by Ken Weingartner, Harness Racing Communications

Freehold, NJ —- Tyler Smith made headlines at the age of 12 when he won a matinee race in 1:59.1 at the Delaware County Fairgrounds in his home state of Ohio and became the youngest driver to win in less than two minutes. It was a memorable day, but nothing compared to a victory he recorded five years later on Father’s Day weekend.

USTA/Ed Keys photo

Tyler Smith has 88 wins this year as February comes to a close.

Just days after the death of his older brother Andrew, Smith won with a horse trained by his dad, Jeff, at the Pickaway County Fair in Circleville.

“I’ll just always remember the look in his eyes,” Smith said.

A month later, Smith won the Fayette County Classic at his hometown fair in Washington Court House, which is another day he will never forget. But the 19-year-old is still in the early stages of creating memories.

“It’s seems like I’ve been doing this forever and I’m only 19,” Smith said, laughing.

This year, Smith is the leading driver at Northfield Park and is ranked sixth in North America in wins as February comes to an end. He is nearing 400 lifetime wins and could threaten the record for youngest driver to 1,000, which was set by Doug McNair in 2010. McNair was two weeks from his 21st birthday when he established the mark.

Smith won 186 races and $1.38 million last year. In addition to racing at Northfield, he finished seventh in the driver standings at Indiana Downs and 10th at Hoosier Park. Smith recently took time to talk with Harness Racing Communications’ Ken Weingartner about his career.

HRC: Congratulations on the start you’re off to. That’s got to be pretty nice.
TS: Yeah, it is. Not many kids get off to a start like that. I’ve been very fortunate. The main thing is I’m getting the horses to drive; I’m getting a lot of power. Right now, it seems like I can’t do anything wrong. You get in these grooves sometimes and right now it seems like every move I’m making is the right move. But a lot of it has to do with the horses you’re driving.

HRC: With the start you’re off to right now, you’re on pace to win over 500 races. Is that something you look at?
TS: One of our owners said something about breaking 1,000 before I turn 21. I got to looking, at the rate I’m going I need about 600 in two years. It’s something I look at, but I’m not going to stress over it.

HRC: Is simply getting experience the main thing at this point?
TS: Yeah. And I wouldn’t be where I am right now without my dad. He’s given me everything. He gave me my start. When I first turned 16, nobody really knew me or used me, but it didn’t matter because dad put me on everything. He watches the races at night and if I do something wrong he makes sure he’s the first to tell me.

HRC: What’s the biggest thing you learned last year, being it was your first year really driving a full schedule?
TS: On a half (-mile track), I can be more aggressive; I can go. But on a big track, patience is the big thing. I’ve still got a lot to learn, but the more you drive, the more you learn.

HRC: What did you learn from other drivers?
TS: Peter Wrenn and Dave Magee, they didn’t win 17,000 races between the two of them just by luck. They’re good. I learned a lot from them.

HRC: Do you learn from watching them or talking to them, or both?
TS: Both. Pete will give me pointers every now and then. But you learned a lot by watching them. They’ll make you do things on the track that you don’t want to do. For example, I remember Pete making me pull first up when I didn’t want to; he just baits you into doing it and it helps him.

HRC: And then you sit back and think, ‘I’m not going to fall for that again.’
TS: (Laughs). Yeah, and then the next race it’ll happen again. I fell for it about a dozen times. Then I quit falling for it.

HRC: How much studying do you do?
TS: I look at the book a lot. The three things I mainly look at are class drop, what the horse has been doing, and I like looking at the driver changes. I love driving a horse for the first time. I don’t know why. I have success with a lot of them.

HRC: Maybe because you have no preconceived idea about them?
TS: I think so. A lot of horses that you’ve been driving, you know how to trip them up. If I’m on a horse for the first time, especially up at Northfield, and they’ve got the inside and it doesn’t look like they’ve been leaving a whole lot, I usually go ahead and leave with them and try to make the front. Usually a horse like that gets brave when they make the front.

HRC: What was the highlight of last year?
TS: Probably winning two Circle City races at Indiana Downs. I won with Star Recruit and Fox Valley Griffin. He paid like $180. Those were probably the two big ones, especially on the same night.

HRC: Did you set any goals for this year?
TS: I would like to go over 300 wins. Mainly, I just want to stay healthy. There was a wreck the other night at Maywood; we put our lives on the line every night. I just want to stay healthy and do well. The success will come. I think I’ve had enough success for just starting out. Being able to do what I want to do is enough for me.

HRC: Is it tough sometimes to stay patient?
TS: Yeah, especially when I watch the Meadowlands and see all those big races. I get down on myself a bunch, and that’s my worst fault. Especially when the stakes are coming up. Last year, for example, the owners of a horse I’d been driving wanted Ron Pierce in a final. I was upset, but I thought about it and do you want Ron Pierce or an 18-year-old?

HRC: How did the horse do?
TS: He won. (Laughs.) So that made it even worse in my eyes.

HRC: Do you feel more pressure at your age to show that you can perform at that level?
TS: There’s a lot more pressure, but when I get on the racetrack I just consider it another race. I think if you get to worrying about how much money you’re going for, you’re going to end up messing up.

HRC: You probably don’t have a lot of free time, but if you do have free time what do you like to do?
TS: Mostly just spend time with family, like the other day me and my dad went to an Ohio State basketball game. I play some (pick-up) basketball, but mostly just spend time with my family.