VERNON, NY – Rick Plano has proven once again that even in
harness racing, age is only a number.
The 60-year-old native of nearby Frankfort, New York earned
leading driver and trainer honors at the recently concluded Vernon Downs meet
to become the first horseman since Del Richards in 1989 to sweep both
categories during a full racing season.
Plano recorded 159 driving wins, 62 more than his closest
pursuer. He added 78 training tallies, three more than two-time defending
champion Tracy Brainard.
“You always set out with goals but you don’t say you want to
be the leading trainer or leading driver,” said Plano. “It’s a prestigious
thing and anybody that says it’s not probably isn’t telling the truth.”
Plano missed the opening week of the Vernon Downs season but
made an immediate impact when he arrived; winning four races his first night,
one of six grand slams in 2012. He also recorded six wins on a single card in
October.
“It obviously takes good horses to be the top guy,” said
Plano. “I drive for a lot of good stables and I have a good stable of my own.
But the reality of it is the older you get the more you take care of yourself.”
For Plano, that includes a daily workout routine he’s sworn
by for decades. The 25-minute regimen includes 250 sit-ups and some light
dumbbell exercises. All of it keeps Plano in top physical shape while competing
on a nightly basis against competitors who are frequently half his age.
“There’s nothing to it,” said Plano. “My wife is a workout
gal herself. She tells me I don’t do the crunches right but finally she gave in
and said it works for me so that’s good enough.”
Plano posted his 6,000th career driving win
earlier in the Vernon Downs season and has career purse earnings of more than
$39 million since recording his first win in 1977.
He’ll spend the winter hoping to continue piling up wins at
Pompano Park in south Florida.
