Most 20-year-olds are just beginning to find their way, figuring out who they are and what they want in life. For Kyle Swift, that was never a question nor a debate. Born into harness racing and generations of horsemen, his path as a driver was set long before he ever grabbed a pair of lines. Now just beginning his third decade of life, he’s not only found his place at a new track, the Saratoga Harness Track, but he’s found his place on the leaderboard as one of the top drivers at that half-mile oval. “I’ve wanted to be a driver my whole life. My parents, Ryan Swift and Ray Fisher Jr., have a barn and my dad drives, as did my grandfather Tom Swift, so I’ve always wanted to drive,” Swift said. From the time he got his license through March of last year, Swift worked alongside his parents. Having been around the horses his whole life, he jogged his first horse at the age of 8 with his dad, Ray. At 14, he got his groom’s license to be able to jog and train at the track where his parents were stabled. “My dad started me off jogging the easy ones and progressively let me do more and more. COVID actually helped me a lot as school closed down and I was able to jog and train for my parents in the morning. Then, I went to ride for Sam Smith, who has a big barn at Buffalo, so between my parents and Sam, I was always jogging and training new horses. Since all the tracks weren’t racing, both stables let me train in the bike and before I got my qualifying license at 16, I had tons of miles behind horses,” said Swift. He qualified and drove at the fairs until the age of 18. Last year, he branched out on his own and trained a few horses up until November when he started at Saratoga. “I don’t mind training horses, but it’s a lot mentally and when you’re trying to do both [driving and training]. I just feel like it’s a lot to juggle, so personally I’d rather just drive,” said Swift. Swift is no stranger to victories and the spotlight, having had great success at the Western New York tracks Buffalo Raceway and Batavia Downs as a teenager. His first race was won just two weeks after his 16th birthday aboard Pink Delight – trained by his mom Ryan Swift – in a New York County Fair Sire Stakes division. Then, he got his first pari-mutuel win with Big Place in July 2023. “My first win, one of my mom’s trainees, was a super cool moment for me because driving has been something I’ve always dreamed about. When you get that first taste of victory, you’re hooked,” Swift said. At just 18 years old, he was honored with the 2023 Rising Star Award from the USHWA Upstate New York chapter. Now, two years later, he continues to chase success, though he says he isn’t chasing titles or awards, just wins and the thrill of the race. Swift started driving at Saratoga in early November with only a couple starts on his first day. The following week, he doubled that number of starts, picking up a handful of checks while still driving full-time at Batavia. By the third week of November he had nearly 20 starts, getting his first and second wins across the half-mile surface. From the end of November and to the finale of the 2025 racing meet at Saratoga, Swift quickly established himself as a catch driver. In 2026, Swift committed himself to a full-time schedule at Saratoga. Two months have gone by in the season so far and Swift sits second in the driver standings with 47 wins and a 19 percent win clip (as of April 7), hot on the heels of two-time leading driver Brett Beckwith with 65 wins. In his career, Swift has made over 2,500 trips to the track, and with only a third of the year underway, he is on schedule to surpass his career best of 119 wins set in 2025. Last year was also Swift’s first million-dollar season. So far in 2026, he has accumulated over $450,000 along with 54 triumphs. Swift credits his success with his background and his family. “Having family [in the business] definitely helps,” Swift said. “They always push me to do the best I can and always have my back. With that being said, they are also my biggest critics. Mess up and they will let you hear about it, but they care. My dad was a pretty successful driver and he’s taught me everything when it comes to driving. I would be lost without him. Good or bad, he’s always there if I have a question or need some advice.” While his parents help motivate him to achieve his goals and chase success, he said it’s the job itself that motivates him the most. “It’s motivating doing what you love and working with horses every day. I mean for many people, they work in an office or do a job they really don’t like. I love what I do, so that makes it all worth it,” said Swift. While he doesn’t have any set-in-stone goals, he agrees that he does aspire to drive on the Grand Circuit one day. “I mean, who doesn’t, right? I would love to drive wherever I could, but it’s one step at a time, it’s a marathon not a sprint. Nothing worth having comes overnight so I’m taking it day-by-day and if opportunities to drive in the NYSS circuit or anything above that were to arise, I would be grateful and do my best,” Swift said. Swift takes his steps in stride, working towards success with each day whether on the track or in the gym. Physically, he loves sports and focuses on healthy eating, staying active, and getting a good night’s sleep. As far as mentally, he has a ritual to prepare for a race and it’s essentially to not prepare too much at all. “I honestly try to think about racing as little as possible until I get to the track,” Swift said. “I look over the entries and final program briefly when it comes out, but I like to wait until I get in the paddock to really look at everything. If I start looking too soon, I started to overthink and overanalyze. The plans we make while looking at the program, 90 percent of the time it never works out that way, so I take in as much as I can and when the gate folds, I go from there.” At just 20 years old and as the youngest driver in the Saratoga driving colony, Swift has amassed a lifetime of experience through his parents and lineage in addition to starting his driving career at such a young age. His advice to that next generation, that new driver just starting out, is to be a sponge and learn as much as possible. “Always take advice. You can learn something from anyone whether it’s what to do or simply what not to do,” Swift said. “I’d also like to let them know don’t take what people say to heart. People are going to be negative and say hurtful things. At first, you are going to take it to heart and let it bother you, but you shouldn’t. “I’ve been told I suck before and should go work a day job. I’m sure I’ll be told this many more times in my career, but at the end of the day, you’re not going to please everyone. When you learn that not everyone is going to be on your team and root for you, that’s okay. It makes the people that do look out for you and do root for you so much more important.” Luckily for Swift he has plenty of people in his corner at Saratoga and beyond. “I’d also just like to give a shoutout to Jaymes Mcassey, his owners and also Paul O’Neil. They trusted a 20-year-old kid from Buffalo who really didn’t have much experience and gave me the keys to the kingdom. I could not be more grateful and appreciative for that. Without them, moving to Saratoga and being able to call this place home now wouldn’t be possible,” Swift concluded. Swift puts his advice on display every day on the track, living life to the fullest, always smiling, engaging with fans, and participating in even the silliest social media trends to help support and promote the business. The future is bright for Kyle Swift and though he doesn’t know where his path will take him, he knows he can be found holding the lines out on the track.