Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Cat Manzi Celebrates his 57th Birthday

June 27, 2007

Manzi Celebrates Birthday Cat Manzi celebrated his 57th birthday on June 27. The Monticello, N.Y. native has driven 12,419 winners of $121,390,798 in a harness racing career that has spanned four decades and shows no signs of slowing down. Like fine wine, Manzi just keeps getting better with age.

The 1990s were especially successful for Manzi, as he became the only reinsman in harness racing history to drive over 30,000 times in a single decade. That, along with his other accomplishments, saw him elected to harness racing’s Living Hall of Fame on July 7, 2002.

Manzi grew up in a harness racing family—his parents, uncles and cousins owned, trained and drove horses. Manzi graduated from Liberty High School and later attended Orange County Community College, but preferred the farms and racetracks to the classrooms, and soon began driving at Monticello. He eventually moved to the Big M in 1976, and his career took off.

“I needed something different for myself even though I was doing fine,” the Freehold, N.J. resident, recalled. “The Meadowlands opened at the perfect time for me. I needed a spark and the new challenges at The Meadowlands were right for me. I was able to turn the corner of my career and go after new goals.”

The past three seasons, Manzi has earned $7.6 million or more in purses, and 2005 was his best year ever in both wins and money, when he piloted 727 winners of $8,653,808 at age 55. His first $4+million season came in 1989 and Manzi hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down since then.

“I trained a lot early in my career,” Manzi said. “But eventually it got to the point where I didn’t want to. The last time I trained a horse I believe was in 1990. I don’t really miss that part of the game.”

Now in his 38th year of driving, Manzi has piloted some of the best horses in the sport, including Winkys Goal, Riyadh, Wesgate Crown, Tiffany Star, Broadway Blue, Pacific Fella, Rusty Abbot, Caramore, Rodine Hanover, Nuclear Sire, Harmonious, Hit Parade, Bullville Victory, David Raymond, Direct Current and Trutone Lobell.

He was also behind 2001 Horse of the Year Bunny Lake when she took her lifetime mark in July of 2002 of 1:49.4. He drove Artsplace once, and posted a 1:49.2 world record clocking with him on June 20, 1992—the first time any horse had lowered Nihilator’s 1:49.3 race record set on August 3, 1985.

Manzi has won some of harness racing’s biggest events as well, including the 2004 $1 million North America Cup with Mantacular, the 2006 $1 million Meadowlands Pace, and the 2000 $703,000 Woodrow Wilson with Whitefish Falls. Manzi is the leading driver in the history of the New Jersey Sires Stakes and in all of the Garden State.

No one has won more races in New Jersey than Manzi—over 8,700 total at The Meadowlands, Freehold, Garden State and fair circuits. He is also the only driver in The Big M’s history to win with two $100 horses on the same night—he did that in 1992 with Fake Left and Hundred Kisses on July 31.