Mike Stevenson is in a
good place.
The 48-year-old native
of Fredericton is at a stage in his life where he is combining his cultivated driving
and training skills for the successful Daniel Ross Stable of Belfast, Prince
Edward Island.
This combination had
produced some outstanding young horses over the past few years including full
brother and sister, Pictonians Souwest (p.3,1:56.2h-$76,822) and Pictonian
Amanda (p.2,1:57.4h-$57,203).
Stevenson has been
honing his harness racing skills since he was a teenager at Exhibition Park
Raceway in Saint John and today he is considered one of the most gifted and
natural horsemen in the Maritimes. Through
30 plus years in the sport he loves, he has distinguished himself as an elite horsemen
that has seen him taken a career path through some of North America’s most storied
racetracks.
* *
* * *
If the Bishop family -
who has had four generations involved with horses, from patriarch, Henry, his
son, Clowes, Clowes’ sons, Donald and Gerald, and Donald’s son Michael – are
considered Fredericton’s first family of harness racing then the Stevenson
family, with Michael, his father, Robert, his mother, Diane, and his sisters,
Gloria and Janet, may be the most complete.
Robert (Bobby) Stevenson
is a legendary Fredericton horseman who began his career racing horses for the
Williamson family back in the 1960’s and early 1970’s.
He moved to Exhibition
Park Raceway in Saint John for two years where he opened a public stable and
campaigned many top horses, including 1974 Horse of-the-Year, sophomore Shawfield
Bras Dor p.3,2:03.4h (40-21-9-4-$21,011) for owner Gordon Henderson of Saint
John.
In 1976 he picked up
again and moved to the bustling Foxboro, MA racing scene.
“With the horses he had
at the time, it was an opportunity for them to race for good money,” Stevenson
said about his father relocating to the Boston area. “Guys like him and Marcel (Barrieau) used to go
down and travel that circuit for a while and return, but he liked it and
decided to go stay there. Racing was
more prosperous there than at home.
“He had horses for the
Williamsons and guys from here (Prince Edward Island) like Blois MacPhail and
Walter Simmons. He had a lot of horses
from the Maritimes.”
Bobby Stevenson carved
out the beginnings of a successful career and later became one of the top
trainers at The Meadowlands.
Diane Stevenson spent
many years in Maine working as a program director before taking a job as the
Clerk of the Course and Program Director at The Meadowlands in 1993, a position
that she held for almost 20 years.
“She is amazing,” gushed
Stevenson. “She has more kids than anyone I have ever seen in my life. I remember sitting in the office down there
and everybody that walked through the door would call her ‘Mum’. She was always looking after everybody.
“She was very
well-liked wherever she was and very professional at what she did. She claims to be retired but she still works
at Rosecroft two nights a week when they’re racing and she has been doing her
Colonial Downs thing every fall since they opened up.”
His sister, Janet, is
actively involved in horse racing and married Eddie Davis Jr., who is part of
the celebrated Davis family of Smyrna, Ohio.
“They are synonymous
with racing down there,” said Stevenson.
“Big Eddie (Davis Sr.) has seven or eight thousand wins (8,631). He has raced everywhere. At one time he would race Brandywine in the afternoon,
shoot up to the Meadowlands at night, drive back to Delaware and then get up
the next day and do it all over again.”
His other sister,
Gloria, has also worked in the office at The Meadowlands but has also made a
mark for herself as an experienced groom, something she has been doing her
whole life. She was the caretaker of
Nihilator during his sensational three-year-old season. She is currently in Delaware, Ohio and is
still involved in harness racing.
* *
* * *
The move to the Foxboro-Rockingham
circuit by Bobby Stevenson inspired and nurtured an impressionable young
teenager in Michael.
Back in Saint John, he
got his qualifying driving license at the age of sixteen and went his first
official mile with Don Bickford’s veteran pacer, Hoot Dillon. After completing high school he followed his
father to the New England states and within a few short years he met up with a
veteran horseman by the name of Peter Blood.
Stevenson credits the
start of a long-term association with Blood with providing him the experience
he would need to compete with the best trainers and drivers at some of North
America’s greatest tracks.
“I trained horses for
Peter off and on for ten or twelve years beginning in my early twenties. He came up to me one day in the paddock at
Foxboro and offered me a job as a second trainer. We went to Pompano Park in 1986 and had
unbelievable luck.
“We had great horses
like Particular (p.5,1:53.4m-$301,524), Williamsburg One (p.5,1:52.2m-$314,910)
and Bo Scots Blue (p.5,1:56.1m-$120,372).
