Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Odds On Racing's

Trainer of the Month
for July 2006

Ron Gurfein

Trainer Ron Gurfein--known throughout harness racing circles as "The Trotting Guru," enters the Harness Racing Hall of Fame in early July 2006 thanks to his triumphs on the racetrack.

Names like Victory Dream, Continentalvictory, Self Possessed, Cantab Hall, Imperfection, and Lady Starlet immediately come to mind.

Ron Gurfein training Continentalvictory

But those aren’t the names that matter most to the 65-year-old trainer. Names like Susie, Lauren, and Blake (his wife and childen); Sonny, Frank, Phil, Jerry, George, Lou, and David (past and present owners); and Mike (driver Lachance) – those are ones Gurfein will be talking about when he takes his place among the sport’s other legends enshrined in Goshen, New York.

"Everyone in life has people behind them that get them where they’re going," Gurfein said. "My wife and kids have been there through rough times and have been very supportive of my career. They made some big changes in our lives that really helped me. My wife impacted my career in unbelievable fashion, uprooting the family and moving to Florida. I think that was the key. She basically had to raise the kids by herself. It was rough, but they stood by me forever.

"I’m thankful for the relationships I’ve had with all the owners. In order to be successful, you have to be able to select horses; I’ll take credit for that. But you also have to have plenty of money behind you. These people have been a hundred percent behind me. Without those relationships, and the ability to pick the right horses, you’re really up a creek. The horses speak for themselves. I just thank God I’ve trained so many."

Gurfein, a former clothing company owner who got into training horses in the mid-1960s, spent the better part of two decades based at Monticello Raceway in New York. He won the 1982 Adios with Higher Power and trained world champion Franconia before seeing his career turn the corner with the arrival of Phil Tully’s trotting mare Kerry’s Crown, who won a division of the Speedy Scot and earned $142,458 for the season. In 1991, the Gurfein-trained MB Felty finished second in the Hambletonian.

The horses speak for themselves.
I just thank God I've trained so many.

Around the same time, Gurfein started training horses for the Antonacci family – led by the late Sonny and Frank J., who, like Tully, are members of the Hall of Fame. In 1994, Gurfein won the first of his three Hambletonians, with Victory Dream, who was bred and co-owned by the Antonaccis. Two years later, he won it with Continentalvictory. In 1999, Self Possessed accomplished the feat. In 2003, Cantab Hall became the first two-year-old to be honored as Trotter of the Year.

"Sonny was very supportive of my career," Gurfein said. "Even after a bad year, he would come to me and tell me that if I saw something I liked at the sales, he would take care of it. They were really great to me. I wouldn’t be where I am today without them."

Gurfein has two highly regarded Hambletonian hopefuls this year, Make You Mine and Boardwalk Hall.

"People expect me to win it every year; that’s not happening," Gurfein said. "Most owners would just be happy to make an appearance, but the press and people in the business in general expect it from me on a yearly basis. It’s a very difficult thing to do, much more difficult than people perceive it to be. It’s a compliment that they expect it from me, but it’s difficult on me, too."

Lifetime Training Statistics for Ron Gurfein
Year   Starts  Wins  2nds  3rds    Earnings     TDRS
2006      18         7        3        2      $101,334       .519
2005      152      23      21      19      $930,104        .270
2004      125      20      19      13      $1,362,996     .279
2003      125      24      12      13      $780,250        .280
2002      145      25      25      20      $699,255        .314
2001       98        5      15      15      $284,070        .187
2000      151      23      20      14      $581,159        .257
1999      170      39      17      23      $2,064,639      .330
1998      221      41      48      26      $1,764,320      .345
1997      172      30      24      21      $1,309,949      .293
1996      143      38      16      22      $1,901,730      .379
1995      245      62      36      17      $1,525,190      .358
1994      150      35      21      14      $1,328,950      .342
1993      159      24      26      15      $491,127        .273
1992      222      51      31      20      $1,727,285      .337
1991      205      43      27      21      $934,015       .317
Total             490                        $17,786,373

2006 Archives
June: Jim Dennis
May: Delvin Miller
April: Chuck Sylvester
March: Billy Haughton
February: Bill Robinson