Harness racing is a job for Goshen's Jason Bartlett, and he does it very well
It’s probably not a coincidence that Goshen’s Jason Bartlett reached a victory milestone in the same week the Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame in his hometown is set to induct its newest members.
Bartlett, 42, reached the 10,000-win mark on Tuesday night at Yonkers Raceway, driving seven winners the previous night and six on the historic evening. He became the 20th North American driver to reach that total.
“It was really good to get it done, with my family there,’’ Bartlett said. “It always seems to be hard to get the last one.’’
Like 600 home runs or 3,000 hits in Major League Baseball, this puts Bartlett on track for induction into the prestigious Hall of Fame with a couple more notable wins, and certainly if he reaches 15,000, says harness expert Dave Little.
“I can't imagine anything that would prevent him from one day going to the Hall of Fame,’’ said Little, who will be calling Grand Circuit races at Goshen Historic Track on Sunday and Monday following his Saturday night TV duties at The Meadowlands (Bartlett will be driving at Goshen this weekend).
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“I think he is a lock for 15,000.’’
For the humble Bartlett, driving Bettor’s Delight to the milestone win was no different than the 9,999 that came before, except for maybe the joy of his first victory with Geri’s Beauty back in 1998 at his former track in his home state of Maine.
“Winning a race is a feeling that you never get bored of and always seem to want to feel again,’’ he said.
Winning 20 percent of all starts is considered “really, really good,’’ Bartlett said – he would know, having won 10,000 of his 49,028 career starts (21 percent). Toss in 7,662 runner-up finishes, 6,565 thirds and additional payouts at fourth and fifth place, and Bartlett has driven to the tune of $142,542,262, which ranks No. 12 all-time in North America.
His personal season bests for wins are 721 in 2009, 656 in 2008 and 631 in 2022; the top money seasons were $11.7 million in 2017, $11.4 million last year and $10.8 million in 2009.
Through Tuesday night, Bartlett’s 2023 stats include 1,284 starts, 282 wins, 236 seconds and 174 thirds, for $4.6 million in earnings. Once again he leads the Yonkers driver colony with 237 wins in 1,014 starts, earning $3.8 million.
When it comes down to it, harness driving remains a job, and Bartlett does it well. Driving five, six or seven days a week, from stakes races to qualifiers, at tracks from Yonkers, The Meadowlands, Monticello and Pocono Downs, Bartlett has competed in no fewer than 2,400 races every year (save for the 2020 COVID year) since 2008, the year he moved to Goshen.
“This guy just likes to drive,’’ Little said.
Bartlett won the Yonkers driving titles from 2008-10, his first three years at his new track, and nine times through 2020. Win No. 9,000 came on Oct. 19, 2021, at Yonkers.
Clearly, it helps to drive with the proper attitude and perspective.
“You’ve got to know that you’re going to lose way more than you are ever going to win,’’ said Bartlett, who takes those close losses more to heart than winning with the improved stock of horses he’s been hired to drive.
“On any given night I’m mad at myself. If I get beat by a nose or by a head, I believe I’ve done something wrong, so I always try to see where I could have done something different. Maybe I could have gone a little bit slower in the third-quarter (mile) or a little bit slower to the half and maybe kept the guy in a little longer, or I should have known a little bit better who was coming at me as I was going to the three-quarter pole and I didn't have to race them that hard … just little things that at the end of the mile can catch up to you.’’
Bartlett said he’s learned valuable lessons from driving legends such as Cat Manzi (14,812 wins), Brian Sears (10,393) and George Brennan (11,591) – Manzi and Brennan are Monticello natives.
“With experience, you become a lot better, a lot more patient,’’ Bartlett said. “When I was younger I used to just think ‘speed, fast, make them go fast.’ But now I've learned that I can kind of outsmart people and know what's going on a little bit better than I used to as a kid – that comes from driving a lot of races, losing to particular guys and accepting that they're just better than you and try to learn from them, which I have.’’
Little said Bartlett’s overwhelming success at Yonkers gives him an edge, an aura of ‘’intimidation.’’
“The other drivers are more concerned with what’s Jason doing,’’ Little said. “They want to wait and see what he does first and then they have to react to that. And when you can have that type of intimidation, that gives you a great upper hand in the sport of harness racing.’’
Little believes it would do Bartlett well to hit the road for more Grand Circuit races in order to build his resume, but Bartlett said he’s more comfortable racing nearby and spending more time with his family. His record at Yonkers – considered a second-tier drivers’ colony – and regular racing with the best at The Meadowlands certainly enhances his chances.
For all the satisfaction that comes from racing, Bartlett takes more joy in coaching his son in youth basketball in the St. Columba CYO program, and enjoys having his players see him compete at Goshen Historic. Bartlett was a high school All-American in Maine and played Division III basketball in-state.
Bartlett hasn’t indicated when he might give up driving, which is no wonder given how he’s in the prime of a career that extends well into the 50s for top drivers, Little said.
“I'm quite happy what I'm doing,’’ he said. “I just want to stay healthy – that, for me, is the main thing. I love my job so it’s not really a job. … I get to race horses for a living, so staying healthy and the wins will come, the money will come and I'm making a good living for my family so that's all that matters.
“We’ll just keep building on these numbers and see where it goes.’’
Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Jason Bartlett of Goshen NY reaches harness racing victory milestone
