Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Hockey Player Scores Harness Hat Trick

April 9,2007

When Corey Callahan guides Elvis Cole onto the track at Dover Downs for Monday’s $85,000 Trotting Classic, he will face four drivers – John Campbell, Tony Morgan, David Miller and Brian Sears – with nearly 35,000 total wins in their careers. Callahan, in just his second full season of driving, hasn’t even started 1,000 races lifetime and has 124 victories.

“This is the real deal,” Callahan said prior to the race. “It’s all been happening pretty fast. It’s very exciting, but I’m a little nervous, too. Everyone will be watching. I’m looking forward to it.”

Callahan, a 28-year-old from Annapolis, Maryland, is a late starter in harness racing, although his father, Nick, has been involved in the sport for years. As a teen, Callahan was an all-state soccer player at Easton High School in Maryland and was the state’s scholastic hockey player of the year in 1996. He attended the University of Kentucky, where he skated for the school’s Cool Cats and earned a business degree.

Four years in Lexington, however, helped rekindle his interest in racing. He dabbled in the sport after graduation before deciding to leave his job as an IT recruiter in October 2004. A little more than a year later, he got his first win as a driver.

“It’s been an unbelievable ride,” Callahan said. “Starting out driving, it’s tough. I bought some cheap horses with my dad so I could learn and get my feet wet. I started doing well with them. Last year, I drove a horse named Cool Flying Fun for my dad and he won in 1:50.4 at Rosecroft and set a new lifetime mark; he still holds the track record at Rosecroft. That was a big race for me because people saw then that I could get some speed out of a horse.”

Elvis Cole, a 5-year-old gelding, was purchased by Nick Callahan and Parker Callahan (no relation) in January. He has won five of nine races and earned $73,875 this year for his new connections. Overall, he has won 13 times and earned $151,912.

On Monday, Elvis Cole was scheduled to face Man About Town, Hez Striking, Med Vac and JM Vangogh. Vivid Photo, the 2005 Hambletonian winner, was scratched sick.

“He’s a phenomenal animal,” Callahan said about Elvis Cole. “He’s a pleasure to drive and gives you everything he’s got. When one comes to him, he doesn’t want them to go by.”

Although Callahan got a late start in racing, he has no regrets about his path.

“I’m a little more motivated because I feel I’ve gotten a late start; I take it a lot more serious,” said Callahan, who still plays hockey recreationally when he has time. “I think the maturity level helps and it gives me more of an appreciation, as well. People are surprised how patient I am. People also are surprised at my age; most think I’m 20 or 21 because I’m just getting started. They don’t realize I went to college and sat behind a desk for four years.

“I didn’t expect it to be like this, but I’m really glad it is. I hope it can continue. We shall see. I’m just glad I’ve been able to find my niche. My dad is a well respected horseman in the Mid-Atlantic and my brother, Shaun, is 10 times the horseman I am. At the barn, I clean the stalls and do most of the grunt work. I’m not any good at making rigging changes; I’m just lucky that I can make them go fast.”