Harness: Profile of driver Ridge Warren

This week I had the opportunity to speak with Ridge Warren for the first time. The thoughtful 34-year-old driver began ramping up his bike time in 2020 and is in the midst of a career year as he inches towards the $3 million mark in earnings for the horses he has driven. The native of Michigan attributes the uptick to a move from The Meadows to Pocono and Harrah’s Philadelphia, and he’s even been spotted in the Meadowlands winner’s circle recently.

With his arrow pointing up on the driving spectrum, now seemed like the perfect moment to sit down with Ridge and discuss everything from how he got started and his first time beating Ron Pierce in a race to his recent Meadowlands victories some 15 years later. Sit back, relax and enjoy!

How did you get started in harness racing?

My dad [Todd Warren] got me started. He was always in the business. Growing up I was really focused on sports at school but when I got out of high school I wanted to pursue being like my dad and driving horses. Without him I wouldn’t be in the business.

You are actually a third-generation horseman. Your grandfather was involved as well, right?

Yes. He was more on the ownership side and he did train a little bit in southern Illinois. He mostly did it in fairs and got my dad into it.

It seems like your dad was very influential in your driving career. What role did he play in getting you to where you are today?

He provided good coaching and constructive criticism. He was always there to compliment me when I did well but coach me when I made mistakes. When you are young and driving, you are trying to develop a style and make the right moves. You have to have a couple of guys that you watch their styles and how they go about a race. I always picked up from my dad that he wouldn’t use horses hard too early and would have them finishing strong. He kept the horses fresh and I think that is a good way to increase the longevity of their racing career.

You were more of a part-time guy from 2007 to 2019. What made you dive in with both feet in 2020?

Being in Illinois we had Maywood and Balmoral. It was great, you were racing four to six times a week until they slowly deteriorated the number of days we could race. I had to start making different moves in my career when they closed because we only had Hawthorne. You could either race five months during the year and do something else or you could move. So I decided to get invested in some small businesses. I got into a fitness franchise that I would run during the day and when I wasn’t doing that I would race horses. I was content with that, but after COVID happened I thought to myself that I wanted to pursue my driving career. I put it on the backburner to try to find a more stable career without having to move to the east coast or Indiana or Ohio at the time. At that time I was still racing in Hawthorne and one of my buddies Johnny Z kept pushing on me to come out to The Meadows. So I decided to go out when Hawthorne quieted down in September. Without him pushing me at that point I don’t know if I’d be where I am today. I drove for him in Chicago and he believed in me. That’s really what you need in this business, someone to put you on their backs and say ‘you are driving for my barn every week.’

I should add that also at that time, around September, I had met my fiancée Erin and she was moving to Pittsburgh, so that was another thing that encouraged me to take a leap and try driving at The Meadows.

Recently you’ve been moonlighting at The Meadowlands. Do you see yourself as a regular there at some point? Maybe as a Grand Circuit guy?

My main focus right now is to continue to build on having success at Pocono. When they are closed, I like Chester [Harrah’s Philadelphia], I liked Tioga during the summer, and The Meadowlands, I love it there. The two races I won there were two of the top experiences of my driving career. I’m not saying no to Grand Circuit drives, but that is probably not in the near future for me. My goal is to keep getting better each year and see my numbers grow.

Is there something different about driving at The Meadowlands? What were those wins like?

It definitely felt different. It is a big stage. No matter whether it is a $10,000 race or a $100,000 race, the excitement is there and the lights are on you coming down the stretch. This last win with Bonanza (Nov. 17 – Race 11), I’ve listened to the last quarter-mile of the race like 20 times because it is so cool. You don’t know if you are going to get to that point again in your career so you have to cherish those moments.

What is your favorite track to race at? Why?

The Meadowlands. When I won the race there were two photographers, a guy with a video camera, and a guy came and shook my hand to congratulate me. When you leave the winner’s circle there are people in the stands yelling at you. It was exciting winning there and I really haven’t stopped smiling.

So you got to meet Gary Dileo in the winner’s circle?

I’m a little embarrassed because I didn’t even know his name. I hope I get to see him many more times. Jessica Otten grew up like 15 miles away from me in Michigan and rushed to the winner’s circle so there would someone with me for my first win.

Is there a stakes race you want to win in your career?

I don’t even think about that. If that opportunity comes up I’d be really grateful. I’ve been able to drive for some really good trainers this year and there are a lot of great drivers on the east coast that I’m honored to drive with. I did drive some stakes races in New York this year and had some success even though I didn’t win any.

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What is your favorite thing to do outside of harness racing?

I like to attend sporting events – any live NBA games, if I can get tickets to those on a day off I try to take advantage of it. I’ll be taking some vacation in December and January where I’ll be going away with my family and Erin as well. Spending time with family is my main thing right now. My sister is having her first child and that is exciting to be an uncle.

