Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Odds On Racing's

Driver of the Month
for May 2009

Matthew Kakaley

Matt Kakaley has quickly made a name for himself as a driving star at Northfield Park, and this year the 21-year-old is making a splash as one of the North America's leading reinsman, after only four short years as a professional reinsman.

Matthew Kakaley

Capturing 53 victories in just three short weeks at the start of 2009 at Northfield, Kakaley tied veteran Tony Morgan for the national driving lead through Jan. 24. Given a chance to run a string locally by the nation's top trainer, Mickey Burke, Matt Kakaley left Pompano Park last year to race at Northfield.

Kakaley, a native of Streetsboro, Ohio and third generation, has posted numerous victories at Northfield, Pompano and elsewhere over the past four years. Kakaley's hot streak continues through mid-year, as he continues on pace to become the youngest driver in history to reach 1,000 wins in his career this season, looking well-placed to get there.

Kakaley says his success comes from being in the right spot, hooking up with the right people and taking advantage of the situation. Leading the national driving standings makes the long nights at Northfield Park well worth it, he says.

"It's pretty cool to see my name ahead of everyone else's. My game plan (at Northfield Park) is to drive every horse I possibly can. Winning races here gets my name out there."

The young driver would like to give the larger harness racing tracks a try this year, but has yet to get a solid offer to race elsewhere.

Matthew Kakaley's Career Statistics as of May 1, 2009
Year     Starts/Wins/2nds/3rds   Earnings     UDRS
2009      923      205   160    137      $499,872      0.368
2008      2422    499   374    326      $1,515,200   0.337
2007      1348    192   147    179      $614,353      0.247
2006      328      31      43      43      $164,700      0.211
Total             927                        $2,794,125