Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Ranger Closing in on Career Victory #7,000

November 1, 2007

When Bruce Ranger was in high school, he wrote in the yearbook that his ambition was to be a successful harness racing driver. As he nears victory No. 7,000, it appears he more than accomplished that goal.

Ranger entered Monday with 6,979 victories and will become the 21st driver to reach the 7,000-win level. He has 340 triumphs this year and $2 million in purses.

“It’s really a nice feeling,” said Ranger, a 48-year-old native of Maine who has spent a number of years racing at Pompano Park in Pompano Beach, Florida, where he now lives. “Just to be able to last that long in this game is nice. There are so many competitive catch drivers out there. I learned to survive in a business that’s not easy to survive in.”

Ranger overcame drug and alcohol problems about eight years ago, leading to the best eight seasons of his career, averaging 403 wins and $1.8 million.

“I learned it was better to be a bigger fish in a smaller pond,” said Ranger, who has led Pompano Park’s driver colony in victories each of the last three seasons. “I don’t do well in high stress situations. I learned that the hard way. Most of my lessons I’ve learned in hindsight in trial and error. Along with having an aggressive attitude in my younger days, I thought I knew everything. I found out in my 30s and 40s that I didn’t know so much.”

In addition to driving, Ranger spends time training a stable of horses.

“It’s very time consuming, but you get out of it what you put into it,” Ranger said. “If you want to slack, you don’t do very well. I’ve come up with some real solid owners and they pretty much let me do my job. If they don’t do well, they take it on the chin and move on; they’re not second-guessing me. I’m the first one to know when I drove badly, and they do a good job not reminding me the next day.”

Ranger, who also won driving titles at Rockingham Park and Plainridge Racecourse in recent years, plans to race for as long as possible, but is not anxious to travel much anymore.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for the guys that drive 2,000 or 3,000 races a year,” Ranger said. “I don’t know how they do it and stay sharp. That always impresses me. But that’s just not me. Fortunately, I’m at the point now where I don’t have to do it.

“I’m going to keep racing until I can’t. I’ve been pondering backing down for years and haven’t done it yet. Hopefully, I’ll be smart enough to let the younger guys do it when the time comes. I hope I know when to hand it over to somebody else.”

At least now, Ranger is enjoying the experience.

“I’ve learned to be grateful and appreciate things,” he said. “I didn’t enjoy the ride as much as I should have. It’s a big world out there outside of harness racing. I’ve had years when my life was consumed by winning driving or training titles. It doesn’t make you a better person. Harness racing is where I make my living. I’m very blessed to be able to do that, and I leave it at that.”