Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Odds On Racing's

Driver of the Month
for April 2011

Kevin Switzer, Jr.

Kevin Switzer, Jr., recorded career driving victory number 500 at Scarborough Downs on April 3, 2011.

Kevin Switzer, Jr.

At 22, Kevin Switzer, Jr. is one of Maine's top drivers, having won more than $1 million by racing at Bangor Raceway, the Cumberland Fairgrounds and Scarborough Downs. He was the winner of the 2007 Rising Star Award by the Maine Harness Horsemen's Association.

Switzer got started in the harness racing business under the watchful eye of his father, trainer Kevin Switzer, Sr. The elder Switzer is one of Maine racing's most respected driver-trainers, having won over 2,500 races and $5.7 million in purses. Jr.'s mother is Denise McNitt, a veterinarian who received the MHHA's Distinguished Service Award in 2008.

Jr. drove in his first race at age 16.

"I thought it was going to be easy," he said. "That when I started driving, people would just give me horses, but I had to wait for my time."

Jr's first win came aboard a horse owned by his father and mother named Spend All The Money. In 2007 he drove at The Meadowlands for the first time, finishing fourth with a horse named Financial Glider. The following winter, he traveled to Dover Downs to compete.

"I watched a lot of the races that Tony Morgan was in," Jr. related. "He wins a lot of races down there and he was the one to watch. I'm not trying to copy his style of driving, but use it for my own style."

In 2009, he set the track record at Cumberland Raceway with Escapefromalcatraz.

"It was nice to do at our own home track," he recalled.

Kevin Switzer, Jr.'s Career Statistics as of April 3, 2011
Year Starts     Wins     2nds     3rds   Earnings
2011      22         3         3       4      $8,136 0.273
2010      508       70       71     67     $222,298
2009      1082     188     157    163     $501,807
2008      739      103      97      82      $287,286
2007      590      101      86      79      $283,845
2006      121      11        14      28      $33,867
2005      133      8         18      20      $32,608
2004      64       10        9      8      $10,823
2003      33        6         6       3      $6,787
Total                500                         $1,387,458