What kind of car do you drive? Chevrolet truck; a big one. Favorite dinner meal? Snack? Any seafood; cheese. What is your favorite track to race at? Why? Mohawk. It is the most fan-friendly. I love the staff and they are very welcoming and accomodating. It feels like home. I love it here. What is your favorite big event in racing? Probably the North America Cup. Because it is at Mohawk and it brings together horses from all over North America. Most of the U.S. races don't get a lot of Canadian horses. How often is racing on your mind? 24/7. I'm an insomniac. I never stop thinking about work. What is your favorite thing to do outside of racing? Riding my horse Zips Golden Bar. He goes with me everywhere. He just turned 21 and is best friends with the now-retired Dr J Hanover. They were turned out together all the time when Dr J was racing up here. What is your favorite sport to watch? Team? Harness Racing. I don't watch any other sports. What is one thing about you most fans/bettors don't know? I played the Violin in the Orchestra in high school.  What is one word that describes harness racing for you? Livelihood. How did you get started in the sport?  I was 12 years old at the fairgrounds with my saddle horse and I met a man with an old pacer. One day he asked if I wanted to jog his horse. I said sure and I've done it ever since for nearly five decades. According to the USTA you accumulated 364 training wins from 1991 to 2014 (no records exist prior to 1991) when you hung up your tack. Was that to assist your son Tony Alagna? Yeah. Tony starting sending horses to me in Illinois and since he had a workman's comp policy, I just said I'll put you down as trainer so everyone is covered under one policy and it won't cost us double. I was trying to help him. I figured the more starts he had the better off he was and the more money he made. I was on the payroll, so I just turned everything over to him. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter What is your role as second trainer for your son? Up until last year I was doing accounts receivable, payroll, bookkeeper, trainer, gopher, laundry. I had like six jobs. Whatever needs to be done, I do. We hired a bookkeeper Justin to do the billing. I still help him. I still do the data and pass it on to him. How many horses do you typically take care of when you go up to Canada for Tony? Right now we have 22 but usually the number is between 15 and 25. Last year we had more but a bunch are in the Kentucky Sire Stakes. Tony told me you are a big reason for the stable's success in Canada. Is he under or overestimating your contribution? He hit the nail on the head. Canada is my thing. I love it and get along with everyone. I've had the same staff up here for three years. We get along well and work together well. What's your role when the stable goes south to Florida to prepare the babies? Exactly the same except I just don't get to race. I sit behind babies and do all of the meaningless and thankless jobs. Tony has been one of the top trainers in the sport for the last decade. Did you teach him everything you know? Absolutely not. I think I taught him the basics on how to take care of a horse; the fundamentals. Brian Pinske was a huge influence. Brian, Tony and I were all friends. We started out at Quad City together. Brian was a great horsemen and friend. He was like one of my sons.  In some ways, is there more joy in watching your son succeed than it was winning as a trainer yourself? One hundred times over. I was so excited when Ahundreddollarbill won, I was over the moon, just because Tony has never won it [Canadian Trotting Classic] before and I wanted him to get it. I've been there, done that. I enjoy watching him win. I want both of my kids to be successful.  Not to give Tony all the glory, your other son Peter is involved in the sport, right? He was. He sold his aluminum wheel company and he's kind of slowed down and sticks to one job. He's always innovating and thinking of things to help the sport. His mind is always working on something.  What is the best advice you've ever gotten about harness racing? The guy I came out under, to put it mildly I wouldn't call him an honest fellow. I probably learned more on how not to do business than anything else from him. I've always lived by truth is the best answer, even though I've had several owners get mad at me because I told them that their horse was no good. One lady pulled two horses from me because I told her that her horses were too slow. They were terrible and I didn't want to take her money anymore. She got mad at me and took them to another trainer. He actually proved me right. They were incredibly slow and they never made it. I was just trying to save her money.  What was your favorite moment in harness racing? When Captaintreacherous won at Lexington the entire grandstand emptied out onto the apron and when they walked to the winner's circle to the paddock, they all stood there and clapped. It made the hair stand up on my arms. That was the greatest moment I've witnessed in my life at a horse race because it was before they had the slot machines in the building and the people that were there were true harness racing fans. The apron was full and they all clapped. Which is the best horse you've ever trained? The best horse I was personally in charge of was Caprice Hill. I had her from the time she was a yearling on. The fastest horse I ever trained would probably be Dr J Hanover. Which horse is/was your favorite? Caprice Hill, bar none. She was the nicest, most professional horse I've been around. She never did anything wrong and loved being on the track. She was just a sweet filly.  When Ahundreddollarbill won the Canadian Trotting Classic you did an on-camera interview. Did you enjoy the face time or would you have been happier if Tony was around for that? I would prefer Tony to do it. I was so happy I think I said 'I love the horse' three times. I love that horse so much. He's just a complete gentleman to work on and jog. He's the epitome of a perfect animal. I try not to do any interviews. Last year I did one with my mask on. I looked like I was getting ready to rob a 7-11.  At 68 now, what motivates you in harness racing? Next week's winners. I like winning. Of course I like to see them do well. When people call me up and tell me that my horse raced bad, that really irritates me because 9 times out of 10 I already know it. I don't need confirmation. I do not like doing badly. If a horse races bad, it is a direct reflection on me.  If you could choose any horse in history to train, which horse would it be and why? Muscle Hill. It would be so cool. If you weren't involved in harness racing, what would you be doing? I really wanted to go to Vet school when I was young but finances put a kibosh to that. My mother was ill a lot and I went to work to help pay the bills so it wouldn't be a strain on her. If you had the power to change one thing in the sport, what would it be? The Metro having 12 starters. No 2-year-olds should have to start from the second tier. If you pay the money, in the case of the Metro good money, you should have your horse's nose on the gait. They should've had a 10-horse elimination and given two byes if they didn't want two short elimination fields. I'm fine with the second-tier for 3-year-olds and aged, but not 2-year-olds. It's not fair. How do you view the future of harness racing? I'm worried about the future. I think I'll be around long enough to see survive but I don't know about the next generation. It seems like more and more tracks are closing. I've closed Cahokia Downs, Fairmont Park, Quad City Downs, Prairie Meadows, Canterbury, Sportsman's Park, Maywood Park and Balmoral Park. All of those tracks have closed since I've been in the business. I'm starting to think it is me (laughing). I loved Quad City Downs. It was one of my favorite places to race. I also loved Fairmont Park. It seems like every track I moved to closed. If Mohawk closes next year I'll definitely know it is me (laughing again). Time for the stretch drive: Best Horse You Ever Saw: Niatross back in the day. Best Driver Ever: I never got to see him drive, but I was having dinner with Mike Lachance at Il Villaggio and someone asked him that question. He said without a doubt Keith Waples. I never saw him drive but I jogged and trained with him at First Live for a few years. Great guy. Lasix -- Yes or No?: Yes. I think it is cruel to make a horse possibly bleed out from its lungs and die. The people that are judging others for using Lasix are going home and popping whatever medication they need so I don't understand why they can't see that horses need medication too. Favorite TV Show?: I don't watch TV. Maybe movies on Netflix. Trotters or Pacers?: Trotters.