Harness: Early retirement now unrealistic for Burke

Every person with a job daydreams of what life could be like in retirement. Some of us will have to wait until our 70s or later, while a few lucky ones can walk away from working life in their 50s. For trainer Ron Burke, who admits to contemplating retirement on the early side of the age spectrum, that prospect is no longer an option.

"I keep saying I'm going to cut back, but I don't know how to," said Burke on a day when he was driving four hours to the airport to catch a direct flight to Florida to check in on his young horses. "It's funny, we aren't racing right now as much as we have, and I'm bored to death. I kept saying at 55 I would quit, which would be five more years, but there is no shot. I'm bored now and I'm still racing probably four times as much as anyone, so I couldn't even imagine what I would do if I quit.

"I thought I would just quit and shut it down, but I think that is unrealistic. I don't have enough hobbies and don't think I could find enough hobbies. And I don't think I'd want to be just an owner because I think I'd be the biggest a--hole owner. I would be like, 'I'll come in and help you,' but by the end of the day I'd be running the show."

Burke has dominated the landscape of harness racing since taking over the stable from his father, Mickey, in 2009. Not only has the 51-year-old led the earnings and wins categories each year since, but those dozen years also rank as the 12 highest single-season totals in North American history. Even in 2020, when COVID-19 shut down racing for more than two months, Burke still saw his horses win 883 races and earn over $17.5 million.

In the above 12 years of training, along with a few partial seasons, Burke has amassed 11,451 wins (through March 10) and over $252 million in earnings. Both totals are nearly double the trainer in second on the lists.

In addition to a love for the sport and a need to keep occupied, Burke might have a new reason to keep the family business running on all cylinders.

"It's funny, my kids, because of COVID, got shoved into helping me for the first time ever. They had never been in the barn, but they were basically stuck at home, and I told them 'you're not going to just sit around'," said Burke, who singled out his son, Brad, as the one who took a special interest in harness racing. "That's all it would do to make me stay in it is him doing it after he gets out of college. He goes to the University of Florida, and he took a weekend to come down and train the babies with us. It was just fun watching him learn.

"What has made me like the game so much is that my father was and is still in it working with us every day. This year, many days we had three generations on the track every day together. I think it has been great for my dad to see one of his grandkids out there."

Watching aspiring young drivers Jack Pelling and Patrick Ryder, sons of top trainers Brett and Chris, respectively, Burke couldn't help but think maybe Brad could also go the driving route.

"My son is little enough too, he's only 5'8" and he sits behind a horse and handles them very well. I could see him making a good driver," said Burke. "At first I wasn't sure I was for it, but it has been a great career for me. I love what I do. Not one part of me doesn't."

To say that the Burke operation is gigantic is an understatement. On any given date he could have horses racing at four or five different tracks. Each year, an effort is made to cut the numbers, but that seems to be the one thing the gifted trainer can't accomplish.

"We are probably pushing 300 again. We have 90 babies. We were supposed to cut back, but instead it is the most we've ever had," said Burke. "It is tough. Right now the racehorses aren't as good of a business as years past, and you are better off with the stakes horses. The purses for the stakes horses haven't faltered as badly under COVID compared to the overnight purses."

Being the person entering hundreds of horses is no easy task. Most trainers marvel at Burke's ability to multi-task and keep the operation running smoothly. His value to the stable is priceless, which is what, along with his size, keeps him out of the racing bike for pari-mutuel races.

"If I thought weight didn't matter, I'd drive my own. The whole idea that it doesn't matter is ridiculous," said Burke. "Moving the horse is where it matters. If I sit still on the rail and let them free-flow, I can keep them going pretty well. It is the starting and stopping and going right and left. You can almost feel the tires biting and dragging into the ground. It makes a difference. It is all about momentum. It is harder for horses to start and stop when they are pulling more weight.

"I have a couple I've even thought about driving the first couple of times," continued Burke, who has 110 career wins in the sulky, most prior to 1996. "I call them the 'just don't fall out of the bike' horses, because as long as you don't fall out of the bike they will win. But I always think that if I bounce out of the bike there is no replacement for me. If someone else falls out, I just need to write another name down on the sheet. It may be cruel, but it is true. If I get hurt, a lot of people are going to have to figure out how to do a lot of entering in a very short period of time."

Thankfully, Burke is content on the sidelines watching -- in person and remotely -- his brigade of pacers and trotters compete across the country. The Pennsylvania native and resident is on pace to reach 12,000 career wins in 2021 and has a number of preseason contenders for divisional honors. Life is good for the leading trainer in North America, and perhaps bad for those competing against him in the years to come.