Delray Beach, FL – Saturday morning (Nov. 22), harness racing driver Joseph Fiorello will suit-up in his designed racing silks and put his undefeated winning streak on the line in the Florida Stallion Stakes at Sunshine Meadows Equestrian Village in Delray Beach, FL.
Most harness racing drivers begin their careers in their teens and see more losses than wins at the start, learning more with each race they compete in.
At age 49, Fiorello is a rookie in the industry, yet he is also undefeated in his first three purse starts. On Saturday, he will again drive Prairie Puma (Royel Millennium-Cat Lady-Arturo), a 3-year-old pacing filly, who, like Fiorello, is also going for her fourth straight win.
The Florida Stallion Stakes races are hosted by the Florida Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association and are for 2- and 3-year-old trotters and pacers, with each division going for a purse of $6,000. The races start at 11 a.m., parking and admission is free and fans should bring their own lawn chairs.
But how does a digital creator for ViaMar Health in Delray Beach go from casually owning a horse to being unbeaten in his first three drives?
“After I bought my first racehorse with a group in 2016,” Fiorelo explained, “I met the great horseman Jerry Silverman at Sunshine Meadows. I had never been around horses before, but sitting with Jerry on the deck at the training facility and listening to his passion for the sport pulled me in immediately.
“I started going to the barn before work,” Fiorello added. “Just to watch the horses, and before long they were putting me to work. As I began jogging and training horses and watching racing more closely, I developed a huge respect for what the professional drivers do — the timing, the patience, the strategy.”
What began as an interesting hobby has become a fulltime obsession for Fiorello.
“My original goal was wanting to learn how to train horses, “Fiorello said. “And I earned my trainer’s license right before COVID, but after training and qualifying my first horse, I definitely caught the bug and set a goal to get my amateur driving license.
“The shutdown of Pompano Park slowed everything down,” Fiorello added. “But I stayed involved, especially getting to jog and train at Sunshine Meadows with Tony Dinges.”
An opportunity arose for Fiorello this past year that ended up putting him in the driver’s seat aboard Prairie Puma.
“This winter, when Tony stayed up in Kentucky and owner Dein Spriggs was out of town, they gave me the opportunity to work with Prairie Puma, which helped me keep progressing.”
Prairie Puma is trained by Nick Coblentz for Jupiter owner and amateur driving champion Dein Spriggs. The filly won five of seven starts last year and this season have five wins in 14 starts, the fastest her lifetime mark of 1:51.4 at Lexington, Kentucky’s Red Mile on July 28 this year.
Unlike her previous three wins, Saturday’s $6,000 Florida Stallion Stakes will be a piece of cake for Prairie Puma and Fiorello, as the race is a walk-over with only Prairie Puma the only horse entered in her division.
For Fiorello, he loves getting on the racetrack with a horse.
“I’ve always had a part of me that seeks a little adventure,” Fiorello said. “But being behind a racehorse brings out something completely different — the connection, the speed, the movement — it’s exhilarating and a lot of fun.
“Going forward, I’ll go wherever I can gain experience and work toward my amateur driver’s license. Most likely I’ll have more opportunities in Kentucky, and even if it’s just once, I’d love to drive at the Meadowlands.
“Ultimately, my goal is to become an amateur driver because it gives me a way to raise money and build awareness for my River Run Racehorse Retirement Center for retired racehorses.” Fiorello added. “Down the road, if more opportunities come along, I’m open to them, but my heart is really in training and supporting the mission of River Run Racehorse Retirement.
Another special project for Fiorello was establishing his River Run Racehorse Retirement, which is based at Sunshine Meadows and takes in retired or unraced racehorses and helps rehabilitate them for life after racing.
“At River Run Racehorse Retirement,” Fiorello explained, “we are dedicated to providing retired and unraced racehorses with a safe and meaningful transition into life beyond the track. Our mission is to ensure that every horse receives compassionate care and the opportunity to thrive in their next chapter.”
To learn more about River Run Racehorse Retirement, click here.
It would be safe to say that Joseph Fiorello has been bitten by the harness racing bug and the results are very positive. After Saturday’s walk-over victory with Prairie Puma, there is the Florida Breeders Stakes on Saturday, Nov. 29 that closes out the 2025 season in Florida and hopefully see Fiorello’s unbeaten streak continued.