Harness Racing Jockey Hits Milestone
By Frank Scandale @FScandale
Profile: Daniel Dube
Occupation: Harness driver
Born: 06/08/1969
Birthplace: Quebec
Resides: Millstone, NJ
Height: 5 feet 7 inches
Colors: Green-White-Black
When you reach a key milestone in your racing career, how do you motivate yourself for the rest of the rides?
Dan Dube, a French-Canadian harness racer who has been racing at Yonkers Raceway in New York this winter, now has the answer to that question as he reached a coveted 8,000-career victory plateau at the end of February.
“You always do your best. It is fun to win races. But when you are young, you want to just win races, but when you get a little older, you see the purses and that helps push you,” Dube answered with laughter.
Dube, now 45, He doesn’t discount that 10,000 wins are possible. “Yes, having a good purse, that is certainly motivation. But all the races are special.”
Taking time out in between races this week, Dube spoke briefly about his career, saying he started racing as a teenager, maybe 13 or 14 years old, having been trained by his driver-trainer father, Leo. When he turned 18, he joined the professional ranks and has not looked back since. Six years after he began in 1993,he won trainer and driver of the year awards at Hippodrome de Quebec and the Roger White trophy as the outstanding trainer in the province of Quebec. Dube continued to add awards, including in 1999 when he captured his first driving titles in the United States as he was the leader at the now-defunct Garden State Park in Cherry Hill, NJ, in both wins and earnings and was the top driver at Yonkers.
He reached his 8,000th win on Thursday night, Feb. 26, when the temperature was a relatively balmy 21 degrees, compared to some single-digit temps earlier last month.
He achieved the half-mile oval win behind a pacer named Clem in the eighth race of the evening, leading wire to wire, stopping the clock at 1:56 and rewarding his backers with a handsome $22.60 win mutual for a $2 bet in 1:56, and rewarding his backers with a $22.60 win mutual for a $2 wager.
Dube plays down his win total.
“I don’t really look at (the numbers),” Dube said. “I don’t put any pressure on myself. I’m happy the season has gone well so far.”
He is also on the outskirts of $95 million career purses, and is best known as the primary driver for two Harness Horses of the Year – Gallo Blue Chip (2000) and Rock N Roll Heaven (2010). Dube may not look at the numbers, but he is indeed a big numbers man.
Proving that motivation theory, Dube stayed hot at Yonkers by winning five more races just days after his benchmark 8,000 wins.
With the wins, Dube joined 27 others who have cracked the 8,000-win mark in their careers. He has a long way to go to catch the all-time race leader David Palone, who has racked up 16,890 wins in his career. Only one other driver, Herve Filion, has collected more than 15,000 wins.