by Ken Weingartner, Harness Racing Communications

Ken Weingartner

Freehold, NJ — A couple familiar names sit atop the national trainer standings, in terms of universal rating, in Julie Miller and Josh Green. The No. 3 spot is occupied by someone who is probably less known, at least outside Ohio.

Kent Sherman, a 47-year-old Toledo native, has put together the best season of his career thanks to horses like Wind Surfer and Jesse’s Messenger. Entering today, Sherman’s .393 trainer rating trailed only Miller and Green among conditioners with at least 500 starts and his stable has made $1.1 million this year — more than double its previous high of $485,916 set last season.

Sherman’s horses have won 995 times and earned $5.6 million during his career, which dates back to the late 1980s and began to flourish in the mid-1990s.

“It’s been outstanding,” said Sherman, who lives in Independence. “The biggest key has been the opportunity to race at The Meadows for some real money. When you start doing some good there, you have some more money you can spend to try to get better horses that you can find some big spots for. It opens everything up. Hopefully we can keep it rolling.”

This year, Sherman is fifth in the trainer standings at The Meadows, in western Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh, with 57 wins. He is seventh in earnings, with $747,509. He is third in the standings at Northfield Park, near Cleveland, with 72 victories and leads in purses with $220,902.

Last year, he won 12 of 79 starts at The Meadows and was fifth in the standings at Northfield Park.

Conrad photo

Ohio Triple Crown champion Jesse’s Messenger had an outstanding 2009 season for trainer Kent Sherman.

Sherman’s biggest thrills this season came with 2-year-old filly trotter Jesse’s Messenger. She went 8-for-8, earning $121,717, and won the Ohio Sire Stakes championship and the Ohio Triple Crown by also claiming divisions of the Ohio Breeders Championship and Ohio State Fair Stakes.

The filly, by Jailhouse Jesse out of the mare Laser Message, was purchased as a yearling for $4,500 at the Ohio Selected Jug Sale. She is owned by Sherman’s parents, Daryl and Betty Jo.

“They’re Ohio people and have been very dedicated owners forever,” said Sherman, who graduated from Ohio State University in 1985 with a degree in animal science and contemplated a career as a veterinarian before settling on training. “She was their first Ohio champion. That was fun.”

Jesse’s Messenger is enjoying a few months off and will race primarily in Ohio again next year, although Sherman noted he would try to find “a few spots for her to take a shot at some outside races.”

Wind Surfer was purchased by Sherman in the summer of 2008. The 4-year-old son of Muscles Yankee won four times this year and earned $159,039. On November 14, he was second to Lanson in the $150,000 American-National Stakes at Balmoral Park in Chicago. In April, he was second to world champion Lucky Jim in the Father Foley final.

He is a half brother to My Back Pages (a multiple winner this year on the New Jersey Sire Stakes circuit) and his mother, Windsurfing VC is a half sister to 2008 New Jersey Sire Stakes champion I Wanted Wings.

“We thought he would have some good opportunities in the late closers at the Meadowlands, but unfortunately for us and everyone else, a horse named Lucky Jim probably cost us a lot of money,” Sherman said. “(Wind Surfer) has made progress every year. I’m hoping he can step it up a little more and take on the big boys on a more regular scale.”

While looking forward to the future, Sherman is happy for this season.

“I just enjoyed being around the horses,” Sherman said. “Once it bites you it’s hard to get rid of it. We’ve got a lot more to accomplish, but it’s a nice start, that’s for sure.”