Johnathan Ahle was working in the restaurant industry when a fellow employee who happened to be the daughter of trainer Shaun Vallee mentioned he needed help. About a decade later Ahle has turned into one of the top winter drivers at The Meadowlands and currently ranks eighth in wins at the New Jersey track in 2025. In his first three full years of racing, Ahle has amassed more than 900 wins in the bike and averaged over $3,000,000 in earnings for his drives. The New Jersey native even picked up his first stakes win in the Kindergarten at The Meadowlands. On an off day for racing, Ahle took the time to discuss his path in the sport from groom to amateur driver to catch driver and racing in general. Enjoy!   How did you get started in harness racing? I started working for Shaun Vallee as a groom. I was just out of high school and working at a restaurant at the time. Shaun would go to Australia over the winter to meet friends and buy some horses. They were shorthanded. I knew nothing about horses but I could clean a feed tub and muck stalls. You don’t need to be a horseman to figure that out. How long did you work for Vallee before you decided racing was going to be your career? I really liked working with horses pretty much right away. That is why I veered off the restaurant industry path. [Working with horses] was like nothing I’ve ever done before. It was intriguing and I loved it. Growing up in New Jersey, there are multiple tracks and lots of farms. Did you even know harness racing existed? I knew it existed but I never thought about it or watched it. I went to Monmouth maybe once when I was a teenager for an afternoon. I had no interest and knew nothing about it. I wouldn’t have been able to tell you the difference between a trotter and pacer or a thoroughbred. In addition to spending time working for Vallee you’ve also worked for trainer Noel Daley. What lessons did they teach you? I really owe a lot to them. Shaun taught me everything from the ground up, from the basics of how to harness a horse and stuff like that. He has a smaller stable and didn’t do stakes horses. Working for Noel was like starting new again, with breaking babies and stuff like that. I had broken a handful with Shaun but not like with Noel where we would break 30 or 40 a year. Between them I experienced the full spectrum of learning the business from the training side. Your driving career began as an amateur. How vital was that to your driving career and to the sport as a whole? It’s highly unlikely I would’ve become a driver without it. For the sport, as long as it stays safe, it helps fill the box and the bettors seem to like it. I think it is good for the sport. After starting your full-time career in 2022, you hit a peak of 374 wins and $3.4 million in earnings in 2024. Your numbers are down a bit this year. Any reason? I haven’t looked at the stats but I assume I have less starts. I did less travelling to Maryland [Rosecroft]. I wanted to focus on racing closer to home. Driving three-plus hours one way is tough to do a couple of days a week. I tried to prioritize Chester [Harrah’s Philadelphia] and Meadowlands because they are closer. By contrast, you’ve been red hot of late at The Meadowlands, sitting third in wins since the meet reopened in October. Are you enjoying the ride? Oh yeah. It is a lot of fun. The sport is always up and down whether you are a driver or a trainer but it has been good to have a good streak. Personally I think you’ve grown dramatically as a driver over the last year. Do you feel or see any difference? 100 percent. I think if you ask anyone, after a certain amount of time and practice you get better. You can always improve. It is all about experience and driving more races. How hard was it to start from scratch and become a catch driver making a decent living? It includes a lot of the same difficulties anyone would have. You need to put the time and effort in. I think in a way it was good for me. I was a bit older and a blank slate. What is your favorite track to race at and why? The Meadowlands is the most fun place to have a good night or win races. What is your favorite thing to do outside of harness racing? I like surfing and snowboarding. I went out for a surf today in Belmar. Isn’t it like 45 degrees out today? You surf in that weather? With wetsuits and all the gear you stay warm. What is one word that describes harness racing for you? Exciting. What was your best moment in harness racing? I won the Kindergarten final a couple of weeks back with Busy Miss Lissy. That was my biggest win. You had multiple drives in the Kindergarten finals including the win. How thrilled are you with getting some stakes drives now? That is what most drivers strive for, to progress and hopefully make it onto that stage. For me it was just being in the right place at the right time. A lot of the guys were travelling for the stakes season and they couldn’t be everywhere. You are just 28 years old. How do you see your future in harness racing? Hopefully I can keep progressing and stay healthy. Do you see yourself as a Grand Circuit driver down the road? I’m certainly hopeful for it. I don’t think it is impossible. How do you view the future of harness racing? There are tracks closing down here and there and you never want to see that. It is not a good sign. I wouldn’t say I’m worried at the moment but 10 years from now I don’t know if I’d answer the same. What does a day in the life of Johnathan Ahle look like? Wake up and go race horses. Do you go to the barn at all in the morning or just the tracks to drive? I really haven’t but I think the time will come soon where Noel will call me once the babies are training and I’ll go there once a week during the winter. Winters are much slower and I won’t be racing that much. Plus I really enjoy training the babies. Maybe I’ll help someone else if they need it. Time for the stretch drive. Best Horse you ever saw:  Bulldog Hanover – There are so many that are great or amazing in their own way but he’s got the fastest mark for Standardbreds. Lasix – Yes or No: Yes. Favorite TV Show: I really don’t watch TV. RTN probably. Trotters or Pacers: Trotters but I like both.