Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Odds On Racing

Driver of the Month
for March 2006

George Brennan

George Brennan, 39, has ranked among the top 10 drivers at the Meadowlands for the past decade and the top 15 nationally. He has never won the Big M driving title, but was third in both 1998 and 2000. he's also won two Breeders Crown Championships (both in 1998) in 33 finals that he's driven in.

Brennan was introduced to harness racing by his stepfather, Joe Ricco Jr. (a top driver on the Monticello-Pocono Circuit), and began driving in Goshen, New York at age 14. His first pari-mutuel win came at Monticello Raceway at age 17, while still a junior in high school. Brennan feels that driving is instinctual and a skill that must be developed early.

George Brennan

George Brennan piloted the great mare Galleria

"I think it's all natural," he said. "I think you've got to start being into it and I think you've got to start at a young age. I think it's impossible to grab a kid out of high school right now and try to make them a driver. It just wouldn't happen. They can race and maybe have marginal success but not at this level."

Brennan arrived at the Meadowlands in 1994 with his friend, trainer Ron Coyne. He won his first Meadowlands race on opening night of the 1995 meet, driving Make Music to victory for Coyne. He gained national attention that year as he guided both two-year-old pacing divisional champs, the colt A Stud Named Sue and the filly Chippies Ruler.

"I couldn't ask for anything more," he said. "It was a lot thrown at me at that time. But I was very lucky to get both of those horses and they did very well for me." In 1996, he won the $1 million Meadowlands Pace with green-goggled gelding Hot Lead. "That was really cool because Robinson [trainer Bill Robinson] had five in that race, and they had all the hype and everything," he said. "Hot Lead was the iron-horse, he really was."

I think it all falls back on the horse and whether you have a good horse.

In 2004, he reached $50 million in career earnings, half of which he banked at the Meadowlands.

"No matter who you're racing with, you've just got to be on your game all the time," Brennan said. "I've got the utmost respect for those guys and I've got the utmost respect for the guys I race with now. I can tell you that."

Brennan ended 2005 with overall stats of 327 wins and $7,547,999 in purses won, the second highest total of his career, second only to $7,569,909 in 1998. Some of Brennan's brightest moments in 2005 were with double millionaire Loyal Opposition, sweeping the Overbid Series, including the $122,250 final on March 25, and capturing the $100,000 Thomas Strada Memorial on April 9 at the Meadowlands. Loyal Opposition is not the first millionaire mare Brennan has driven. He was the regular pilot of Galleria, whom he drove to $1.8 million racing in company that included the speedy Armbro Romance.

Now just two months into the Meadowlands meet, Brennan is building on the momentum of his 2005 season when he topped $7.5 million in money earnings for the third time.

"I don't know if there's any secret to it," Brennan said. "I think it all falls back on the horse and whether you have a good horse. There are 10 or 15 guys that can all keep their horses going. "Hopefully I can stay healthy, land a couple of good mounts, and put up good numbers again," he added.

Update, August 12, 2006
With seven wins on Friday night, August 11, 2006, George Brennan has joined an exclusive club at the Meadowlands. Only three drivers have won seven or more on a single program since the Meadowlands opened in 1976. John Campbell has had seven-winner programs on five occasions, and Mike Lachance holds the track record of eight wins which took place on July 14, 1995. Brennan also won four races on Saturday’s Hambletonian Day program to lift his two-day total to 11.

“This was a big night for me,” said Brennan, who resides in Perrineville, New Jersey. “I don't remember winning seven on a card before. Doing it at the Meadowlands makes it even more special. I've been on a good roll this year and hope to continue with it,” he noted. “Driving good horses for the best trainers doesn't hurt either. A guy like Richard Banca sends them to me ready. It makes my job easier."

On Friday night, Brennan reached the winner’s circle with Tiber Hanover in the first race, Bossi Corner in the second, longshot Blushfire in the fourth, Very Nice Horse in the featured sixth, Royal Flush Shark in the eighth, Durin Hanover in the ninth and GTs Graig in the tenth.

Going into Saturday night’s final program of the January to August meet, Brennan has 185 wins at the Meadowlands and a lock on third-place in the standings, behind Brian Sears and Ron Pierce. Fourteen of his wins [23 in-the-money finishes] have come from 36 drives thus far in the month of August.

Through August 11, Brennan has 4,808 career victories and $65 million in purses. This year, he has 252 wins, 217 seconds and 201 thirds from 1,592 drives for $4.8 million in purses.
His stakes wins this year included a $195,000 division of the US Pacing Championship last Saturday at the Meadowlands with Holborn Hanover in a time of 1:46.4, the fastest race mile of all time

2006 Archives
February: Brent Holland
January: Mark MacDonald

2005 Archives
December: Tony Morgan
November: Mike Oosting
October: Chris Christoforou
September: Dave Palone
August: Jack Moiseyev
July: Randy Waples
June: Cat Manzi
May: Dave Magee
April: Jim Morrill,Jr.
March: Patrick Lachance
February: Paul MacDonell
January: Ron Pierce