Steve LeBlanc has been competing in Harness Racing for six decades and he's still going strong with a string of horses on the Maryland Circuit. The 60-year-old trainer, who was once a regular catch-driver in New England and at The Meadows, is in the midst of his best season in terms of earnings in a decade, with over $730,000 in purses accumulated by his barn. The former trainer of millionaire Arturo has seen his share of good horses and currently has the undefeated Maryland champion Val's Girl among his top charges. She recently set a stakes record at Rosecroft and could potentially move on to bigger and better things as a 3-year-old next year. During some down time from his 16-head stable, LeBlanc took the time to discuss his path in the sport and the business in general. How did you get started in harness racing? I started with my father in New England, back in Massachusetts. When I was a kid we were racing at Rockingham and Foxboro. That was the circuit.  You were born in Canada. When did you come to the U.S.? I was born there but my parents moved down when I was 2 and we lived in Massachusetts. He had a farm in Gardner, Massachusetts.  Your dad Leonard was quite an accomplished trainer with over 700 wins according to some sources. Did he encourage your involvement? I just took a liking to it and working with him. I feel in love with the sport. I remember my mom asking me one time 'what would you like to do?' and I replied 'be in harness racing'. Back in the Foxboro days they have guys like Billy O'Donnell, Ted Wing, Jim Doherty -- all Hall of Famers. That's who I watched growing up and learning how to drive.  I'm showing my lack of age a bit but I had no idea you have 1,615 career driving wins. Why did you stop driving about 25 years ago? I won the driving title at Foxboro maybe in 1986. Then we moved out to The Meadows. We were there for about 20 years. I was in the top 10 drivers there most of the time. Right around 2000 I slowed down a lot with driving. I had a large stable of 50 back then and I went more towards the training side. You also have over 1,800 training victories. What does a number like that mean to you? I actually didn't even know that. I'm pretty proud of it. I developed quite a few young horses that turned out to be pretty good. It's a good accomplishment for sure. What kind of car do you drive? Ford F350 truck. Favorite dinner meal? Snack? Steak and potatoes; Chocolate Chip Cookies. What is your favorite track to race at? Why? As of late I enjoy racing at Chester (Harrah's Philadelphia]. I just enjoy the afternoon racing more than the night racing. It has become my favorite track. What is your favorite big event in racing? I always enjoyed going out to the Little Brown Jug. I was in it a few times and it was always exciting. Arturo raced in it and he was third in the elimination and third in the final. I raced two others in it but they didn't fare as well. Radium Hanover, who was the first good 2-year-old I developed, and the other was Eicarls Ruman Coke. That horse actually got loose the week before the Jug and ran out onto Route 19 at The Meadows and got hit by a car. He didn't get too hurt and he still raced in the Jug.  Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter How often are horses or racing on your mind? Pretty much 24/7. What is your favorite thing to do outside of racing? Spend time with my family and go on vacations. What is your favorite sport? Team? Football -- New England Patriots. It was good for many years with [Tom] Brady. What is one thing about you most fans/bettors don't know? I don't know. Maybe that I'm a pretty honest kind of guy. What is one word that describes harness racing for you? Exciting. In your heyday, were you a better driver or trainer? I thought I was a pretty good driver in my time. I was probably a better driver early in my career and a better trainer now with age. From 1997 to 2008 you had a number of years where your barn eclipsed $1 million in earnings. What were some of your top horses? The best horse was Arturo [48-15-12-10; $1,298,491 earned]. He was a really top horse. I had a horse in Dover when I moved here called Rain Dance Kim [$642,474]. She was horse of the year in Delaware. I've had a lot of Delaware and Maryland champions that have done well. Ashlee's Big Guy was a really nice horse that made a lot of money [$978,168]. Clinton Debriefed [$395,620] is another one. What was your best moment in harness racing? Winning the New Jersey Classic with Arturo [1997].  How many horses are currently in your barn? I'm training around 16 right now. You currently train and co-own the undefeated (10-for-10) Val's Girl on the Maryland circuit. At any level, it has to be fun to train a horse that never loses, no? It definitely is. With her, she actually is pretty special. She won the other day at Rosecroft in 1:53 1/5 and set a stakes record. It's funny, I trained her mother who was also undefeated as a 2-year-old and went 10-for-10 as the Maryland champion, Miss Valerie. It is hard not to like going to the track every time and winning.  Considering she set the stakes record, can she compete outside of the state? I'm starting to think so. After that mile it made me think about it a bit. That's a good mile and even though she went in 1:53 1/5, she wasn't all out. Roger Plante, who drives for me, said she still had something left and he had a hold of her at the wire. I'm starting to think she might move on [beyond Maryland]. We are going to look into it a bit but we didn't stake her much. It is hard to stake a Maryland-bred out of state. We didn't make any sustaining payments to the bigger stuff and supplementing can get a little pricy. Is she done until next year? Yes. This time of year is good though because the yearlings are coming in. You can relax a bit and start playing with the babies.  If you had the power to change one thing in the sport, what would it be? Probably to institute universal licensing. I know it has been talked about for years but going from track to track and state to state while always being hassled about getting a license is difficult.  How do you view the future of harness racing? It is looking bright right now with Ohio and all of these other state's programs growing right now. I think it is going in the right direction at this point. Were you concerned with the rumors about Rosecroft potentially closing in the future? You always hate to hear a track is going down but it is out of our control and there isn't much we can do about it. I'd be sad to see it go because it has been a good racetrack for years, but they've been talking about it for years and the track is still standing, so... Time for the stretch drive. Best Horse You Ever Saw?: Probably Somebeachsomewhere.  Best Driver Ever?: John Campbell. Lasix -- Yes or No?: Yes. Favorite TV Show?: My wife and I like to watch The Voice. Trotters or Pacers?: Whatever is fast. I like them both.