Meadowlands: Beckwith gets first Hambletonian drive; closing in on driving title

That Brett Beckwith is on the verge of his second consecutive Meadowlands driving title is no surprise. While he won the award as top driver at the New Jersey track in 2025 and was in the winner's circle last Hambletonian Day to get his plaque, he still spent the rest of the card watching from the stands.

Those still requiring proof of Beckwith's maturation as a driver over the last five years need only look out at the track on Hambo Day this Saturday when they'll see the 23-year-old in a handful of races, including the $1,000,000 Grade 1 Hambletonian.

"Obviously it's always a thrill to win any driving title, but to be able to race on Hambo Day, I mean, it's the biggest day of the year in the U.S., and it's probably the most televised day, so it's always an honor," said Beckwith, who actually found out he would be in the Hambletonian on social media. "To be quite honest, my jaw dropped and the first person I called was John Rallis, just because John and me are really good friends. He's been a huge help and just a close friend during my whole career."

Beckwith took harness racing by storm in 2021 and has torn up the track ever since. Just six years into his career, he has already accumulated almost 2,300 wins on the strength of an 18 percent win rate. His earnings have also climbed year after year, reaching a height of $7.1 million in earnings for horses under his guidance last year.

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As of August 5, Beckwith has 96 wins at the Meadowlands, eight more than Joe Bongiorno in second and a country mile back to Mark Herschberger in third with 53. He somehow eclipsed his 92 wins from 2025 during the same period despite missing two months due to an on-track accident at Saratoga Raceway that left him with a broken jaw and wrist.

"It was mentally demoralizing. You go from keeping a schedule the way I do, which is nearly seven days a week traveling all the time, to all of a sudden you're bedridden with no other option but to go on a walk as your exercise for the day," said Beckwith about his injury and downtime. "But it really opened up my eyes to a lot of things and made me realize that as much as I do love racing, and there's nothing more I'd rather do, it's good to know that there are other things in life other than racing, like taking that trip to Sweden. I've met people since then that are really close to me that I wouldn't have never met if I never got hurt."

Beckwith certainly has been busy since his return. In the last week alone he's had drives at the Meadowlands, Plainridge Park, Saratoga Harness and Pocono Downs. He'll have 24 drives at the Meadowlands from Thursday to Saturday, including behind Captain Naughty in the Hambletonian for trainer Per Engblom.

"It's just a really cool moment all around considering I really didn't think I would be back before the Meadowlands Pace to drive after the injury and then to be in that race, and then have the same chance in the same year to drive in the Hambletonian for someone like Per, who I've had a lot of luck with. He's just a great guy all around and we've had a ton of success together."