One Heck of a Ride

by Aubrey Simpson

"My life has been one heck of a ride!", Mickey Burke laughs. The ride of course is on a harness racing cart pulled by a Standardbred running at full speed. And, Mickey Burke is one of the most respected and successful men in the field of harness racing.

The roots of harness racing in the United States go back to the days of horses and buggies. For fun and sport, horse and buggy drivers would square off in impromptu races along city streets and country roads. Later, harness races became a popular attraction at many county fairs. Harness racing is exciting, colorful, and beautiful to watch. The horses race in a rhythmic trot or gait while pulling two-wheeled carts called sulkies. Each team has its own colors. Burke's team shines in bright yellow with touches of white and grey, and are easy to spot. They are the one in the lead and flying like uncaged canaries across the finish line.

Burke's personality is even more winning than his racing wins. And, that's saying a lot. He is passionate about his family, his horses and racing. Burke really knows his business; he's been working with horses for a long time. In fact, he started showing horses when he was only fourteen years old. But, he didn't get involved with harness racing until 1950. At that time he was riding jumpers for Burt Corefield. Corefield, who also owned harness horses, asked Burke to jog horses with him at the Butler County Pennsylvania Fairgrounds. "I always told Burt 'no', that harness racing was an old man's sport." Then, one Saturday, Corefield talked Burke into doing it; he jogged one horse and was hooked. The rest, as they say, is history.

And what an amazing history Burke and his family are making in the field of harness racing. Burke just won the 2006 Glen Garnsey Memorial Harness Trainer of the Year Award with 427 wins and just under six million dollars in winnings. Amazing as it sounds, it all started as a hobby. "I did this as a hobby until 1982," Burke shares. "I owned a Buick dealership. I told my wife Sylvia that I couldn't retire at 45, and that for once in my life I was going to do what I wanted to do.” So, he sold his dealership and followed his passion. By the end of the first year people were asking him to train their harness racers.

The real payoff for Burke is that his hobby has grown into a very successful family business. "I just can’t describe how great it is to work and be that close to my children and family." Burke beams with pride when he shares that his sons, Ronnie and Mickey Junior, and his daughter, Michelle, all work in the horse business. Together they manage and train over 300 horses in stables from Massachusetts to Florida. "My other daughters, Melissa and Becky, work in health care, but they own harness race horses."

When asked to share a few of his training secrets, Burke laughs, "Our Southern States representative, Charlie Fox says, it's because we work harder. On rainy days he looks out and we're the only ones training." After a moment's pause, Burke continues, "Honestly and truly, I think he's right, we just work harder. That, and the fact that most harness horse trainers put too much equipment on their horses. We take most of the equipment away when we start training. Other than that, the only secret is that you just have to keep it simple; don't make a big job out of something simple. I can help a good horse develop to the best of its ability. But nobody can train a bad horse. It's a fact of life. If you're in the business of racing horses, and you have a bad horse, sell it and get a good one. I tell people all the time that it doesn't take a dime more to feed a champion than it does to feed a cheap horse. And, I guarantee their vet bill will be less."

On the subject of feed, Burke says he can't remember the name of his feed. The forgetting is a set up for a sidesplitting joke. For a second later he says, "You know when you're seventy, the mind is the second thing to go." Burke then says, "Did you know that I've been using Southern States feed since 1953? I used to get it off a railroad car in Butler, Pennsylvania. When I moved to Florida to start training, the first thing I wanted to know was where I could get my feed. I feed all my babies Legends® 14. Then, when they are around 3 years old, I switch them to Legends® Equitech 10. I wouldn't feed them anything else."

It's a real tribute to the quality of Southern States feed when a man of Mickey Burke's reputation recommends it. Because, Mickey Burke is a man who not only knows how to live life in the fast lane - he knows how to win.