We had horses that, when we came back the next spring, we went straight
to New Jersey with.”
Over the next five
years Stevenson worked with Blood before coming back to Fredericton and by the
early 1990’s had built up a stable of his own that included Trusty Bad Guy, Riverside
George, Rhumb Line and Barely A Breeze, which he took to Foxboro in the fall of
1992.
“I’ll never forget the
first weekend we were down there,” Stevenson said. “I won with Barely A Breeze
(1:59.1) and he paid $122 ($121.40) to win.
(Owner) Pat Hill had $20 across the board and wheeled him in the exactor. He must have cashed $2,500 that night.
“The next night he bet
the same with Rhumb Line and he won (1:59) and paid $16 or $17 ($16.10) to
win. We started off great and it just
snowballed from there.”
* *
* * *
Mike Stevenson gives
credit to his trainer-father for giving him an opportunity to drive at the
Meadowlands.
“When I first started
driving he had an agreement with some of his owners to give me a chance,” he
recalled. “I drove some nice horses for
some pretty great people. Everybody in
the barn didn’t seem to have any problem giving me the opportunity to drive.”
Mike and his father had
decided to work together and he went to Garden State Park to race some horses
when the annual meet opened each fall.
He gained a lot of experience racing on the one-mile track so when he finally
started driving at The Meadowlands he felt comfortable.
“When it (Garden State
Park) opened the main driving colony was racing in Lexington or Delaware so,
for the first few weeks, I just got to drive against the same guys I would be
driving against at Freehold, where I drove some to. It made the transition, for a kid who had
been racing on the smaller sized tracks, to a mile track somewhat easier,
especially with the excitement and pressure you feel when you race at the
Meadowlands.”
Stevenson said what may
have been the highlight of his career was when he realized that he could drive
competitively at The Meadowlands.
“I was doing well there when the track was in its prime. I think it is every kid’s harness racing dream to want to drive there. Here I was in my late twenties and on any given night I would go behind the starting gate and there would be legends like John Campbell on one side and on the other side there was Billy O’Donnell.
“The best part about it
was I had respect from both.”
Stevenson said the
other drivers had gotten to know him when he worked with Blood.
“We had a lot of Grand
Circuit horses and a solid overnight stable at the same time. They all knew I was second trainer for Peter
so when I passed the lines to the drivers, told them how the horses were and
they had some luck. I already felt I had
the respect before I ever went behind the gate at The Meadowlands.”
* *
* * *
Jaguar Knight came to
the Bobby Stevenson Stable at the Meadowland in the fall of 1993. He was a $24,000 yearling purchase by Wayne
Hill in 1991 and when on to be a multiple Atlantic Sires Stakes winner at two and
three for trainer Sheldon Watts. He
counted the $20,000 Barrieau-McIsaac final among his accomplishments in the
Maritimes.
He qualified on New
Year’s Eve 1993 in a rather ordinary 2:00.2 and then proceeded to reel off six
straight starts where he failed to pick up a cheque.
It was a rather
inauspicious starts for a horse with pretty heady credentials but Stevenson
said there was a simple explanation for that.
“I am a firm believer
that when a horse leaves the half-mile tracks in the Maritimes it takes them a
little while to adjust to the larger race tracks like a Meadowlands or
Woodbine. Horses have to get used to be
rolling through all four quarters, not like in the Maritimes where you are
always getting a breather for a quarter or half-mile. On the
larger tracks you don’t get that. Instead of short bursts, they need to learn to
carry their speed.
“The horse was in great
shape but he seemed to be going through the motions at first.”
Stevenson said one
night his father told him to be aggressive with him and go just as far as he
could go.
“Roll him,” he told
me. “Just send him. I don’t care where you finish, just send him. So I did.”
“It was a nasty night around
the first of March (3) and I rolled him.
I was down to the half in 55 and a piece (55.4), the three-quarters was
in 1:24 and change (1:24.1). He finished
sixth and paced in 55 (1:55.3) and he was tired puppy finishing. Two starts later I took him off the gate and
got caught in but he shook loose late and won (in 1:55.4). After that win he was a different horse and I
could drive him anyway I wanted.”
And he continued to win
and go faster.
On April 9 he lowered
his record to 1:53.3 and a week later he lowered it another second to
1:52.3. Two weeks after that he lowered
it a full second again to 1:51.3 and on May 14 he became the fastest Maritime-bred
horse and second fastest Canadian-bred of all time when he won in 1:51.2. It was the first of four in-a-row (1:51.4
twice and 1:52.2) to complete a stretch of eight wins in 13 starts, all from
off the pace.
