When he crossed the snow-covered finish line on Tuesday, Dec. 14, 20-year-old Doug McNair made harness racing history. The Guelph resident became the youngest driver ever to reach 1000 career wins. McNair officially graduated to superstar status when he urged 4-year-old gelding Greystone the Grad to victory in the fourth race at Western Fair Raceway.
McNair began the day with 999 career wins, tantalizingly close to breaking the record. It was previously held by Matt Kakaley, who scored his 1000th win just three months after his 21st birthday. McNair, who will turn 21 on Dec. 29, says he feels honoured to have achieved such a notable feat.
“When I was up in the announcer’s booth (during Western Fair’s pre-card show) I was looking at some of the old pictures and was thinking, ‘Wow, it would be something to break the record after all these guys have driven since they were young,’” McNair said trackside after his 1000th win. “It’s a really big accomplishment, and it’s just great and unbelievable.”
He also praised his father, Gregg McNair, and his many supporters for their encouragement.
“I would just like to thank everyone for supporting me and phoning me, texting me and congratulating me,” he said.
His remarkable achievement is a testament to his dedication to the sport. It’s a dream he has been chasing his entire life and he says it hasn’t been an easy ride.
“I wanted to be a driver ever since I was little,” McNair said during a recent interview at the Meadowlands Racetrack in New Jersey. “I always thought I was going to be, but looking back now, I don’t know how I thought I was ever going to be. It’s a lot harder than it looks.”
But McNair has certainly made it look easy. It’s been a whirlwind of trips to the winner’s circle ever since his first win in February 2008. That same year, at just 18, he scored a victory in Grand River Raceway’s $300,000 Battle of Waterloo and drove horses to over a million dollars in purse earnings.
This year, McNair notched over 500 wins, a number previously unmatched by any other driver his age. Drivers get 5 per cent of what the horse wins, so by steering speedy Standardbreds to over $4.7 million in purses, McNair earned over $235,000. He is currently ranked second in Canadian driver standings and leads the ranks at Western Fair, Woodstock and Grand River Raceway. McNair said he is now considering moving to the major-leagues of Canadian harness racing at the Woodbine Entertainment Group.
“We’ll see how it goes,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun winning a lot of races. But if you go down there it’s going to take a while to start winning a lot of races. Hopefully next year or the year after.” Until then, McNair is poised for another year of making big waves on small harness racing tracks all over Ontario.
