Harness: Mark MacDonald tends to defy the odds

"I feel great." Those were the words of driver Mark MacDonald the morning after he drove two horses in the MGM Borgata Pacing Series at MGM Yonkers Raceway, his first drives in nearly six months following a devastating accident at the same track that put him out of action.

"Injuries are part of every sport," MacDonald said plainly about the accident that saw him suffer multiple injuries to his body and instantly shift his focus away from the track and onto the work necessary to get healthy enough to return to action.

"I've had my share," said MacDonald of injuries incurred due to racing accidents, "But you look at any other sport. In football you can take a hit and blow out a knee. In hockey someone can hit you from behind. In baseball you can get hit with a 100 MPH fastball to the bean. It's part of the game."

MacDonald's attitude was good following the spill, but he also recognized that unlike some of the other injuries he'd suffered, this time it was different. "It wasn't like breaking a bone where they put you in a cast and tell you it will take six weeks to heal," said MacDonald. "Muscles needed to heal properly. I was in bed and couldn't move for the first month."

Time was the only cure and for MacDonald there was no specific date put on when his body would repair itself and when some freedom of movement would kick in. Having been sidelined before, MacDonald knew what it would take to get healthy again and closely followed his doctor's advice, giving his body the time required while doing the physical therapy necessary for the best possible outcome.

The issues primarily involved his back, a very delicate area of the body and something vital to the ability to move freely without pain during day-to-day life, let alone getting back behind a horse and needing to be flexible in competition.

"I'm athletic and I wanted to be able to participate in things I like to do physically," said MacDonald, referring to walking and golfing and other sports. "So as much as I wanted to return quickly, I knew it was crucial that everything had to be exactly right before pushing my body further."

Only about a week ago, after months of hard work and nature cooperating, MacDonald was finally able to sit behind a horse in a race bike and see how he had progressed. "I went to Ray's (Schnittker) and sat behind a 2-year-old and a 3-year-old, and felt pretty good," said MacDonald, keenly aware that it would take time now once healed to acclimate to racing situations and the feel of sitting behind a horse. Months away from the bike can be disruptive to timing and the physical demands on the body.

Whatever the rust was in MacDonald's game, it didn't show much when he made his debut on Monday (April 14) with two drives for trainer Larry Stalbaum in the Borgata Series. It was somewhat fitting that MacDonald would guide Rocknroll Runa A, the horse he piloted to a major upset in last year's Sam McKee Memorial at the Meadowlands on Hambletonian Day, as his first drive in 2025.

"It felt good out there," said MacDonald of the experience. "I thought he raced very well considering how difficult it is to make up ground when you're that far back at Yonkers. I was thinking about leaving the gate with him, but I saw Patrick (Lachance, guiding Verdun) inside of me on the gate, and though he's not a horse he generally leaves with, I knew he could from seeing him before."

MacDonald's insightfulness was fully on display in this conversation, and it reflects in the depths of his experience driving some of the sport's most talented horses over a career that began in his late teens on the racetrack, and now sees him returning to action competitively as a 46-year-old with nearly 30 years driving horses.

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It is precisely that awareness of a horse's form and the tendencies of his rivals that has seen MacDonald as a dominant driver on Canada's premier circuit (Woodbine-Mohawk) in past iterations, and more currently showing up in big races and capturing the sport's classic races like the Breeders Crown with King Of The North in 2022 and the Meadowlands Pace with Lawless Shadow in 2021.

In those major stakes races, MacDonald has proven himself time and time again, whether driving the best horse in the race or a longshot. Those on the outside rarely see what it takes to give a longshot a shot in a big race and how position and timing are a crucial element to not exhausting the chances and succeeding when opportunity arises. That was certainly part of the elements that led to Rocknroll Runa's biggest career victory last year, and its precisely those moments that MacDonald is hopeful that he will get to live again.

"I'm grateful for the opportunity," said MacDonald, looking forward to hopefully find himself behind some good horses as stakes season approaches. "Ray (Schnittker) has some nice ones. I drove a nice trotting filly for him last year that won the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes final," continued the driver, referring to the Greenshoe-sired She's a Shoe In, a filly that he navigated from next-to-last to first as a 16-1 outsider in the $252K final last September at The Meadows.

As MacDonald looks forward to the 2025 season, he once again is trying to put himself in the right spot to be available when called upon and make the most of any opportunity that arises. "I feel like the backup quarterback in the NFL," said MacDonald, obviously aware of his wisdom from having been successful throughout his career and likely the younger competition that continues to emerge at the elite level driving Standardbreds. "Give me a good team (horse) and I can get the job done."

Days on the sidelines watching the action from afar have unfortunately been a small part of MacDonald's brilliant career. With 6,710 lifetime victories, leading to over $106 million in earnings for his mounts, MacDonald has excelled both in his native Canada and the U.S. Though the days of driving full cards and dominating at Woodbine or Mohawk are nearly 20 years in the past, the activity has been replaced by a keen wisdom with the athletic ability to compete with younger and older drivers alike.

"I love driving young horses," said MacDonald, hoping to get the opportunity this spring and summer to sit behind a few this year. "With Kentucky's purse structure I know there are going to be a lot of drivers going down there. Hopefully that will allow me to get some opportunity to drive in Pennsylvania and New York. I can always go back to drive in Ontario as well."

MacDonald is keeping his options open and hoping to get back to driving on a more regular basis. "I had two drives last night (Monday April 14) and two tonight (April 15), and I've got a few on Saturday (April 19) at Pocono," said MacDonald, who will make his second start behind Rocknroll Runa A in the last of four $50,000 Borgata Series divisions on Monday (April 21). Rocknroll Runa A drew the rail but will be a longshot in a field that includes multi-leg winners For Once Inmy Life (post three) and Coaches Corner (post six).

MacDonald will once again be driving a longshot in the Borgata, but as we've seen throughout his career, that's not exactly a bad place for him to be.