Amateur driving can be referred to as the gift that keeps on giving, and while it provides the opportunity for the everyday person to jump into the race bike to win a race, the result is also a conversion of purse money into charitable donations. Though it may not be as simple as climbing into the race bike, as individuals must be eligible to join their corresponding club by having an “A” or “P” license and must not have earned any money as a professional driver in the last 10 years, it is as simple as charitable donations from the purse earnings of members of each club. There are 15 listed amateur driving clubs across North America. While a name change can be a common theme in any entity, it isn’t often that you see an entire club pick up and change zip codes. The Florida Amateur Driving Club (FADC) was developed in the late 1990’s, spearheaded by Jay Sears with assistance from Joe Pennacchio. In fact, the first race ever contested for the FADC was hosted on September 2, 1998 and won by Pennacchio aboard Sears-trained Samoots. Pennacchio was a lifelong fan of harness racing turned owner, then started driving in the Billings. The CKG Billings inspired the inception of other amateur clubs, including the FADC. “I was already driving at other places and I approached Jay about starting a club in Florida,” Pennacchio said. “He’s the one that executed it and had the authority to put it together and that’s how we got started. There were some ups and downs and ins and outs. In 2010 we got it going again and in 2012 when Spriggs took over, he just did a remarkable job in making it bigger, with more races and more people involved. He is the one responsible for getting it transitioned to the United States Harness Drivers Club (USHDC), too.” Dein Spriggs took over as President of the FADC in 2012 and assumed the role of President of the USHDC at its inception. Spriggs started driving in 1976 and continued through 1980 on a regular basis. He left the harness racing industry for real estate before returning as an amateur driver in 1998. “I have raced throughout the US and started with the CKG Billings circuit in 1998,” Spriggs said. “The Billings circuit raced at different tracks around the country on a weekly basis from April until November with the final race as the Gold Cup or Silver Cup in November, generally at the Meadowlands. I was coming from Florida on a plane every week to try and qualify for the finals. I raced four times in the finals, with a second in 2004 and a first in 2005 and 2006.” Spriggs was among one of the first drivers to compete apart of the newly instituted FADC. “Jay had the vision to expand amateur racing [in Florida] to help promote the sport,” Spriggs said. “I joined the club in September of 1998 after Jay had mentioned to me the opportunity to join. I did without hesitation. It was in its infancy and generally raced off the card. I believe our first on-the-card pari-mutuel race was in 2000. Around 2001, I went to race in an amateur club series where our club sent five drivers for a friendly competition [overseas] and then their club would send drivers to Pompano Park to race. It was a great experience where along with the cultural exchange, we made so many great friends.” Over time, the amateur divisions gained traction and support. With work from those involved, the races were able to find their place on the wagering card. “The one thing that stood out while racing in Germany were the high percentage of on the card pari-mutuel races. Close to half of the races were amateur races and this, in my opinion, was the beginning of regular on-the-card amateur racing being accepted in the United States by the wagering public. It took a lot of work over the years to convince the racetrack operator, racing secretaries, local trainers, and the professional drivers to accept what we had to offer,” Spriggs said. While Pompano Park was known to be a melting pot in general, where all the stables flock to spend the warm winter months, it was also a meeting point for a variety of reasons. The amateur club was one of the top reasons for the ability to blend cultures in one spot, even if for only one weekend. The FADC continued to integrate competitions and challenges among drivers from all over all the way until the finale in April of 2022. “In 2001, we were fortunate enough to host the World Amateur Driving Championship. In 2015, we did our very first Pro-Am with driving greats Wally Hennessey and David Ingraham, where each pro would have a group of amateur drivers on their respective team,” Spriggs added. “The event went over great. The pros each had a charity that they chose for our racing dollars to be donated. The following year we had more Pro-Ams, adding David Miller and Tim Tetrick. Later, in 2016, we hosted the Isle International which had drivers from 11 different countries competing for the championship, while at the same time racing for their specific country’s charity. Each of the following years until the close of Pompano Park, we have had a Pro-Am. Once Pompano closed, it was thought of as the end of the FADC, but with a no-quit attitude, the FADC is still alive, now known as the United States Harness