What is one thing about you most fans/bettors don’t know?

I don’t eat red meat. Whenever I go out to dinner with new trainer, other drivers or owners, it is usually to a nice steakhouse and I order seafood or a nice piece of chicken.

What is one word that describes harness racing for you?

Adrenaline.

What is the best advice you’ve ever gotten or given about harness racing?

Turn the page.

What was your best moment in harness racing?

I got to win my dad’s 1,000th training win last year with Son Ofa Tiger As at Oak Grove. A close second was winning at The Meadowlands.

Which is the best horse you’ve ever driven?

This summer I drove a horse named Casual Cool for Daniel Renaud. He is just a fun horse to drive. He’s always in the high conditioned races or the Opens and he’s always chasing good horses. He gives you everything he’s got and when you put him on the gate he just wants to go. He was one of the first horses that I got to sit behind on a consistent basis this summer and had the chance to really figure out what he liked.

To date in 2023 you’ve set career highs in starts, wins and money earned. Is it safe to say you’ve found your path?

I hope so. This sport is tough. You have to ride the waves and there can be really highs and really lows. You have to be good at losing in this sport to be good at winning. I definitely want to continue to grow and I love that those numbers got better from last year. I plan to make some changes to my schedule next year with Pocono and adding a little more Chester. You get caught up in the day to day grind and you don’t realize you’ve driven over 2,000 horses during the year. That is a lot of opportunities that people have given me to show my ability to drive a horse. Without that opportunity people don’t know who you are.

As a person watching the races, you certainly look a lot like Dexter Dunn out there. Do people confuse you often?

I took my red bike to The Meadowlands in case people would confuse us [laughing]. For the first two weeks I was figuring out the flow and the pace of the races and after that people started saying I looked like Dexter out there. I would tell them that if you are looking for him, look at the front and if you’re looking for me look at the back [laughing].

I saw somewhere that you might be named after Ridge Forrester from the daytime soap Bold and the Beautiful. What say you?

I feel like my mom went back on this because it is too coincidental in that my sister’s name is Taylor and on the show there was a Ridge and Taylor married. Somehow now Buffy Warren [mom] says that I’m named after a horse Ridgeway my dad had in the 1980s.

If you had the power to change one thing in the sport, what would it be?

I think more awareness and attention needs to be brought to the performance of the horse and how durable and how hard of a working animal it is to do what it does. I’m on a horse for two minutes and my colors are clean, I’m smiling in the winner’s circle and it is exciting for me, but there is a lot that gets me there behind the scenes and I think that is misunderstood sometimes.

How do you view the future of harness racing?

I don’t know the future of the sport and that’s scary. There are a lot of people who are putting all their eggs in one basket – this is their career and this is what they will do. I am keeping my career options open indefinitely while being a catch-driver. I’m going to ride it out though. I love racing horses and I love horses, and I love the benefits it provides to be with your family. With day racing and night racing, even though you are on the road and racing hard, you can get more flexibility than from having a 9 to 5 job. This will be my career but I’ll never be content and I’ll ill always keep my eyes open for what’s next so I can be prepared.

Can you tell me a fun story about a driving experience?

When I was 19 years old I drove horses at Lexington for the first time and I got a horse that Dave Palone owned for Brian Loney named Bonies Beach in a pop-up series they had there. I beat Ron Pierce in a stretch drive and I’ll never forget that he said to me when we pulled up ‘Is that the first time you ever beat me?’ and I said ‘I would have to guess so, Ron.’ He replied ‘I’ll have to check my books.’

There was a time when Andy Miller went out to the Driver’s Challenge in like 2007, he asked me if I would come help him and work in the barn for a couple of weeks. I was like 18 or 19 years old. They had a horse in that just won the Matron with Ron Pierce driving. I went up to him to ask how she was in the race so I could give the information to Andy and Julie, this was before I had ever driven against him. I said ‘was she alright, Ron?’ and he said ‘Yeah, I just had to figure out what she wanted in the stretch. Here, you can have this.’ He handed me his whip and I have it still to this day. In the winner’s circle picture you can see me holding the whip in my hand. I asked him if I should give it to TJ or Olivia [Andy and Julie’s kids], because they were smaller and he told me ‘No, I want you to have it.’

Time for the stretch drive:

Best Horse you ever saw: I saw Somebeachsomewhere live at Lexington when I was younger. The way he covered ground on the track was really impressive. He was just a magnificent animal on the racetrack.

Lasix – Yes or No: Yes.

Favorite TV Show: I like to watch sports. I’m into car racing, Nascar, F1, dirt car racing. I always tell people that if I wasn’t racing horses I’d be racing cars.

Trotters or Pacers: I really enjoy a nice trotter. If you get a nice clean-gaited trotter, nothing beats it.