“The horse literally
loved racing first-over,” Stevenson said admiringly. “He would rather be
without cover. He preferred to come and
look you in the eye. The secret was to
never let him clear until the stretch. When
he was at the top of his game, it took a good horse to go by him.”
* *
* * *
Over a ten-year period
beginning in 1992, Stevenson had an opportunity to drive some outstanding
horses at many different tracks in the United States.
The richest and fastest
horse he ever drove was the aged Abercrombie free-for-aller, Misfit (p.7,1:49.4m-$1,190,067),
who he won a leg of The Graduate with at Foxboro in 1:53.1. Other notable performers for Stevenson included
J B Stena (p.4,1:51.1m-$372,212), Artist Stena (p.3,1:51.1m-$574,176), By A
Length (p.4,1:50.4m-$683,960) and Klingon Hanover (p.3,1:51m-$718,671).
Bobby Stevenson had a
powerful stable at The Meadowlands in the late 1990’s and that gave Mike an
opportunity to race other Grand Circuit horses in some big races including Duke
Of Abby (p.5,1:49.3m-$944,194) and Tune Town (p.5,1:49.1m -$1,098,140).
“Tune Town was one I
drove for a while,” said Stevenson. “I won a couple of races with him including
one night (January 9, 1999) in a leg of the Presidential Series when we beat
Red Bow Tie.”
Tune Town finished
second for Stevenson in another leg before finishing fourth to Red Bow Tie in
the $100,000 final.
Stevenson considers
that, and a win with Quality of Life (p.3,1:50.1-$335,851), as two career
highlights that stand out.
“I won with Quality of Life (1:50.1) in the
Kentucky Sires Stakes and gave him his lifetime record. That was pretty special.”
* * *
* *
Stevenson returned to
the Maritimes in 2003 and enjoyed immediate success with a colt named Elm Grove
Action (p.4,1:53.3f-$189,273), owned by his cousin Bettina’s husband, Bob
McNeil, and John Lavric.
“Bobby never had a
yearling before and shortly after I came home (to Saint John) we bought one
(for $2,400) and he was a Cinderella colt.
I think he made almost $30,000 as a two-year-old ($28,707) and $34,000
as a three-year-old ($33,528) and then we took him to Harrisburg and sold him
for $42,000 American.”
But even with that
success Stevenson wasn’t sure Saint John was the place to be.
“I was dealing with
some personal demons at the time and I felt that I needed to get away and so I
came here (PEI) to start over.
“Wade Sorrie helped me through
the first winter I came here and by the next fall I was working for Dan
Ross. He gave me an opportunity to train
some good horses and he has stood behind me and is a great guy to work
for. He wants to have quality horses and
he does everything right. He is an
absolute great owner.”
Ross had been looking
for a full-time driver and someone to help Sorrie train some of his colt back
to the races. It was an opportunity for
him to keep some of his horses closer to home, when before they had been sent
out to other trainers around the Maritimes.
It has been a
partnership that has excelled on all levels, highlighted by a big day at
Charlottetown in the fall of 2011.
On October 9, the
Western Paradise-Southview Sasha brother and sister combo, Pictonians Souwest
(three-year-old colt) and Pictonian Amanda (two-year-old filly) won their
respective $24,000 Atlantic Breeders Crown finals.
“I thought that was
pretty cool. That was a big day,” a
satisfied Stevenson said. “Pictonians Souwest was always a very, very quick
horse.
 |
| PICTONIANS SOUWEST |
“Pictonian Amanda was
one of the fastest Maritime-bred horses I have ever sat behind. She was meant to be an awesome filly.”
However, she cracked
her knee late in that freshmen season and returned to the races last year but
wasn’t the same though she did win five races and $26,439.
 |
| PICTONIAN AMANDA |
Another successful
horse for the Ross-Stevenson team was the Articulator colt, Mr. Thompson. He was a multiple stake winner over the past
two years earning over $72,000 and taking a record of 1:56.2h at Summerside.
“Mr. Thompson had been
getting better and better throughout the year.
We brought him back slow because he was high strung and flighty. He is a fast horse and is now racing at
Woodbine,” said Stevenson.
Currently there are
eight young horses in the Ross Stable including six 2-year-olds and two
3-year-olds including a full brother to Pictonian Souwest and Pictonian Amanda
named Pictonian Storm.
“They are all jogging
good,” said Stevenson.
* *
* * *
Asked whether he
prefers driving or training the introspective Stevenson replied, “The
competitive side of me – driving. I do
love training babies though but I am at the point right now where I feel like I
can do both well. I’ll give it another
four or five years driving before I start to question myself.
