When Greg Grismore piloted his 8,000th winner, bringing Disgruntled Carl home on April 22 at Northfield Park, it put the crown on a career that started nearly 50 years ago, although Grismore wasn’t convinced at the time. “Giss,” he said. “You want to interview me? It must be a slow harness racing news week.” But Grismore’s story is a good one. “I jogged my first horse when I was 6, so by the time I got my license, I had been jogging and training for years,” recalled Grismore. “I started with my dad, Mark, who was a huge influence. We didn’t race at the fairs, so I got my qualifying license at Raceway Park and after about a dozen starts, I got my license. I’ve never wanted to do anything else.” Grismore credits his dad, saying he was a great horseman, for teaching him the right way. Having raced against Mark at Raceway Park in the late seventies, I can vouch for that. Mark’s horses were always properly rigged and well classified. If there were two divisions of a race, you would generally hope to draw into the one Mark did not have a horse in. Although trainer stats were not kept until 1991, between that year and 2005, he posted a UTRS under .300 only twice, and was over .350 five times. “Dad trained horses since I was born. I lived on the farm and was around them my whole life. This is all I’ve ever done. It wasn’t easy, but I had an advantage. I felt comfortable,” said Grismore. “Dad made sure I had easier horses to drive my first year. We had old classy racehorses and dad always classified well. My dad, in my opinion, was one of the best horsemen around. I learned that way – no catch drives, just for my dad.” Because he worked for his dad, Greg’s opportunity to get catch drives was limited. After starting at Toledo, the horsemen went on strike, so Greg took a few horses to Northfield for his dad. “I went and started getting drives, and it started going well and it just got going from there, quicker than I thought,” said the driver. “I moved there full-time in February of 1998. My wife was from the area, too. I had raced there a few winters but never full time.” Greg quickly became a fixture at Northfield with trainers like Kent Sherman, Mike Weller and Jeff Cox using him as their primary driver. He won a couple driving titles and had a great deal of success at the Route 8 oval. His biggest victories include wins in the Cleveland Classic (Won The West, 2007), the George Morton Levy (Maltese Artist, 2007), the Beckwith (Maltese Artist, 2007) and the Jugette (Good News Lady, 2008). “That was sentimental. Dad had just passed away,”  said Grismore about the Jugette win. “I went out East and started getting drives for Ron Burke and when I finally came back to Ohio for personal reasons I continued to get drives from Ronnie. I won a few American Nationals in Chicago, too.” Greg’s only regrets are that he never won Northfield’s Battle of Lake Erie – he was second three times—or the Little Brown Jug. He drove in three Jugs, making the Final once with Won The West. After finishing third in his elimination, he was fourth in the final. But the two horses that left the biggest impression on him are Maltese Artist and Cambest Prince. “Maltese Artist was the best horse I ever drove,” said Grismore. “And Cambest Prince. He put me on the map outside of Ohio, although we were second twice in the Battle of Lake Erie, but we won some big races out East. That got my foot in the door and I raced in New York for about four years and at The Meadows for four more. Then I decided to come back home to be closer to my son, Curtis, so I ended up back at Northfield.” Grismore’s first win came in 1987 and in the nearly forty years since, in addition to winning over 8,000 races, his drives have amassed over $58 million in purses, with two years over five million and 11 more over two million, including every year from 2006-2012. Perhaps nobody in the business knows Grismore better than longtime Northfield OHHA Rep Amy Hollar. Of Grismore, she said, “I’ve known Greg since 1990 and have lots of great stories, most of which are not printable. I will say he has driven cheap claimers and stakes horses for us over the years and I consider him one of my favorite drivers. Greg drives to make money and doesn’t abuse the horse. If he screws up, he’ll admit it. He’s competitive and he’s the driver I have probably had the most fights with, but in the end, I consider him a good friend.” As lofty as Grismore’s stats appear on paper, there has been a noticeable decline in terms of starts, wins and earnings over the last few years. The 55-year-old was a bit frustrated as he was not getting a lot of drives. So when Jason Brewer called and asked if he would train a string for him at Northfield, Greg said yes. Now, he even has a couple of his own, but most importantly, after 40 years in the business, the change has been in attitude as much as wakeup time. “I am enjoying it a lot more now – I didn’t realize how much I missed the day-to-day interactions. I went a few years of being really sour,” said Grismore. “I have eight horses right now – seven for Jason and one of my own. One employee. We will see what happens down the road. “I’m getting old,” he quipped. Asked about octogenarian Don McKirgan, who he races against at Northfield, Grismore was blunt. “I don’t want to be out there at that age. As long as you’re out there and safe and know what you’re doing, fine. It’s just not for me. I can see myself training for a long time though.” Grismore’s story has taken him across the country to dozens of tracks, where he has sat behind thousands of horses (he was surprised when I told him he had over 57,000 career drives). Where it takes him next remains to be seen. That’s it for this time. Now go cash. Maybe on Disgruntled Carl and Greg Grismore, but perhaps you missed the boat since he won at $75 last Wednesday at MGM Northfield Park.