Steve Oldford of Croswell, MI, has been named USHWA's
2013 Amateur Driver of the Year and it is hard to come up with a more stellar
list of accomplishments than those Steve has achieved this year.
He is this year's Billings overall point champion as well as
the points champ in the Billings mid-west region and a winner of one of the
Billings Series Finals.
Besides his prowess this year in the Billings Series--the
granddaddy of all amateur clubs—Oldford is a member of many other amateur
driving clubs and he has won at least one race in the Great Lakes Club
(GLADA), the Florida Club, the North American Amateur Drivers Association
(NAADA), and the Catskill Club(CADC).
He also was a division winner of the Hambletonian Amateur
Trots and he organized the amateur driving portion of the USTA Driving School
which was held in and around Goshen, NY this past summer.
Few, if any, are more enthusiastic about amateur racing than
Oldford and when told he was named USHWA’s Amateur Driver of the Year he said
happily; “It’s (amateur racing) a lot of fun and I’ll go anywhere to drive a
harness horse.
“I’ve had my best year in the Billings this season winning
11 races in the series and I now have 19 wins this year. I’d love to get to 20
and I have a chance next week when I drive against professionals in at Sports
Creek (Raceway) in Michigan.”
Some might say that Oldford began his amateur driving late
in life although he quips; “You’re never too old to get involved in such a
satisfying endeavor”; hence his Billings nickname of Steve “You’re Never Too”
Oldford.
This year from 83 starts Oldford has 19 wins, 14 seconds and
eight thirds for a hefty .355UDR to go along with purse earnings in excess of
$64,500.
It wasn’t until 2006 that he earnestly began serious
participation in amateur racing. However, since then Oldford has recorded
83 driving victories and is a force to be reckoned with every time he’s on the
racetrack. And as a great supporter of amateur racing there have been many
times that he has supplied an extra horse that was needed to fill an amateur
event.
Over the years Steve has been a three time winner of the
Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame Amateur Driver of the Year Award;
Michigan Amateur Driver of the Year; US representative to International amateur
driving challenges in Europe and New Zealand; founder and president of GLADA;
Vice president of the CKG Billings Harness Driving Series and recently was
named a trustee at the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame.
“Oldford is also active in USTA affairs and is the District
Rep in Michigan.
Patricia Miller, Board Secretary and publicist for the Great
Lakes Amateur Driving Association and fellow Michigander, sums up the essence
Steve Oldford.
“Steve is a fine person to begin with; a very fair and
honest horseman, a fine driver, and fierce competitor of the utmost integrity
and for me, this is a vital quality, not just important, but vital.”
