Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Odds On Driver of the Month
November 2004

Dale Hiteman

Chicago reinsman Dale Hiteman’s roots in harness racing began at a young age, as the successful Ohio-transplant was spawned by long-time Buckeye horseman Omar Hiteman and his wife Bertha, of Wilmington, Ohio. Now 48 and a resident of Westville, Indiana, Dale has amassed $52 million in purse earnings lifetime and visited the winner’s circle over 7,000 times in his twenty-year harness racing career.

Dale says that he never considered another profession, but unlike some youngsters, who are born into harness racing families, was not allowed to pursue a driving career until he had graduated from Lebanon High School.

Dale Hiteman

"My father wanted me to finish high school before I started driving," Dale remembered. "I couldn’t wait to get started full time with the horses. I always knew that I wanted to drive, but Dad was afraid that if I got too involved with the horses early on, that I’d quit high school."

Dale, who is noted for his aggressive driving style, says that his early experiences at Lebanon Raceway in Ohio and on the Ohio County Fair circuit helped to shape his unique driving style.

"I was naturally aggressive and racing on those half-milers in Ohio made me ever more so," Dale said. "When I came to Chicago in the late 1970s, my style really didn’t change all that much. We do have some young drivers in Chicago now that are very aggressive, but I still consider myself very aggressive. I think probably I’ve become more patient than I used to be in the last few years up here."

Dale recorded $667,941 and 532 victories before venturing to the Windy City in 1979.

"I thought at the time that I was doing fairly well in Ohio, but that for all the work I was putting in that I really wasn’t reaping the kind of money that I thought I should be making," Dale explained. "That’s really what prompted my move to Chicago more than anything else."

Dale recorded his first $1 million year in 1982. A diligent student of the sport, the former Ohio All-State wrestling champ says that studying his competition is a must.

"Every night before and during the races, I constantly study the program...usually, if I get the program a day early I try to consider each race. As the actual race night progresses, I try to adjust my driving style accordingly, incorporating new strategy into that night's race if need be, or changing to accommodate the horse or the race track, depending on that night’s conditions.

"Now that we race year ‘round at Maywood and Balmoral, a driver really doesn’t have to worry about adjusting to the various track distances like we did before when we raced at Hawthorne (mile), Sportsman’s (7/8’s), Balmoral (mile & 5/8’s) and Maywood (half-mile)," Dale said. "It’s kind of a given now and something I really don’t have to think about any more. At times when I haven’t done well on a particular night, than I’ll think about it. For instance I might wonder whether I’m not being as aggressive as I should be at Maywood, or perhaps as patient as I should be when racing at Balmoral."

During the early 1990’s Dale decided to curtail running a public stable and concentrate on his driving career.

"There were various reasons for that," Dale quipped. "The first is that I’m married with three kids (Danielle 20, Myles 17, Tera 16) and I was never home. I felt that I needed to spend more time at home with them. I had gotten so many horses that I had kind of burnt myself out with both the driving and the training. As a catch driver you don’t have to worry if the horse can walk the next day or not, and if you’re driving one you also train, you’re more likely to worry about how that horse is going to come out of a race. As a trainer-driver I might hesitate to drive a horse hard if he had a few lameness problems.

"One of my strong points in the business is my integrity," Dale continued. "I would watch out for the horse's well-being a lot and it was affecting my driving. I try to take everything into consideration when I drive now. I listen to what the trainer says about the horse, and get a feel for the horse, the way he warms up, and in the end I ultimately do what is best in terms of getting the most out of the horse. In many cases you know, going into a race, that a horse has some problems, and that if you give him the proper trip, you'll have something left at the end, especially if the horse is an old class horse."

Over the years Dale has piloted some of Chicago’s finest, as well as some of the nation’s top trotters and pacers, including Mr. Dalrae, Blissfull Hall and Genuine Lady. But his favorite mount is a horse that Dale bought on three separate occasions.

"Dirty Deeds is my all-time number-one favorite," Dale recalled. "I bought him three times and he made money for anyone that ever owned him. The first time I bought him from my mother-in-law for Peter Guido for $20,000. When Peter died the estate sent the horse to Harrisburg and I bought him back for nearly the same amount of money. He was a really easy horse to drive, had a mark of 1:54 and made a lot of money for us."

