by Dean A. Hoffman

We’ve all heard the cliché “When you’re hot, you’re hot” and no harness driver has been hotter this year than Jim Morrill, Jr. who is sporting an astonishing .521 Universal Driver Rating as the season nears its close. Morrill’s mounts have been among the first three finishers in more than 68 percent of his starts.

He has been the king of the western New York half-milers—Batavia and Buffalo. He moved to that circuit after the conclusion of the Meadowlands meet last year.

USTA Photo

Jim Morrill, Jr.

Percentages that high are not rare for drivers who have a limited number of starts in a racing season, but Morrill has driven in over a thousand races this year.

He is the leader in the Universal Driver Rating System rankings for drivers with 500 or more starts in 2006 although Canadian ace Gilles Barrieau is not far behind with a .496 UDR. Barrieau has driven in 618 races this year and his horses have earned $385,160.

Morrill has the highest percentage since the UDRS category was changed to 500 or more starts in 1982. Since that time, the only other driver to achieve a .500 plus rating was Walter Case, Jr. in 1998 when he won 1,077 races. That year Case’s UDR ended at .506.

Last year Barrieau was the winner in the UDR ranking for drivers with 500 or more starts as he checked in at .463 in 684 drives. Dave Palone was second with a .418 percentage. In 2004, Palone was the winner in this category with a .426 score.

This year Morrill’s record average has come as a result of a 379-199-112 slate in 1,011 races. The UDR is calculated by multiplying the wins by nine, second place finishes by five, and thirds by three, then dividing by the number of starts times nine.

Last year Morrill had a .304 UDR, the first time in more than a decade that he’d topped the .300 mark.

In 2006, Morrill’s horses have earned $2,186,367.While the UDR ranking is pleasing to Morrill, his seasonal earnings are the lowest he’s posted since 1999.

The 42-year-old Massachusetts native has driven the winners of 3,553 races and more than $44.6 million in his career.

His biggest win came in 2004 when he steered Holborn Hanover to an upset win in the Meadowlands Pace at odds of 58-1. He’s also enjoyed success with such high-profile pacers as Riyadh, Choice Yankee, Four Starzzz Shark, Jules Jodoin, and Electric Yankee.