What kind of car do you drive? 2013 Volkswagen Passat and it is by far the best car I ever owned. I think you know how many times that Sherman tank has been back and forth across the border to the Hambletonian, the Jug, Hoosier Park, The Red Mile, Buffalo Bills games, etc. It hasn't broken down once and it's still going strong.  Favorite dinner meal? Snack? Steak by the length of the stretch. Medium rare. If you cook it longer than that you just get a hamburger. Now that I started Weight Watchers, my "go to" snack has become Jack Link's Teriyaki Beef Jerky. I will be eating a lot of it until I reach my goal.  When did you get interested in Harness Racing? I joke often and say I was either conceived or born (or both) behind the tote board at Greenwood Raceway because my dad started taking me at a very young age; I'll say younger than I can remember. As soon as I understood what I was watching, I was hooked instantly.  You hold down a number of jobs in the sport including handicapping Mohawk for DRF. Is it taxing wearing so many hats? It can be taxing, but I try to make a habit of practicing good time management and jumping ahead with work as much as I can. I also try to do work in the morning before I start my 9-to-5 job because I feel sharper then (even though I'm not one of those "morning persons"). I mean the only correct answer is, you happily take as much work as you can get when you can get it and you always strive to produce an excellent product. I am blessed and very grateful for the opportunities that I have been provided within the sport and I take the work very seriously.  If you love doing it, it's not work is how the saying goes, I believe.  You also have a full-time job, no? Yes. I am the Manager of Waste Collection for the Region of Peel which is comprised of three cities that border the city of Toronto. I manage a $110 million annual budget and I am responsible for waste collection at 85,000 homes daily. I have been in the waste business since 1990 and formerly worked for Waste Management of Canada Inc. for 22 1/2 years in various roles. On my first day in the business, I was picking corrugated cardboard out of large garage piles for eight hours a day, for 10 bucks an hour, so you could say I paid my dues, I guess.  What is your favorite track to visit? Why? I'd have to put the Meadowlands and Delaware County Fair in a dead heat. It's the Hambletonian and the Jug! It doesn't get any better than that. It is well known that my first love is Mohawk Park, but being that is my home track, I consider that to be kind of where I live and not a track that I "visit". What is your favorite big event in racing? Why? I must go with Hambletonian Day because there is one huge race after another culminating with the sport's biggest event. Plus, I have had great success betting the race itself when I have been live on track.  How often are horses or racing on your mind? 24/7 except for the three hours a week that the Buffalo Bills are playing. Everything else gets shut down during the games.  What is your favorite thing to do outside of harness racing? Without a doubt watching and attending NFL games, specifically the Bills. I have been a diehard Bills fan for more than 40 years. It's also an interest that is shared by my son, Ace. We have done a lot of father/son bonding attending the games. It's killing me that I can't get across the border to sit in my season seats now that the team is finally good again!  ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter Are you interested in other sports as well? Bills are #1, way ahead of any other team. The Raptors and basketball would be next. I am only marginally interested in baseball and hockey at this stage of my life.  What is one thing about you most fans/bettors don't know? That I have an actual 9-to-5 job outside of all the work that I do in harness racing.  What is one word that describes harness racing for you? Passion.  What is the best advice you've ever gotten about harness racing? If you are going to get into ownership, do it for the fun because you aren't likely to make any money. So far, I am batting .1000 in that department, at least the second part.  What is the best advice you can give to fellow handicappers? Watch the races and make notes. If you aren't good at making mental notes, then write them down. So many things happen in races that you don't see in a program. If you aren't watching the races and betting only armed with what you see in a program, I don't like your chances.  What was your biggest score at the windows? Perfect Companion driven by Paul Keays at the Meadowlands in the early 90s won at 99 to 1 and I cashed $23 to win, a $1 Tri and a $1 Exacta and cleared close to $11,000. She was a horse I had been following that got several bad trips in a row. On this night, she tripped-out perfectly 2nd-over. I bought every person sitting in the second floor bar at Woodbine Racetrack a round and the place was pretty packed. At that time in Toronto, I was wagering into a "hub" because there was no common pool wagering. She was only 45 to 1 locally. I'm sure I'd have won a lot more had I been betting right into the Big M pool.  