Harness: Profile of trainer Jack Darling

What kind of car do you drive?

Ford Explorer.

Favorite dinner meal? Snack?

Seafood; Potato Chips.

What is your favorite track to race at? Why?

The Red Mile. I just love Lexington, the track and the experience.

What is your favorite big event in racing?

Little Brown Jug. I love the hype and the fans. When you are racing, to have that many fans watching is special.

How often is racing on your mind?

Every day I'm afraid.

What is your favorite thing to do outside of racing?

My wife and I like to travel during the winter; we take the winters off. We travel south, like Arizona. When we go the weather is perfect -- not too hot and not too cold.

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What is your favorite sport to watch? Team?

Golf -- Phil Mickelson.

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

I like reggae music.

What is one word that describes harness racing for you?

Horses. I have more a love for the horses than the racing part.

How did you get started in the sport?

As a kid my family had riding and show horses. A friend of mine started going to the harness track in London, Ontario [Western Fair]. I was intrigued that you could make money doing something you liked.

How old were you when you started training and driving?

I was right around 19.

You have more than 1,100 wins since 1991 but started your career almost 20 year before that. Any idea how many wins you actually have?

I really don't. Back then I wasn't into the yearlings and just focused on racehorses and drove them myself. It would have to be close to 2,000.

You also have over 500 wins as a driver but stopped in the mid-1980s. Why did you stop driving?

I was just ready to retire from driving. I did well, but it was starting to become the era of catch-drivers so I started using them. Some of those guys were better than me and it made sense to use them. I was in my mid-30s at the time. I really enjoyed driving up until then, but it was time to stop.

You've averaged about 160 starters a year for the last three decades. Was that number by design?

I've always tried to keep the numbers down. If I have a good horse and I can get a good price on them I'll sell. My main goal when I started as far as making money was to buy a horse and sell them at a profit. Racing was just a part of it. The purse money wasn't the main goal. It was just to turn a profit on each horse. Even now, I sell everything by the end of their 3-year-old year.

So are you exclusively 2- and 3-year-olds now?

Yes, and it's been that way for quite a few years now. I just buy yearlings and try to get stake horses at 2 and 3, then sell them at the end of it. Sometimes as they go along, if they aren't going to be stake horses I'll sell them. If they are good and I can get a good price, I'll sell them.

What is the best advice you've ever gotten about harness racing?

I can tell you the best advice I could give is that people should try to always treat it as a business. If you do that you can stay in the business your whole life, otherwise it is a very dangerous business.

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What was your favorite moment in harness racing?

Winning the Metro with Gothic Dream in 1996. It was a big thrill.

Which is the best horse you've ever trained?

Bulldog Hanover. I've had some good ones but he has everything you could ever want in a horse.

What is your confidence level in the North America Cup?

I'm confident in the horse, but I know a thousand things can go wrong, so I sure won't be counting my chickens. I know we have a really good chance at it if everything goes according to plan.

Bulldog Hanover makes a very good appearance on the track. Does he have any weaknesses?

No, I couldn't name a weakness. He's a beautiful horse that has a little more of everything you could want. He's a bit bigger, nice big shoulders, great legs to him.

Since you brought up selling horses at a profit, would you consider selling Bulldog Hanover?

I sold half of him to Brad Grant a couple of months ago. I don't know what Brad would want to do. He doesn't need the money like I do [said chuckling].

Which horse is/was your favorite?

Twin B Champ. He won an elimination for the NA Cup and a favorite in the final. He tore a suspensory which ended his career. He was a special horse that could never show everything he had.

Is there one race that you still want to win in your career?

I'd like to win the Little Brown Jug. I won an elimination once. Now I'm just buying Ontario-sired yearlings, so I don't pay into it as often.

So Bulldog Hanover is not eligible to the Jug?

No, he's not. I think if he wins the North America Cup we can supplement. I would certainly look at it but I'm not sure how it fits into his schedule.

How many horses are in your barn?

Six. I'm always around 12 but I'm at the point in my career where six is all I need to keep me happy. I'm sure I'll add some with the yearling sales coming up.

If you could choose any horse in history to train, which horse would it be and why?

Niatross. He was a real superstar in his era.

If you weren't involved in harness racing, what would you be doing?

Some kind of business buying and selling something.

From what I can tell your given name is John. How did you end up as Jack?

I think a lot of people whose name is John years ago were called Jack. I'm not really sure how it came about. I've always been Jack until Standardbred Canada came out with a new computer and I became John.

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

To somehow have the grandstand full of fans.

Is it possible to get the fans back?

It's a very slim possibility of happening, but we can do a better job at it. The days of the big crowds are over I'm afraid.

How do you view the future of harness racing?

It is definitely going to shrink. I see a day with very few tracks and the bottom line is we just don't need that many tracks. People can watch on TV. They just don't go out to these smaller tracks. People that are in the business love it, so it will always be around, but without a lot of fans it has to shrink.

Time for the stretch drive:

Best Horse You Ever Saw: Niatross.

Best Driver Ever: John Campbell.

Lasix -- Yes or No?: No.

Favorite TV Show?: CNN or CNBC.

Trotters or Pacers?: Pacers -- trotters never excited me.