Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Odds On Racing's

Driver of the Month
for November 2006

Ryan Anderson

Ryan Anderson says he wanted to be a catch-driver for as long as he can remember. The 25-year-old Carmichael, California native had good reason to want to pilot Standardbreds—having grown up under the blue, white and gold colors of his father, trainer-driver Joe Anderson.

"My dad always encouraged me and he was the best teacher I could have had," Ryan noted. "I liked the horses from day one and always wanted to be a driver. Everything I’ve accomplished so far is due in part to my father’s help. He taught me the right and wrongs on the racetrack—because he had been there and done that."

Ryan Anderson

Ryan grew up in sunny, southern California, where he lived with his parents until age 12 in 1992—when the elder Anderson decided to shift his operation full time to the Windy City harness racing circuit.

"I really liked California," Ryan recalled. "It was a great place to grow up. But now I’m settled in Crete, and just focusing on my catch driving career."

That career has seen Ryan do what many catch-drivers fail to achieve even in their older seasons. He’s already piloted 1,383 winners of over $12.7 million—including a Breeders Crown and Jugette heat winner, and a Windy City Pace winner.

"I was fortunate to have someone like my Dad to help me early on," Ryan noted. "One important lesson he taught me was to be respectful of the older drivers on the racetrack. When you first start driving it’s kind of like you’re a freshman amongst only seniors in high school. You have to give them respect because they’ve been out there for years and have a lot more experience than you. You can’t have a chip on your shoulder or you won’t make it. In the beginning it was a little intimidating, but now, I’m out there with those guys every single night and I think I’ve earned their respect."

Ryan is in his eighth full year of driving on the Chicago circuit. He began testing the waters in mid to late 1998, driving in six qualifying races at Balmoral. His first official pari-mutual victory came on August 19, 1999, when he steered One Cadet to win the $16,000 Filly and Mare Open at Balmoral in 1:54.
RyanDriving

Ryan Anderson plying his wares at Maywood Park in Chicago

"This has been pretty exciting for me," Ryan said. "It's certainly a goal that I had wanted to achieve. Now, I just have to keep doing what I've been doing-winning races."

Anderson's aggressive style has made him a popular choice for many trainers besides his father, including conditioner Robin Schadt of Odds On Racing.

"Ryan is aggressive, and he gets a lot out of the horses without being too hard on them," Schadt noted. "He's also easy to talk to, and will discuss the horse before and after race. That's important."

"I was fortunate to have someone like my Dad to help me early on," Ryan noted. "

Ryan's Catch-Driving History...
In 1999 Anderson went behind the gate just 75 times, and recorded an 18-12-16 record, his mounts earning a modest $123,354. The following year his career took off, as he drove 163 winners from 752 starts, amassing $2 million in purse earnings in 2000. He would capture the $783,484 Breeders Crown at Mohawk in Canada with Popcorn Penny, and the $320,000 Orange & Blue on Super Night at Balmoral, the $100,000 Governor's Cup at DuQuoin, and the $67,500 Cardinal Stake-all with the pacer Rattle And Rock.

In 2001 Anderson took Rattle And Rock to victory on Super Night again, this time in the three-year-old Illinois-bred stake, the $205,000 Langley Memorial. When the season ended, Anderson had won 283 races and earned over $2.8 million in purses. In 2002 Anderson won 217 races and $1.9 million in earnings, and in 2003 piloted 192 winners of $1.8 million, including Droppin'TheHammer, who he drove to victory in the $70,000 Abe Lincoln Stake at Maywood.

Throughout 2003 Ryan had been behind the sophomore pacing filly Popcorn Penny, steering her in qualifiers and bringing her up through the conditioned ranks. Unraced at two, the daughter of Dragon’s Lair won her Breeders Crown elimination by a head for Ryan in 1:53.3 and then followed that up with a victory in the $783,484 Final on October 27, pacing in 1:52 at Mohawk. Ryan thus became the youngest driver in harness history to nab a Breeders Crown championship.

