by Harness Racing Communications, a division of the USTA

Jonathan Roberts’ name doesn’t appear among the top 50 drivers in wins or earnings, but if his career ascent is any indication, this is probably the last year that will be the case.

Roberts, 25, from Maryland, started making a name for himself last year as the driver of trotter Great George Two. The horse, trained by Roberts’ father, Bib, won a division of the Zweig and was second in the World Trotting Derby, the Dexter Cup, and a division of the Bluegrass.

This season, in addition to winning a Su Mac Lad leg with Great George Two, Roberts won the New Hampshire Sweepstakes with Primetime Bobcat and the Carney with Earl’s Charm K, both at Rockingham Park, and was second in a division of the Smullin with Ruff Me Up and a division of the White Ruffles with Kellytuck Sophie.

“Great George Two definitely put me on the map,” Roberts said. “He was a huge boost to get, especially young in his career like that. He was a heck of an animal to drive. That was a heck of an opportunity for me to fly around and see other tracks and win some big races. You need one great horse. Not a really good horse, a great horse. That usually does it. He wasn’t quite a great horse, but he was definitely good to me.

“I’ve had a big year,” he added. “A lot of things have gone right; I picked up some really good horses to drive and had good luck with them. It’s worked out well. I’d say the highlight was winning with Primetime Bobcat, but I’ve had some other nice horses, like Bay Sign and Earl’s Charm K, that have been real nice to drive week in and week out.”

Roberts has set career highs across the board with his performance this season: 277 wins, nearly $1.5 million in purses and a .325 driver’s rating. His earnings have increased annually since starting his career in December 1999. He topped $1 million in 2005 and came within $89,000 of that level in 2004.

As the son of a horseman, Roberts started working around the stable at the age of eight. He became more serious about driving during his senior year at St. Mary’s Ryken High School in Maryland.

“You know how things are when you’re young; you don’t know what you want to do,” Roberts said. “It kind of clicked my last year of high school. I started qualifying horses and that was about the end of it. Once you get behind the gate, it all changes.”

Roberts initially spent more time training horses, but now focuses almost exclusively on driving.

“I like training, but I like training racehorses; I don’t really have the patience for babies,” Roberts said. “My dad does; he’s got the patience of Job, and I don’t. For now, it’s better for me to keep to driving. I don’t really have time for training with my schedule.”

Roberts ranks second in wins and purses this season at Rosecroft Raceway in Maryland and also has been a regular at Harrah’s Chester near Philadelphia while picking up a handful of drives at the Meadowlands. He plans to take a break in the coming weeks before resuming his workload.

“I kind of need to recharge a little bit,” said Roberts, who has driven in 1,422 races this year, which is almost 300 more starts than any other season in his career. “I really need to find someplace else to go, so I’ll also do a little exploring. Yonkers is going to be a big place to race; there’s going to be a lot of shuffling around in the next year or two.”