Palone sets new standard
Photo courtesy of The Meadows Racetrack
Dave Palone, a Greene County native and Washington resident, returns to the winner’s circle after becoming the winningest harness racing driver in the world.
Dave Palone won his 16,754th career race Friday at The Meadows Racetrack. The number is a world record for harness racing victories.
Harness racing driver Dave Palone broke the world record Friday at The Meadows Racetrack when he got career win 16,754 to surpass the mark of 16,753 held by Germany’s Heinz Wewering. The record-breaker came with Missy Tap Tina in the 15th and final race of the day.
In the winners’ circle presentation, an emotional Palone said he felt his father – Marion “Butch” Palone, who died Nov. 4 – “was with me around the final turn.”
He also accepted videotaped congratulations from Wewering, who joked he hoped Palone wouldn’t roll up too many wins so Wewering might have the opportunity to catch him. Though Wewering drives a limited schedule these days, he will have a chance to reclaim the lead, however briefly, as he has seven drives scheduled Sunday in Berlin while Palone is idle until Monday.
Palone, a Dry tavern native, expressed relief at achieving the record and said he might not “push myself so hard” now that the chase is over.
“It’s been a long grind, 30 years worth of racing,” he said a few days before the record-breaker. “I can’t say it hasn’t been on my mind. It doesn’t get any easier as you get older, competing against these younger guys. I’ve had this in my sights since we broke Herve’s record.”
That would be Herve Filion of Canada, whose North America win record was passed by Palone two years ago.
The 52-year-old Palone thanked his family and the trainers – singling out Ron Burke and Mickey Burke, the patriarch of the Burke family – for providing him with opportunities to drive top horses, and noted the impact of Hall of Famer John Campbell on his career.
“John has always been a hero to me and the epitome of excellence,” Palone said. “A few times when I went down with injuries, he was the first guy to call me and wish me well and talk me through those injuries.”
Palone expressed regret the most important influence on his career, his father, wasn’t there to share the moment.
“I would have loved breaking the record while he was here,” he said. “My dad was everything. I never would have been involved with horses if it weren’t for my dad dragging me here when I was 10 or 11 years old. He and a friend got me my first horses. They took a shot with me, and you could say I learned on their quarter. I owe everything to my dad.”
Palone and Wewering met once, during a driving championship in Sweden, but their interaction was limited. Nevertheless, Palone praised the man he said will be remembered as one of the greatest trainer/drivers in harness racing history.
“My day starts about noon. His day starts at 4 o’clock or 5 o’clock in the morning training horses. And then when he would get done training, he would get in the sulky and drive horses,” Palone said. “His work ethic is just unbelievable. I commend him for what he’s done.”
With the chase over, Palone said we might see subtle changes in his schedule.
“I’ve turned down a lot of driving opportunities to race in Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, to honor commitments here in the states,” he said. “I’d really like to travel a little and do some of those fun things and maybe wind it down a little bit as far as grinding every day.”
Wewering, 64, trains about two dozen horses, and his wins have come almost exclusively from horses he also trains. He was German driving champion 29 times and twice won the World Driving Championship.
“On behalf of everyone at the U.S. Trotting Association, I’d like to congratulate Dave on becoming the world’s winningest driver,” said Phil Langley, president of the USTA, the sports governing body. “When he recently broke Herve’s record, I told Dave that someday he would record his 20,000th win, and I stand by that comment even more today.”
The vast majority of Palone’s wins have come at his home track, The Meadows, though he has driven occasionally in major stakes races across North America. Horses he’s driven have won more than $122 million.
He was inducted into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 2010 and, on July 5, 2012, became the all-time leading driver in North America, passing Herve Filion’s mark of 15,180 wins.
Palone is a seven-time (1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2013) Harness Tracks of America Driver of the Year, a competition that factors in number of wins, purse money and percentage of wins. On four occasions, he was the leading race-winning driver in North America: 1999, 2000, 2004 and 2012.
Palone has been the leading driver at The Meadows for 25 consecutive years.