"That had to be my favorite race with any filly," Ryan recalled. "It truly does all come down to the Breeders Crown—you have the best horses in the country racing for the most money. Popcorn Penny was just all racehorse and very easy to drive."

Ryan had now firmly established himself as a much sought-after catch-driver on the Chicago circuit and in 2002 and 2003 drove the winners to a combined amount of over $3.7 million. In 2004 he was on his way to his best season ever in wins (300) and second best in earnings ($2.4 million) when he was slapped with a suspension after receiving a positive test on a horse he was training. Ryan was forced to sit out from December 9, 2004 through February 22, 2005 and from August 25, 2005 through January 6 of this year.

"I got in trouble and had to pay the consequences," Ryan noted. "It’s made me a better person and was a good learning experience for me, but sitting out those months was horrible. I missed the best part of the summer, and didn’t get a choice when to serve my suspension. The stewards called me, and it was like—tonight’s your last night. That was it. I didn’t even watch the races. I’m a hands on person and I just can’t sit back and do nothing."

"Everything in life happens for a reason and I feel like I got a second chance," Ryan added. "Now, I’ll just focus on catch-driving. I’m not going to train—besides driving I just want to play golf."

Catch-driving can be a tough game, but the affable Ryan seems to take it all in stride.

"There’s horses that aren’t rigged up or not classified right and a trainer wants you to drive the horse as if it was in a cheaper race," he said. "Classification is the key to winning race—it’s the most frustrating thing when driving horses. You wish you could say something, but it’s more prudent to not say anything. If you say too much, than you lose your job, when in reality you’re trying to help them. So that aspect of driving for some people is frustrating."

On Driving at Different Sized Ovals...
Ryan says he enjoys the split circuit action that the Chicago ovals offer.

"Maywood is a speed track and Balmoral is more strategy--you have to have more stock there," he says. "Speed sometimes doesn’t hold up there, nor does it at Hawthorne. I love driving at both tracks; I enjoy the challenge of switching back and forth and the grind of it every day."

"Of course, I ‘d love to be a catch-driver at The Meadowlands, just like anyone else," Ryan noted. "I watch their racing show with Hollywood Heyden religiously every week—it would be a dream to be interviewed by him. And I’d love to race in the Little Brown Jug—that’s such a big race and there’s so many people there. I drove Popcorn Penny in the Jugette, but to have a colt in the Jug would be really something."

On Horses...
"I’ve gotten to drive some nice horses," Ryan added. "I drove Red Bow Tie in the American National at Balmoral and Life Source in the Dan Patch at Hoosier—they were both standout individuals. And a horse I owned myself—Singletree Run. I claimed him for $7,000 and he made me $190,000. He was never a real sound horse but he was always gutsy and tried real hard."

"Another tough individual was Sagebrush," Ryan remembered. "I drove him for Ken Rucker and he set the track record at Hawthorne two years ago in 1:49.1. He was tough and wore spreaders. It was amazing to me to think a horse could go that fast wearing spreaders."

"As far as gritty racehorses go, I’d still have to say that Rattle And Rock was one of the toughest. The night he finished second by a nose to Ideal Towne in the Dan Patch on Super Night was very disappointing, but the horse tried his guts out. Ideal Towne was really tough that night so you can’t take anything away from him."

Ryan Anderson Career Statistics through November 1, 2006
Year    Starts    Wins   2nds    3rds     Earnings       UDRS
2006      2488      362      347      324      $2,965,275      .266
2005        981      88      113      102       $  697,653      .188
2004      2359      300      288      281      $2,495,830      .235
2003      1442      192      166      185      $1,834,670      .240
2002      1795      217      201      211      $1,977,726      .222
2001      1807      283      222      207      $2,834,908      .263
2000       752      163       99        71      $2,097,169      .321
1999        75        18        12        16      $ 123,354      .400
Totals               1,623                           $15,026,585

2006 Archives
October: Stephane Bouchard
September: Dean Magee
August: Mike Lachance
July: Sam Widger
June: Yannick Gingras
May: Rick Zeron
March: George Brennan
February: Brent Holland
January: Mark MacDonald