Drivers Club [USHDC] racing at Oak Grove in Kentucky, Shenandoah Downs in Virginia, and Cumberland Run in Kentucky, continuing its course with charitable endeavors.” Another key individual in the history of the FADC and tied to the success of the USHDC is the USHDC Secretary and Treasurer, Tom Eichas, a lifelong horseman. “I bought my first racehorse when I was 16 years old and was a full-time horse trainer until 1985. After that time, I have owned many horses, sometimes hiring trainers and for quite a few years, training my own at Pompano while I worked a day job,” Eichas said. “I happened to buy a reasonable trotter in 1998 and heard about the Club starting up so I raced in the third week of the FADC. Over the years I raced here and there in the amateur races at Pompano and at some point I became the secretary and treasurer under Jamie Marra as president. Dein took over the president’s position a few years later and I stayed on in my position. “After Pompano closed, Dein Spriggs was the driving force to not let the Club just go away after 24 years,” Eichas continued. “Dein got us into Oak Grove in 2023 and once he secured that opportunity, we did a corporate name change from the FADC to the United States Harness Drivers Club. Dein also got us into race at the fall meet at Shenandoah and Corbin.” Today, the USHDC rotates their seasons with Shenandoah Downs in Woodstock, VA in the spring and fall, Oak Grove Racing in Oak Grove, KY in the summer months, and Cumberland Run in Corbin, KY in the late fall to early winter months. As the Cumberland Run and Shenandoah meets overlap a bit in the late fall, the Club balances their times with events carded on different days of the week to accommodate both. The one interesting difference between racing at Pompano in the FADC and racing across the country in the USHDC has not just been the change of location, but also the change in gait of the races. While the FADC focused on trot races, the USHDC has expanded to incorporate a majority of pacing races. “The Club races are set at the pleasure of the host track,” Eichas explained. “In Pompano, we always had trots because that is how the club was started and the race office complied. With other host tracks that are kind enough to have us, we adapt to the race conditions they write for us.” Over the years, it is estimated that the FADC and USHDC have hosted well over 100 members. Last year, Tony Dinges was the leading driver of the club and this year it is Peter Kleinhans. The amateur clubs open the opportunity for new faces to become a part of the sport, learning through hands-on experience and getting hooked on the adrenaline rush. Have you ever heard of the phrase, “Don’t quit your day job”? Well, technically, these drivers did not. Most of the drivers a part of the amateur series work full-time jobs in addition to picking up drives on the weekends in their respective clubs. A handful manage and train their own stables, some just take part in ownership of horses, and some have no involvement other than their weekly time in the race bike, making for an interesting crop of drivers. Careers range from those in law enforcement to lawyers, real estate workers and construction managers to engineers and helicopter pilots. While aiding in bringing people to harness racing, whether in the bike or as a bettor interested in the wagering aspect of the amateur races, the overall and ultimate goal pertains to the real winners of each and every race: the charities. For the USHDC, sometimes charities contact the club or the host racetrack, officials or club members also suggest options, and even people from the harness racing community will offer up a charitable opportunity. “At most host tracks, the 5% driver fees are sent directly to the Club by the horsemen’s bookkeeper,” Eichas explained. “The Club is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization and we choose from the suggested charities to donate to. We also invest in education about amateur racing and harness racing through Facebook, articles, and exposure through video during charity events and donation presentations. “Our goals are to race amateur races and donate our drivers’ fees to as many worthwhile causes as we can. We like to donate to horse-related organizations and many of our donations have supported many different types of horse rescue and therapy places. We have also given to places that assist the homeless, cancer assistance and research, religion, harness racing museum, young folks’ assistance, military programs, animal shelters, soup kitchens, HIV assistance, scholarships, and many more,” Eichas concluded. According to Spriggs, hundreds of thousands of dollars have been donated to charities by the former Florida club while Joe Faraldo, founder of the North American Amateur Drivers Association which competes at tracks like Yonkers and Monticello Raceways, said $100,000 to $200,000 has been generated for charity by that club. As the gift keeps on giving to drivers and charities alike, together Eichas and Spriggs keep the memory of the FADC alive through the USHDC, with Pompano Park writer John Berry featuring their weekly recaps as he had done in Pompano Park.