“I pride myself on
training the babies. I give Peter
(Blood) a lot of credit for the opportunities to train young horses. When I was with Dad, we more or less raced
overnight horses. When I went to work
for Peter he had some older horses too but we also had great luck with the
younger horses and I loved it. I always
look forward to the fall to start with the yearlings.”
If you ask any knowledgeable
horsemen they will tell you Mike Stevenson is also a natural in the bike.
“Most of time I try to
drive horses to their individual style.
I let horses drive me to a certain extent. I like to think I adapt to the talent of the
horse and try not to force the horse to have to adapt themselves to me,”
Stevenson said.
He is rapidly
approaching 1,500 career wins, a milestone that should be easily attainable
this year if he keeps up the pace of previous years. Last year he surpassed $4 million in lifetime
earnings to make him the richest driver to ever come from Fredericton, and
scored 99 wins but still wasn’t satisfied with his year.
“Even with the success
I thought it was somewhat of an off year (for me),” he said. “I wasn’t where I thought I should be and I had
put on a little bit of weight. I didn’t
feel fit so I joined the gym, started to eat healthier and just tried to do the
right thing and look after myself. By the
time I get back driving this spring, I’ll feel better about myself out there
(racing).”
Daniel Ross built a
barn at the farm at the Pinette racetrack a few years ago and it is an ideal
setting to train horses, according to Stevenson.
 |
| MR THOMPSON |
“I can look down at the
river on side. The barn and the paddock
are on the other side. There is even an
antique grandstand there.
“I have the dream job
in the Maritimes.”
* *
* * *
Mike Stevenson
career highlights
$4,090,773 – Career
earnings
1437 – Career wins
1981 - First three
lifetime drives earning $185
1982 – First career win
with Game Blast at Northfield Park, OH
1994 - Won with Jaguar
Knight in 1:51.2 becoming the fastest Maritime-bred and second-fastest
Canadian-bred
1994 – Most earnings in
one season ($426,173)
1996 – Drove J B Stena
to a third-place finish in a leg of the George Morton Levy series won by Riyadh
1997 – 500 lifetime
wins
1997 – Drove Misfit to
a win in a leg of the Graduate Series at Foxboro
1999 – Drove Tune Town
to a win in a leg of The Presidential series at The Meadowlands defeating Red
Bow Tie
1999 – Drove
two-year-old By A Length to a New Jersey Sire Stakes win in 1:52.3 at Garden
State Park
2001 - Fastest win with
Quality of Life (1:50.1 lifetime record) at Lexington, KY
2001 - Won three
in-a-row with three-year-old Klingon Hanover at Lexington, KY including 1:51
lifetime record
2004 – Won Governors
Plate at Summerside with Igoddago in 1:55.3 equaling track record
2006 – 1,000th
career win with My Buddy Mark on September 2 at Exhibition Park Raceway
2010 – Most wins (115) in
one season
2011 – Won $24,000
Atlantic Breeders Crown events with Pictonians Souwest and Pictonian Amanda
* *
* * *
In our last blog we looked at some of Fredericton’s current
drivers and some of their career stats.
Here is a list of some other Fredericton natives, some of whom now plying
their skills elsewhere, some are inactive and some are deceased. Certain drivers raced in era where driving
stats were not accurately kept and probably their totals are much higher. I would like to thank Patrick Eastwood for
compiling this list.
Bobby Stevenson - 1531 - $2,092,045
Mike Stevenson - 1437 - $4,090,773
Lonny Stokes – 1228 - $1,060,595
Philip Bo Sowers – 159 - $216,251
Ned Lindon – 125 - $48,849
Scott Forbes - 124 - $549,764
John Tyler – 113 - $46,287
Gordon C Collett – 112 - $44,116
Kim Cameron – 81 - $45,139
Clowes Bishop – 56 - $28,967
Ed McCoy – 45 - $15,909
George Woodside – 41 - $18,901
Lloyd Denton – 23 - $8,437
Mark Stevenson – 21 - $10,945
Wade McCoy – 19 - $51,551
Chester Eatmon Sr. – 17 - $5,911
Doug Cameron – 15 - $8,016
Todd Scott – 13 - $12,614
Susan Downey – 10 - $2,673
Ashley Sloat – 7 - $3,509
George Spencer – 7 - $1,996
Tony Decourcey – 4 - $1,841
Brian Embleton – 3 - $983
Winfield Scott – 3 - $1,794
Paul Cooper – 1 - $321
Tom Etter – 1 -$185
Jeff Trites – 0 -
$811
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