In an outstanding career that began in the late 1960’s Billy
“Zeke” Parker, Jr. is approaching a milestone that only six others in the
history of the sport have met …and passed.
After two more driving victories at Monticello Raceway on
Thursday June 27th Parker now has 10,987 career wins—seventh best
all time-- and he needs just 13 more to reach an incredible milestone.
What makes his reaching 11,000 career wins so much
more special is that he did it by driving at just one track daily and not like
today’s catch-drivers (there’s got to be a better phrase) who drive at two
tracks nearly every day of the year.
Parker’s first winner on Thursday came behind a Gary
Messenger trained trotter Sin To Win ($4.30) in a 1:59.2 clocking. His
other was with the Sam Fava –trained pacer Western Mac ($13.60) in 1:57.4.
Now with 109 winners thus far in 2013 Parker is way behind
his norm in races won this season.
“I believe I’m driving as good as I always have,” Parker
admitted , “ but I’m just not getting the amount of live drives as I used to in
the past. “
Still Zeke has nothing to be ashamed of, and of course he
isn’t, but he’s used to being the king of the hill.
He has won driving titles at every racetrack he
competed at on a regular basis. Born and raised in the Pine Tree State he
was tops at Scarborough Downs, Lewiston Raceway and Foxboro
Raceway prior to coming to Monticello in 1984. Here he’s won 18 driving
titles.
“I just had my 2000th win before I came here,”
Parker recalled.
For two years –around the turn of the century he I
raced regularly at Yonkers Raceway and was leading driver there, too. But
over 8500 of his winners have come here at Monticello.”
Asked why he discontinued racing at Yonkers , Parker
explained that his life was in crisis his during that period.
“My wife TJ had cancer and she was slowly, and painfully
dying,” Parker said as tears began to fill his eyes. “I had to be with
her as much as possible. She was my rock and when I lost her my life was
in turmoil.
“We had two young boys and when she (TJ) died
they had no mother. It was hard and I couldn’t be running up and down the
highway (to Yonkers) so I stayed put here at Monticello.”
Although the industry has been recording driving
victories with relative accuracy since the 1950’s, it wasn’t so for training
wins.
In 1977, with the assistance of computers, the
USTA began registering driver and trainer wins on its
Driver/Trainer Performance Report.
Not to overuse a cliché , ‘in the old days’ horsemen
were both drivers and trainers and Parker certainly fit that bill.
In fact he still trains a small stable of horses, but not nearly as many as he
did prior to the turn of the 21st Century.
To accompany his 10,987 driving wins he has recorded 1223
training victories.
Bruce Aldrich Jr. a four time driving champ and current
leader at the Mighty M, admittedly used to idolize Parker when he was a
youngster growing up in Battleboro Vermont, just a stones’ throw from the old
Hinsdale (N.H) Raceway where he began his career.
“Zeke is an outstanding driver and he could get more out of
a horse than almost anybody,” Aldrich said.
“When I was kid and growing up in New England , I idolized
him. He not only was a leading driver, he was also a top trainer, and in
his early days he always had a big stable.
“He‘s been racing horses for parts of five decades and
he has always been a complete horseman.”
