by Ken Weingartner, Harness Racing Communications

Freehold, NJ — The winters might be colder, but Kurt Sugg’s driving career heated up.

Sugg, a 42-year-old Ohio native, entered Tuesday needing two wins to reach 2,000 for his career. Although he has driven since 1986, the majority of those victories — 1,347 to be exact — came after 2006, when Sugg decided to stop spending winters in Florida and drive at Northfield Park.

USTA/Ed Keys photo

Kurt Sugg is closing in on 2,000 career driving wins.

The decision was based primarily on wanting to give his children the chance to stay in one school for the year, but it worked out well for his career on the racetrack. Sugg won a career-best 335 races in 2010 and just missed finishing among the top three in the driver standings at Northfield. Last season, he won 293 times overall and finished third in wins and purses at the Cleveland-area track.

This year, Sugg has 72 wins and is fourth in the standings at Northfield.

Sugg, who also has 686 wins as a trainer, is the son of Ohio Harness Racing Hall of Famer Ivan Sugg. His dad is best known for training No Pan Intended, who captured the 2003 Pacing Triple Crown on his way to Horse of the Year honors. Sugg’s brother, Duke, trains and drives horses as well, but has spent much of his recent time working for the CSX Railroad.

On Tuesday morning, Kurt Sugg took time to speak about his career with Harness Racing Communications’ Ken Weingartner.

HRC: You’ve been driving a lot more the last four years. What led to you stepping up the driving during that time?
KS: It was just opportunity. I used to go to Florida all the time in the winter; I didn’t stay here year-round. A lot of people left Northfield around that time and I was around and started to pick up drives. I really enjoy driving. It’s something I enjoy doing and the opportunity presented itself. It was being at the right place at the right time more than anything.

HRC: It seems like you’re enjoying it.
KS: I enjoy racing at Northfield very much. It’s a lot of fun racing there and I’ve got good friends racing there. Even if the night doesn’t go so well, at least you’re hanging out with your friends for the night.

HRC: And now you’ll have the Hard Rock Café.
KS: Yeah, they’re going to have the press conference tomorrow and that will be something really exciting for Northfield. It should bring some young people to the track and hopefully they’ll enjoy the races too.

HRC: You’re still training some horses as well. How many do you have in training right now?
KS: I only have about seven in training right now. I don’t have near the amount in training that I used to have. It’s tough to do both (train and drive).

HRC: What do you most enjoy about driving?
KS: I like the competition. I always strive to succeed, anyway. Winning with a longshot to me is something that’s really gratifying because that’s something that wasn’t expected. I like the challenge of it.

HRC: What’s been the highlight of your driving career so far?
KS: I would have to say winning the Dygert with Dunkster at Hawthorne (in 2006). That’s a horse I had his whole life. That was real satisfying.

HRC: What will it mean to you to get to 2,000 wins?
KS: That will be something nice. About four or five years ago I hadn’t raced that much, so I never thought I would even come close to that. It’s definitely something that wasn’t expected that will be nice to get.

HRC: What has your dad (Ivan) been up to?
KS: He’s retired. He went to Florida for the winter; he has a house down there. He hung out down there and didn’t do anything. He’s not training anything at the moment, and he doesn’t plan to. He’s taking life easy now.

HRC: That’s alright.
KS: Yeah, there’s nothing wrong with that.

HRC: How big of an influence was he on you?
KS: He’s the biggest influence. I got my training methods from him and my work ethic from him. He never gave anything away to us kids; he made us work for everything we got. I’m grateful for it now. Without that, I might not have achieved the success I have now.

HRC: How old were you when you started working with the horses?
KS: I jogged my first horse by myself when I was 9 years old at my dad’s farm. Us kids, we did the horses after school was over, we cleaned the stalls, we cleaned the horses’ equipment; we did it all. That’s all I ever wanted to do, something with the horses. I really enjoyed being with the horses when I was a kid.

HRC: How many kids do you have?
KS: I have five kids. I have a 15, a 13, twins that are 12, and a 9. They’re all kind of packed right in there.

HRC: Are they involved in a lot of activities that keep you busy?
KS: Yeah, soccer, lacrosse, track, football and softball. This weekend I’ve got a couple soccer matches and a lacrosse tournament. It’s very busy with the kids.

HRC: It’s almost like your time to wind down is when you get to go racing.
KS: Yeah, the track is kind of relaxing, actually. (Laughs).

HRC: Well, good luck with everything. Hopefully you knock off (win) 2,000 tonight and start working on the next thousand.
KS: That would be nice. Thanks.