Rich Fisher

Trenton, NJ — David Conlon got some early advice from the first trainer he worked for and has followed it religiously.

“It actually goes back to Tony Sapienza,” the 23-year-old stated. “He said ‘If you are gonna do this, if you’re crazy enough to do this, my advice to you is learn it from several people because you’re gonna learn something from one guy, then you’re gonna go to the next guy and he’s gonna say ‘No that’s not the way to do it.’

“That’s what’s beautiful about harness racing is there’s no lock or key. There’s no right or wrong way, there’s my way and there’s your way. Tony said, ‘So if you really want to strengthen your toolbox, don’t be afraid to ask questions and don’t be afraid to talk to different people and see what they think and how they do things.’”

Conlon has been talking to a plethora of people ever since.

After Sapienza sent him to work for John Wagner, the Delaware product took a year off to work on a chicken farm. He was enticed back into the business by Brian Callahan, then moved on to work with several trainers before COVID-19 shut everything down. When racing resumed, he worked for Rod Allen until Allen’s retirement, and is currently at the stable of George Dennis.

David Conlon got his first driving win with Gold Train on Aug. 28 at Delaware’s Harrington Raceway. Fotowon photo.

All that movement occurred within eight years — seven if you count the year off — and it finally led to a milestone on Aug. 28 when Conlon got his first driving win with Gold Train at Delaware’s Harrington Raceway. It marked the end of six weeks of frustration since the lifelong Smyrna resident first drove the same horse.

“It was surreal to win, just because I’ve been messing with horses since I was 16,” Conlon said. “I’ve been working really hard to get my license. I don’t come from a racing family, so everything is a little more challenging for me because I don’t have the background. And then I qualified for a year, did all the stuff. Then I got to drive my first pari-mutuel race and he (suffered atrial fibrillation); I was like, ‘Aw man, what are the odds?’”

Two months later he and the Joseph Columbo-trained horse returned triumphantly as Conlon followed his game plan to perfection.

“After he afibbed we gave him some time off, we trained him back and George Dennis qualified him, and he qualified him on the front,” Conlon said. “I believe the last few races he won before we had him, he won on the front. So, he was tight and trained back pretty well. I said, ‘You know what, if I could get this horse on the front, he’d be tough to beat.’”

And so that is exactly what he did.

“I got into the gate, I was looking at the horse in the two-hole and I wasn’t too impressed with the horse’s gait and how alive he looked,” Dave recalled. “So, I just went around and went to the front, he took a nice little hold of me, I just put him on cruise control, and he did the rest. When I got to the front I was like ‘OK, good, we didn’t hit anybody, we’re in the race, this horse feels good.’ I was just a passenger.”

A passenger who was wondering if it was all really happening as he crossed the line.

“When I came around that last turn and the light came on, I saw I was probably two or three (lengths) on top and he still had a nice hold on me,” Conlon continued. “I was like ‘Holy smokes. . .am I about to win this right now?’ It was just surreal. In the winner’s circle picture of me, with the picture of me going across the wire, you can see my mouth’s open because I’m kind of a little in disbelief. I’m like ‘Oh man I just did that!”

David Conlon celebrated in the winner’s circle after his first driving win. Fotowon photo.

It was the first of what Conlon hopes will be many highlights as he continues to climb up the harness racing ladder.

David had no exposure to the sport growing up. In fact, he was a wrestler until midway through high school. But he had a close relationship with a nearby family that showed horses.

“Horses have never been foreign to me,” he said. “I’ve always been around them, I’ve always been drawn to them, but I never really considered it a career.”

But he began dating Sapienza’s daughter in high school, which led to him helping the trainer on weekends. Soon, his interest was piqued.

“I said, ‘I’d like to learn. This seems kind of interesting,’” Conlon said. “So, he taught me how to jog, how to put a harness on, all your basic stuff. Then he kind of sent me on my way. I met this person then I met that person, and it just went from there.”

The only detour came while he was still in high school and a teacher recommended the chicken farm job. That worked out well, but the lure of the track proved too hard to resist.

“I really liked that job,” he said. “So, I was doing that and then Brian Callahan reached out and asked if I wanted to get back into horses. I said, ‘I’ll start Monday.’”

Conlon got his trainer’s license and driver’s license in 2020 but “I didn’t do anything with the driver’s license until 2022.” That is when he had his first qualifying drive. He ended up doing the required 20 satisfactory drives and took full advantage of his second pari-mutuel start to get his first win.

He continues to work with Dennis jogging and training horses while doing “all the groom stuff, and when he’s feeling generous, he lets the third man drive. Hopefully that will snowball here soon.”

As Conlon progresses in his career, he’s enjoying his personal life as well. He is engaged to Daphne Ivory, who once barrel raced at fairs and now shows market lambs. The two are engaged to be married in either December 2024 or January 2025.

“She never really had her foot in any kind of (Standardbred) horses until she got with me,” Conlon said. “Now on days off she’ll come in and pet them and give them water and all the fun parts. She definitely learned a lot and definitely pays more attention, but she doesn’t want to do it for a career.”

David is eager to make his mark in the sport, whether it’s as a trainer or driver remains to be seen.

“What I’d really like to do is maybe get a horse of my own, get some training starts, get a little more comfortable driving, a little more experience,” he said. “I want to just kind of put my foot in the water.

“And I’d like to figure out which one I tend to be better at and I’d like to capitalize on that. I can drive, but if I can be a better trainer, I’ll let somebody else drive. And vice versa.”

Whatever Conlon decides, he has certainly procured a wide range of knowledge to tap into.