Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Odds On Racing's

Driver of the Month
for April 2005

Jim Morrill, Jr.

Jim Morrill, Jr. recently scored his 3,000th career victory at The Meadowlands as he steered Arts Regard to a 1:52 clocking on March 30. That same night at the Big M the 40-year-old driver won the $60,000 Jersey Girls Final with Follow Your Bliss (his 2,999th win).

A resident of Freehold, New Jersey, Morrill garnered 56 of his 3,000 career wins this year and boasts over $40 million in purse earnings.

Jim Morrill, Jr. pilots
Follow Your Bliss to victory
recently at The Meadowlands

Born November 10, 1964, in Methuian, Maine, Jim Morrill Jr. was born into a harness racing family. His father, Jim Sr., was a veteran on the New England circuit for over 30 years. Jim Jr. began driving horses at Foxboro in 1984, and hasn't show any signs of slowing down. He moved to Maryland in the late 1980s and became the leading driver at Rosecroft before shifting his post to Yonkers in 1991. He joined the New Jersey circuit just over ten years ago and has been a dominate force in the Garden State ever since.

Over the years Jim Morrill, Jr. has sat behind some of the finest pacers that harness racing has to offer. One of his biggest moments came in 1993 when he piloted Silver Almahurst to a world record clocking for a half-mile oval at Yonkers Raceway by capturing the George Morton Levy Memorial Final on April 24 in a sizzling 1:50:4.

Morrill Jr. and the great Riyadh set a world record in the second of the two 1993 Adios elimination divisions on August 14, pacing a mile in 1:50.1. The mark stands as the fastest mile ever by a horse on a five-eighths mile track. Riyadh stole the show at The Adios with Morrill saying that he felt as though Riyadh could have gone in 1:48 if pressured. The other division of The Adios was won by Mystical Prince and Ron Pierce in 1:51. In the final, Riyadh was sitting third and was in perfect position to win. However, Mystical Prince who was on the front, jumped a shadow causing a pile-up at the three-quarter pole. No horses or drivers were injured but Riyadh was caught up in the accident allowing longshot Miles McCool and John Campbell to win the race. Riyadh made up ground in the stretch but by this time the trophy was lost and he had to settle for second. The time of the final was 1:51.2.

He was also the main pilot beind Four Starzzzz Shark in 2003.

Perhaps one of Jim's biggest scores was in 2004's Meadowland's Pace on July 17. Jim steered Holburn Hanover to a surprise 1:49 neck clocking over rival Timesareachanging. Holburn Hanover returned a whopping $119.00 to win for his effort, with Morrill Jr. in the sulky.