my family to make them proud and to live up to the Svendsen name.”
Mooney also added, “When I go for this milestone I’m doing it for my dad … I hope he’s watching from above and I just hope he will be smiling with pride.”
Svendsen also shared that, “At 64, you realize that there may not be another big milestone like this in my future, so I am going to cherish this one and really enjoy it. Some of my family wants me to stop racing, you know, just out of concern for my safety … but I’m not quitting anytime soon because I’ve got a lot more game in me, and anyways, it’s in my blood, so I’m going to keep doing what I do best.”
Svendsen will be driving one of the morning line favourites, Chiplosive (3-1), in the opening night feature race on Sunday. The seven-year-old trotter has won two of his last three races and has drawn post four in the nine-horse contest, which goes as race eight.
Fans can cheer on Mooney and their other Aces favourites on track or tune in starting this weekend. Post time is at 7 p.m. (CDT) on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
(With files from Running Aces)