by Rich Fisher, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Rich Fisher

Trenton, NJ — It’s pretty uncommon when a guy can go more than 35 years between driving wins. It’s just as uncommon when a horse can go six years between victories. But when they combine to do it all at once, well folks, there may not be a word for how uncommon that is. So let’s just say it was pretty darn cool.

On June 18, Neil Nordlof drove Ideals Oath to victory at the Walworth County Fair in Elkhorn, Wis. The 66-year-old Nordlof picked up his last driving win prior to 1980 and 8-year-old Ideals Oath had not raced since she was 2 in 2010.

“After that long, it’s pretty rewarding,” Nordlof said. “(Coming across the line) I’m thinking it was hard to believe. I thought ‘We’re here, we did it.’ It’s just a fair win, but a win is a win. It’s satisfying and gratifying. It’s very neat.”

It sure is. And it gives credence to Nordlof’s philosophy on harness racing.

Photo courtesy of Marilyn Therrian

Neil Nordlof drove Ideals Oath (No. 3) to a 2:07 victory at the Walworth County Fair on June 18.

“You can stay hands on as much as you want and that’s what allows this sport to be so magnificent,” he said. “You can be my age and come back. You got a horse, you take it into Chicago. I’ve qualified a few. You might be in a qualifier and driving right next to you is a top-flight driver. You can’t get that in any other sport.”

Nordlof has had a lifelong love affair with the sport, even though there was a 26-year gap in his involvement as a driver and trainer.

Growing up in Rockford, Ill., Nordlof hung around his uncle, who had Standardbreds and judged in fairs.

“That’s where my interest in harness racing came,” he said. “But I was born horse crazy. The first book I bought in first grade was Black Beauty; the second one I bought in second grade was about a Kentucky Derby winner. So watching my uncle just piqued my interest.”

After being stationed in Berlin while in the Army, Nordlof got out in 1971 and bought his first horse. He picked up a few wins as a trainer and two as a driver, all prior to 1980.

In 1986, he stepped away from the business but did own a few broodmares for several years. He also went to the Michigan School of Horseshoeing and picked up his shoeing credentials. The lifelong Rockford resident continued to follow the sport closely, but only from a distance.

“I guess I didn’t have the fortitude to stay with it and put it as a priority,” said Nordlof, whose reason for getting out was as unselfish as it gets.

When he turned 30, Nordlof decided it was time to devote his life to his wife and three children. He went into real estate before opening his own flooring business. He not only runs the business, but also works hands-on installing wood floors, which he feels has kept him in shape for a return to racing. Nordlof proudly points out that at 5-foot-9 and 159 pounds he is the same height and weight as he was in high school.

In 2010, at age 60 with his family grown and taken care of, Nordlof said, “I decided to treat myself and I went out and bought a horse (named Kennelly).”

Nordlof eventually got back into driving in 2012, and said the apprehension after being away for so long wasn’t that great.

“You’re a little apprehensive but no more than you would have been had it only been a year’s absence,” he said. “It’s kind of like riding a bike, once that gate starts rolling, all that goes away. All the apprehension is prior, the week before or whenever.”

He bought Ideals Oath in 2014, and noted the mare had an interesting background. Ideals Oath had three starts as a 2-year-old and won her second lifetime start in 1:56. She then finished second to Myluvmylife in her Lou Babic elimination, but was scratched from the final for reasons Nordlof does not know and retired to become a broodmare.

Nordlof bought her at age 6 when she was in foal with Center Stage Dream, who Nordlof plans on breaking in a month. After Ideals Oath gave birth, Nordlof decided to drive her.

“Just watching her in the pasture, she paces all the time, and she’s a beautiful looking horse — her head, her conformation,” he said. “To me, she’s got good breeding and the fact she had a mark of (1):56 as a 2-year-old, I thought ‘Well she has an attitude. If there’s anything wrong, we’ll discover that. But until we do we’ll race her and train her.’”

In no way did he consider it a gamble.

“I thought it’d be a lot easier than starting with a yearling,” Nordlof said. “She’s been broken and she’s raced. The irony is, after six years, I put a harness on her and she acted like she had that thing on the day before. I went out, line drove her for about 10 minutes, she acted perfect. I put the cart on her, she jogged and she’s been perfect ever since. Even with that big of an absence she still came right back to it.”

The same can be said for Nordlof, who is contemplating retiring in December with his wife, meaning he can devote more time to the horses.

“I think I surprised my wife by coming back, but I think in the back of my mind I always thought I’d go back in it,” he said, adding with a laugh, “I was hoping I’d have the wherewithal not to, but that probably wasn’t going to be a very strong deterrent.”

Nordlof is unsure of his driving future, saying he will take things as they come.

“I like to drive,” he said. “The opportunity to go up to Chicago is the ultimate plan if we’re good enough to competitively race. But the fairs are fun and a nice family venue. They’re very enjoyable.”

Upon returning, Nordlof feels he has a different appreciation for the sport now than when he first started. In listening to him, it sounds like a more intense appreciation.

“I think it’s about as exciting as it can be,” he said. “I’ve told people over the years that I’ve parachuted, I’ve flown aerobatics, and driving a harness horse, getting behind that gate when the starter says ‘go,’ is still the most thrilling thing I’ve ever experienced. It’s addictive.”

So addictive that after 26 years, he fell off the wagon and into the sulky.