As someone who attends the races at Mohawk often, can you provide any secrets to winning at that track? With winter racing right around the corner, if you are betting Mohawk Park regularly, you must keep track of biases because the wind plays a big factor. The track sits in such a wide-open area that you often get strong headwinds of tailwinds in the stretch. I think it's important to track how those nightly winds affect races not only for the purpose of making bets on those specific nights as the card progresses, but also as a factor to take into consideration when handicapping future races. If that doesn't work, check out what the DRF Harness handicapper picks when they show the selections on the in-house feed (LOL).  What was your best moment in harness racing? Without a doubt it was the day we brought my terminally ill sister Linda to see her hero San Pail at the Hughes farm after being invited by owner/trainer Rod Hughes. That was the last time she ever left hospice and she told me when I dropped her back off that it was "The Best Day Ever". It really was, even if it was bittersweet. A close second would be winning the 'O Brien Award for Outstanding Written Work last year. I was very emotional mainly because I didn't expect to win because colleague Chris Lomon's story was so good. I felt like all of the hard work that I have done in the past decade was rewarded and recognized. You also participate in the sport as an owner. How did that start and what has that experience been like? I started with The Stable.ca and the experience itself was fine. I just didn't pick fast horses as it turned out, which I'm sure isn't uncommon when people buy into yearling lottery tickets. I currently own a piece in partnership with Adriano Sorella, Louis Phillipe-Roy and two others of 2-year-old Sportswriter filly Just Call Me Song. She got us a win at 14 to 1 and has only missed one check so far, and I believe she has some upside. She is supposed to race in the upcoming Harvest Series at Mohawk Park, I believe.  Have you learned anything from being a fractional owner? I've learned that it's not for the faint of heart (or someone unwilling to part with their money) because unless you hit on a really good one, you are going to lose money. I own a small enough piece now that I don't get hurt if she misses a few checks. I have also learned that it is exhilarating beyond comparison when your horse wins, no matter how big or small of a piece you own.  How many horses do you currently own? Only the piece of Just Call Me Song currently.  Which is your favorite horse from your time following the sport? San Pail for sure because of my family's connection to the horse and the Hughes family, and because of what he did for my sister. Following in the pocket would be Jimmy Freight. I got to fly around in six-seater planes to go watch him race and cheer him on. How cool is that? Your son Ace has also taken an interest in Harness Racing. That must make you happy to be able to share that passion? Absolutely it does and I (begrudgingly) admit that he might already be a better writer than me when I read his race recaps and features. I am very proud of what he is doing in the sport.  If you had the power to change one thing in the sport, what would it be? The obvious answer is post time drag, but I'm going to go off the board here. Every year we see stakes horses that excel in those specific races then show up in non-winners-of-two or three, or non-winners of "x" amount of money between stakes starts, and they frequently aren't driven with the same level of urgency. I understand the bigger picture as an owner and that horses only have so many big miles in them, and that you want those to occur when they are going for the most money. But there was a sire stake filly a couple of years back that shows all wins in stakes races on her card and all losses in non-winners races when she was clearly facing inferior competition. That's near impossible to explain to a newbie. Again, I completely understand that the horses need to race somewhere between stakes starts to stay sharp and the dynamics that are in play. I also understand that it isn't anything that will ever likely change. But it's bad look when a horse dominates in stakes company then is a fast-closing fourth vs. one-time winners when the horse is heavily-favored. So, if I had a magic wand and could wave it and come up with the solution to what I see as a problem, I would.  How do you view the future of harness racing? You caught me at the right time. Day 1 of the Lexington Sale was up over last year, so it has to be positive, right? Time for the stretch drive.  Best Horse you ever saw: Niatross. Best Driver: Ron Waples.  Best Trainer: Jimmy Takter. Lasix -- Yes or No?: Yes.  Favorite TV Show?: All-time would be The Practice. Currently, the HPI TV channel which shows four tracks at the same time on a split screen. Trotters or Pacers?: Trotters.