Despite being only 24 years old, Matthew Athearn is a harness racing lifer. As a third-generation participant, he's been involved with horses since he was little and was jogging by himself by age 9. A regular on the Maine circuit, he's making a change to his schedule in 2023 and took the time to chat about that, his first-ever win at The Meadowlands recently and the sport in general. Enjoy! How did you get started in harness racing? I grew up in it. Both of my parents are in it and my grandfather [Edward Rohr -- "Bamps"] is the one who used to take me to the races when I was barely old enough to walk. My grandfather brought my mom Gretchen Athearn and my aunt Heidi Rohr Nickerson into the business and it blossomed from there. My dad [Mark] worked for a lot of people like Roy Estes and Donnie Richards for a long time. That's really how he got introduced. No one on his side of the family was involved before him. Is family the sole reason you are involved in the sport? It has become who I am and it is what I love to do. I drove in Maine and there really isn't a lot of money to be made but I loved doing it. I wouldn't want to do anything else even if the money wasn't there. Was there ever a chance you wouldn't be involved in harness racing? For a couple of years I thought about going to school to be an athletic trainer but I didn't have the passion for that like I do for racing. Were you in the cart at like 6 years old jogging around? I jogged my first horse at probably 9 and I was consistently jogging by myself from that time. From that time I was going to jog as many as I could. I was working with 2-year-olds that weren't even broke. Any horse I could sit behind I would. I might only be 24 in age but I feel like I'm older in terms of driving because I've been behind horses since I was really young. You drove your first winner at Skowhegan Fair in 2014 at age 16. What do you remember about that day/win? It was like my fifth or sixth start, I believe. The horse, Turtle Soup, was me and my grandfather's horse. We owned him together, so that made it really special. I had a two-hole trip, pulled the pocket at the head of the stretch and I think it was that horse's lifetime mark. You're a Maine native and based out of Cumberland. What has the addition of First Tracks Cumberland to the Maine scene meant for you? It has been a really consistent place to race that has provided good security, but I'm actually making the move to Saratoga. I came down there in December for three weeks and I fell in love with the people, racing and the atmosphere. I'll be moving into my own place by February. Did the higher purses play a factor in your move? The money is unbelievable down here. I drove one day down here and made $825 for three wins. The last two days I drove in Maine I won six races and only made $1,000. On January 27 you won your first-ever race at The Meadowlands. Did that feel different than the 751 career wins before it? It felt great because I felt I worked as hard as I ever have for that win. There were nights when I showed up there for the last race with one drive all night and there wasn't a night I called off. It was the whole 'trust the process' of continuing to work hard and it will happen. It was an unbelievable feeling to win on that big of a stage. Every thinks of their biggest win, they think of The Meadowlands; it's the mecca of the sport. Do you know how many starts you put in at The Meadowlands before the win? About 37. Do you aspire to eventually drive at a track like The Meadowlands or on the Grand Circuit? I'd like to eventually work into the Sire Stakes program [in New York]. I'd continue to drive at The Meadowlands in the winter and maybe one day it will take off and I'll find the right stable to drive for. Right now I'm just living in the moment. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter In general, are you happy with how your career has gone thus far? I like how I started out. My parents did a great job of starting me with horses that were lower caliber. Then I got to drive better horses as I got better. It helped keep me humble that I didn't start out driving great horses and I didn't have a lot of success at the start. I had to earn my way into better drives. If you could win one stakes race in your career, which would you choose? Probably a New York Sire Stakes race. I tend to over think, so I try to keep my next step right in front of me and not get involved with the long term. What is the best track/fair to race at in Maine? Fryeburg Fair. I've never been to the Little Brown Jug, but Leon Bailey came to Fryeburg this year and he just said how unbelievable an experience it is; there are so many people and every time you come down the stretch -- whether you are driving the worst or the best horses -- they are always so loud and cheering. The crowd at Fryeburg makes me think of what Patrick Maholmes must feel like when he is at Arrowhead and they are all screaming. What is one thing about you most fans/bettors don't know? I'm hard on myself and always want to do better. It doesn't matter how many wins I have, how much money I make or what my UDRS is, I always want to improve. What is one word that describes harness racing for you? Life. What is the best advice you've ever gotten or given about harness racing? There's always going to be another race. If you had the power to change one thing in the sport, what would it be? Probably to get more broadcasts on ESPN or networks like that so people can get familiar with it and fall in love like all of us have. As a young person in the sport, what can we do to expand our horizons to your generation? Like I said, just getting us into places like the news, SportsCenter and things people watch all the time. This way people can see it and perhaps wonder what it is all about. Or say that it is cool. Maybe have trainers reach out to local kids and invite them to the barns to see what goes on during the day. So you think people of your generation watch the news and SportsCenter? Aren't they on Tiktok? I think social media helps. The Meadowlands has a Tiktok account and small social media stuff really does play a factor. How do you view the future of harness racing? I think it is really rich in some areas and in others the funds are getting depleted. There are some groups that don't want us around because of animal abuse claims. I think if we can learn from the places that are doing well it would help us all around. Your nickname is "Ice". Do you like it? Did you pick it? I didn't pick it. A guy named Wally Watson gave it to me. It stuck and it has worked because in big races I've had a lot of luck. What is your favorite thing to do away from harness racing? Hang out with friends and have dinner, fish, go to the gym here and there, and I really like to golf. You have averaged about 1,000 drives per year. What would be your goal for 2023? I'd like to hit 200 wins. I've always driven 1,000 starts and stopped for the winter. I'd like to go year-round and hit 200 wins this year. I used to start the end of March and stop in December. There are so many more races and dates in Saratoga. Maine is usually only nine or 10 races and just two days instead of four in Saratoga. Do you worry about picking up drives at Saratoga? No. I have a couple of really close friends that will usually give me their whole barn to drive and they have plenty of stock to get me the power to get wins. At 24, do you feel like you are on par with the top guys driving at Saratoga? I think the top guys are [Jim] Devaux, [Billy] Dobson and Shawn Gray. I definitely learn from them more than anything and I'm really good friends with Shawn so I learn a lot that way, but I definitely think I can hold my own with those guys. I drove with Bruce Ranger at Scarborough, I was second to him in the driver standings, and that made me think I can hang with these guys. You were fourth in the Cumberland driver standings behind Ranger and another all-time great Walter Case Jr. What was it like driving against Case in his first full year after basically 20 years? The first year he had a lot of rust to knock off but this year he was unbelievable. You could see the speed he makes without even really using the whip. He creates speed by just sitting there. He's a great guy to be around and really just wants to see people do well. He's one of my favorite people to drive with and he's a great guy to be around. He helped me a lot and it was always good to have his support.