Quietly, and without much fanfare, Jimmy Devaux just keeps
driving winners. The former Mighty M driving champ reined five home first on
Monday afternoon, December 2 at Monticello Raceway with the 1:59.3 wire- to-
wire trotting victory by Marissa Russo’s, Muscles Yankee gelding V I P arguably
the most impressive although the gutsy 13th seasonal triumph of Red
Eye Blue Chip in a 1:57.3 clocking was also notable, especially to owner Norman
Bradbury.
In a season where Devaux’s brother-in-law, Bruce Aldrich,
Jr., (they’re married to sisters) has been, and rightly so, getting most of the
headlines here, Devaux’s prowess has been taking a backseat. Like Bruce, Jimmy
is no longer training and just driving and also like Aldrich, he’s been doing
double duty by racing at Monticello Raceway during the day and at Saratoga in
the evenings
Currently Devaux has driven 209 winners at the Mighty M and
175 at the Spa City oval for a seasonal total of 384, which ranks him in 18th
in driving victories on the North American leaderboard. His 294
winners here in 2007 won him the driving title as did his 288 victories in
2002. However, his output this season dwarfs the others and Devaux is enjoying
his best season ever in the sulky.
A man not concerned in statistics and when Devaux
was asked how many races he’s won here; at Saratoga, or even all season
long, he shrugged his shoulders and said, “I don’t pay attention to those
things. I just go to work and do my job as best I can.”
Like all athletes who sometimes get hot, or occasionally
find themselves in a slump, Devaux is ,and has been, in the former state for
quite a while now.
“Lately I’ve had a little power (live mounts) and have been
putting them in the right spot and thankfully they’ve been delivering,” he told
the Mighty M publicity department while in the paddock after he won his fifth
race yesterday (Dec. 2).
Never one to complain, and with his ‘play the ball as
it lies’ outlook on life, Devaux also endues the many hours he spends driving
back and forth from Monticello Raceway to Saratoga Raceway, a motor trip
of about 140 miles.
“I’m usually driving (the car) on those trips but unlike
Bruce (Aldrich, Jr.), who lives in Saratoga, he gets a chance to stay
there on the weekends that Saratoga races, for me it’s up and down the highway
every day,” he said. “When you’re doing good the trip isn’t so bad but when
you’re in a slump it’s a tiring and monotonous drive.”