Dale says he makes safety a priority on the racetrack.

"One of the things my Dad taught me is to be safe," Dale said. "Once, I had been in an accident in Ohio and had got a little bruised up. I was driving the next night and was very aggressive. I think in the back of my mind I didn’t want to follow other horses that night. I wanted to be out in front because at the time I thought it was a safer place to be. My dad said, ‘I can get anybody to leave with a horse..I need somebody who’s going to use their head, and who is going to drive the horse with some sense and not be out on the racetrack in a recluse manner.

"Ultimately, when I look at the overnight sheet, I try to always take the best horse. If I feel that horses are comparable, then I’ll try to go with stables who put me down on a week-in, week-out basis. I try to talk to trainers and get their feelings about their horses, and try to work with them and give them ideas on different things if they’re receptive. For instance, I like to see a tongue tie on a horse and I like to see the updated bikes on horses. I hate old equipment on horses, especially old lines and old race bikes. I have my own bikes, but if a trainer feels that his bike fits a horse better, than I’m all for that.

"I think the biggest thing in terms of improving the sport safety-wise, was the removal of the hub-rail," Dale continued. "One thing about harness racing is that we’re pretty much open to new ideas, and are not stuck on old ways of doing things. I always try to get the newest bike of the moment. If I think a new bike is going to be successful, I’ll buy it. One thing about the new bikes is that with them being new, you don’t have to worry about them breaking or falling apart. I really like that aspect of a new bike."

Whipping is also an issue that Dale takes seriously.

"I really have a problem with someone driving a horse out of control from start to finish and whipping ruthlessly," Dale noted. "Though I do feel that to get the best performance out of the majority of horses, they do have to be whipped, I also thing that the stewards should patrol more closely, those drivers who are obviously abusive. It can definitely be a negative for the sport.

"This also goes hand-in-hand with reckless drivers," Dale continued. "I don’t admire the drivers who don’t do their homework: who don’t study the program, which are inconsistent and reckless, because it makes it tougher on everyone. I really admire the drivers who come out each and every night in all kinds of weather and just try to do their best. Those drivers that know what they have to do with the horses they’re driving in order to be competitive. They’ve done their homework."

The last 11 years have seen Dale earn over $2 million in purses earnings each season piloting 1,200 animals at breakneck speeds. What does the future hold for the gutsy Buckeye?

"Hopefully, I’ll continue to be successful with my driving," Dale said. "In ten years, if I’m not doing well, I’ll find something else to do. I’m not one of those kinds of people that just like to be here to hang on.

"In many cases you know, going into a race, that a horse has some problems, and that if you give him the proper trip, you'll have something left at the end, especially if the horse is an old class horse. "

"Fifteen or 20 years ago, if I had a bad night, I used to take that home with me, but finally I’ve gotten to the point where I leave my races at the track," Dale said. "I think you can get mentally fatigued if you keep taking all your races home and rehashing them over and over again. I think that can sour-up a career pretty fast."

Dale says he would like to see more promotional nights at Chicago tracks, similar to Illinois’ Super Night, which spotlights championship races for Illinois-bred two and three-year-olds.

"With the success of Super Night, I just can’t believe that we couldn’t have more big nights like that," Dale said. "There’s definitely room for more big nights. There’s a tremendous amount of pressure all year long for folks to do well on Super Night, and I think if we had a few other nights like it, that it would help to spread the money around a little bit. With a little imagination, we could have three or four nights like that at both Maywood and Balmoral, spotlighting perhaps, the aged horses more, which would make for really interesting evenings."

When Dale decides to hang up his Blue, White and Gold colors, how would he most like to be remembered by his peers?

"I think people already know that I come out to do my best every night and that I’m honest," Dale replied. "I think that’s the way the rest of the drivers, the public and management see me now, and I’m happy with that."

Previous Drivers of The Month for 2004
October 2004-John Campbell
September 2004--Tony Morgan
August 2004--Andy Miller
July 2004--Tim Tetrick
June 2004--Ryan Anderson
May 2004--Ronnie Marsh