by Frank Salive, publicity director, Isle Pompano Park

Pompano Beach, FL — The countdown is on towards major milestones for two of the longest serving and most successful reinsmen at The Isle Casino Racing Pompano Park.

Joe Pavia, Jr. is less than 20 wins away from reaching 5,000 lifetime wins in the bike. Hailing from Utica, N.Y., and now making his home in Jenkins Township, Pa., and Pompano seasonally for racing campaigns at Pocono Downs and in Florida, Pavia is very active as a double duty horseman with 586 lifetime training wins to his credit for purses of almost $7 million.

Going into the third weekend of January at Pompano, Pavia had amassed 4,982 lifetime winning drives for almost $32 million in career driving purses.

Wally Hennessey will soon join an elite club as one of the first 25 drivers in history to reach the 8,000 win plateau. The 56-year-old reinsman from Charlottetown, PEI, is well into his third decade of competition at Pompano and stands at 7,979 career wins for almost $54 million in purse earnings.

Hennessey was a 2006 inductee into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame at Goshen, N.Y., on the strength of his years of domination on the New York Sire Stakes trail and as the driving partner of legendary trotting mare Moni Maker, the 1998 and 1999 Horse of the Year.