by Ken Weingartner, Harness Racing Communications

Ken Weingartner

Freehold, NJ — Brandon Bates will begin the New Year in a new place. Bates, a native of Ohio who now lives in Indiana, on Wednesday night will drive for the first time at the Meadowlands Racetrack.

Bates, 34, will compete with trotters I’llshowuhow and I Like Strike in the Super Bowl Series, which begins with seven $12,500 first-round divisions.

“This has always been a goal, to have a chance to come out here and see if we can’t win one,” said Bates, a third generation horseman who drives and trains. “If not, at least make a good showing. It will be exciting. I’ve driven in Indiana and Delaware, Ohio, against most of the guys. We’ll see how it works out.”

In 2009, Bates won 38 of 423 starts as a driver, good for $306,200, and won nine times as a trainer, earning $108,758. He has been working full time in racing over the past several years. Previously, he split his time between the horses and a job at a soybean processing facility.

Bates was born in Van Wert, Ohio, but moved to Monroe, Indiana, about 25 miles west of Van Wert, in 1997. His wife, Alicia, is a nurse practitioner.

“I was in the barn from the time they took the diapers off,” said Bates, who followed his father, Bill, into harness racing. “This was always the plan all along. It was always the goal to get to this point and try to hopefully make it my living.”

I’llshowuhow won only once in 19 races in 2009, but earned $70,593. He was second in three legs of the Indiana Sire Stakes last spring and second in the $150,000 final at Hoosier Park on July 11. He most recently raced on November 10, but qualified twice at Balmoral Park in preparation for his trip to the Meadowlands.

“He’s just been a kind of nice little honest horse that just does what he needs to do,” Bates said about the horse, which is owned by Rex Collins and was purchased as a yearling for $1,900 at the Hoosier Sale. “He acts like he might want to step up to the next level, but we’re not sure yet. We’ll find out, I guess.

“I feel he’s fairly ready. I don’t expect them to trot in (1):55 out there. If they do, we’ll probably be in a little trouble. He’s kind of a trip horse. He’ll follow them as far and as fast as they want to go. We’ll see who gets tired first.”

I Like Strike is a newcomer to Bates’ barn. He won one of 17 races in 2009 and earned $8,130. He qualified in a lifetime best 1:59.2 at Balmoral Park on Dec. 16, but went off stride at the gate a week later in a qualifier.

“He’s a little hard on himself, but he shows some talent,” Bates said. “I think he’s got enough high speed, it’s just whether we can get him to behave a little better. We’ve made some progress with him. He qualified sharp the first time at Balmoral and was completely under wraps. I think we helped him a little bit with his rigging and a few minor shoeing changes. The second time the track was deep and sticky and he just didn’t really feel comfortable.

“Hopefully, he’ll be alright. I think he can trot with any of them; it’s just a matter of whether he minds his manners.”

At the moment, Bates has no long-range plans for his trotters.

“If they happen to do better and look like they belong, we’ll look at the option of staying for a while,” Bates said. “It’s going to depend on their performance. If they don’t belong out there I’m not too proud to admit it and we’ll load them up and bring them back home.”