It's official; the small town of Windsor, Maine has produced a professional sports superstar. On Sunday afternoon, July 23rd, 36 year old Jason Bartlett, the nation's leading harness racing driver by earnings, achieved his 7,000th career driving victory at his adopted home, Yonkers Raceway.
When the youthful Bartlett arrived at the Hilltop Oval from New England about a decade ago, he brought with him tremendous skill, prowess and much success reflected by his then 2,000 career wins. Those attributes have allowed the hard-working reinsman to develop a career that places him perennially in harness racing's top echelon of veteran catch drivers.
His career earnings are in excess $88 million, over $7 million was which has been amassed in just the first 7 months of this year.
Jason's talent, integrity and demeanor lead to his selection as the United States representative to the World Driving Championship in Norway in 2009; the U.S. in 2011 and France in 2013, with only injury preventing his 2011 participation.
Bartlett has come a long way since his maiden win as a teenager at his local hometown Windsor Fair in 1998. Now the resident of another small town that understands harness racing very well, Goshen, New York, the devoted husband and father does himself, the world-wide industry and Yonkers Raceway proud. The Standardbred Owners Association of New York wishes this Maine transplant all the best, and trusts that he will choose to ply his trade at the Home of the International Trot for years to come.
Alex Dadoyan