by Charlene Sharpe, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Charlene Sharpe

Chestertown, MD — Longtime Maryland horseman Ollie Ervin told his wife Betty he was going to Chick’s Sale last year to buy a yearling.

“You should have heard her when I told her I bought two,” the 82-year-old trainer said with a laugh.

There are no hard feelings now, however, as both purchases have not only made the races but are making money in the Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund stakes.

While 2-year-old filly Jodi Lin, a daughter of Linbo-Bacon Hill Bonnie, boasts more in earnings at $31,525, stablemate Klondike Mike is holding his own after making it to the races in spite of some mixed blood. Thanks to a breeding mistake, the big bay gelding was sired by pacer Three Olives in spite of his dam’s trotting bloodlines.

That didn’t stop Ervin from buying the hybrid colt at the September 2010 Chick’s Sale.

“I said he’ll trot or he’ll pace,” Ervin said. “He never took a pacing step.”

Ollie Ervin, Rick Murphy and Klondike Mike.

After sending his two purchases away to get broke, Ervin began working with them himself in December. Klondike Mike quickly made his presence known, just not in a positive way. The big gelding broke Ervin’s ankle.

“I had him in the wash stall and went to lead him out and said ‘c’mon boy’ and that he did,” said Ervin, whose ankle got caught by the horse’s feet.

Aside from that incident though, Ervin said he had no trouble with the horse as he was training him down. In spite of his age Ervin works the horses with just the help of his wife, who gets them ready to jog and helps paddock them on race nights.

Ervin deemed Klondike Mike ready to qualify in September, but the gelding went offstride in his first two attempts at Harrington Raceway.

The addition of trotting hopples and a race bike large enough so that Klondike Mike didn’t hit it proved to be the solution, however, and Klondike Mike trotted a flat mile in 2:07.2 for driver Rick Murphy on Sept. 29.

Charlene Sharpe photos

Klondike Mike has banked $20,850 in his freshman campaign.

In his first DSBF elimination ten days later, the gelding overcame an early miscue to finish third in 2:07. He rounded out the trifecta again the following week, completing a mile in 2:06 behind fellow Delaware-breds Windshield and Spunky Jack. Those same two crossed the wire first in Oct. 24’s $100,000 DSBF final, in which Klondike Mike — who started from post eight — trotted a personal best of 2:03.4 for the fifth place share of the purse. He’s now made $20,850 in just eight lifetime starts.

Although he went offstride in his most recent DSBF competition, Klondike Mike had his most lucrative performance earlier this month with a second place finish in a $44,000 race for Virginia-breds at Colonial Downs.

“He’s perfect to drive,” Murphy said. “He doesn’t do anything wrong, he’s just a typical baby and gets a little hot sometimes.”

Murphy credits Ervin with getting the crossbred gelding to the races.

“He’s done a terrific job with him,” he said. “The average person would have kicked him to the curb. With any luck he’ll develop into a nice horse.”

Ervin, although he hasn’t had any Grand Circuit students, is no stranger to young trotters. Since becoming involved in harness racing, first with ponies, and then with Standardbreds in 1976, Ervin, who has just a few horses at a time, has bred and trained a number of locally known trotters. In 1996 and 1997 he campaigned Maryland stakes winners A Windy Phone 4,1:59.1f ($87,047) and Yankee Girl 3,2:00f ($51,260). In 1998 his homebred Brilliant’s Last 5,2:01h ($73,667) was a Maryland Sire Stakes winner.

Ervin is just happy to be making money with his horses, a hobby he took up during his 30 year stint at a printing plant.

“I used to race at Harrington and Dover for $500,” he said. “Now I tell people if I finish fifth I’m making money.”