by Rich Fisher, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Rich Fisher

Trenton, NJ — What seemed like it would just be a fun trip to North Carolina turned into a life changing event for Dan Rawlings.

He went from a job in electrical contracting into the world of harness racing, and things seem to be working out for the 33-year-old New Englander.

He is a regular driver at The Meadows in western Pennsylvania and set career highs with 200 wins and $2.78 million in purses in 2014. Rawlings, who so far this year is tied for sixth in victories at The Meadows, has won 473 times for $5.80 million lifetime.

Mayra Escamilla photo

Dan Rawlings drove the NYSS 2-year-old trotting colt champion Crazy Wow to four victories in 2014.

Last year, he was the regular driver of New York Sire Stakes champion 2-year-old male trotter Crazy Wow and won a race with Dan Patch Award winning older female trotter Classic Martine.

Not bad for a guy who was not from a harness racing background.

“How many people have been born into this business, tried their whole career and wanted to be drivers and trainers and never had the opportunities I had?” Rawlings said. “I drove some very, very nice ones.

“I’ve been so fortunate, I really have. I’ve been asked how this has all happened. I don’t know man.”

Rawlings grew up in western Massachusetts and his buddy next door, Nick Bube, was a racing enthusiast. Dan visited a few barns and went to some races in Maine as a kid, but it was nothing major.

“It’s definitely not something I grew up with,” Rawlings said.

He then moved away and got a job, and about 10 years later ran into Bube’s parents. They informed him that Nick was in Pinehurst, N.C., working with horses.

“I was 24, and I went down to go visit him,” Rawlings said. “I hadn’t watched a race on TV in 10 years.

“To be completely honest, I was a delinquent at the time. I was in trouble, always an idiot. I was on workmen’s compensation at the time; I went down to North Carolina and hung out with him. And I never left.”

And his days of being a delinquent were over as he found his calling.

“I just love horse racing,” he said.

Bube was working for trainer Gates Brunet, who was looking for help. Rawlings stayed with Gates in the winter and then went to New York over the summer, where Norm Fluet took him under his wing.

“He said ‘Kid, you’ve got a little bit of talent,’” Rawlings said. “He was willing to teach me some things and help me out at that point.”

Dan was willing to take the gamble.

“I was working for an electrical contracting company making $80,000 a year,” he said. “It’s not like I had a bad job. But I just love the horses. I love Standardbreds.”

Rawlings returned to Pinehurst in the winter and worked for trainer David Wade, who became a tremendous influence.

“He was looking for a second trainer to hire at the time,” Rawlings said. “Me being in the business for 10 months, I went over to Mr. Wade and said ‘I can do it.’ We went out there that day, we trained five sets of horses. I cut every mile and I worked for David. He’s like a father to me. We named our son after him.

“I learned how to be a trainer from David Wade. I worked for him for a year and a half. At that point I never wanted to be a driver. It never even clicked in my head to even try. I was 26 years old, guys who were doing it their whole life started at age 16 getting their feet wet.”

But one day while schooling some babies, Rawlings got behind the gate and went for a drive.

Chris Gooden photo

Dan Rawlings is a regular driver at The Meadows and set career highs with 200 wins and $2.78 million in purses in 2014.

“I went real fast, and I thought ‘This is so much more than training for me, this is more glorifying,” he said. “I told David I was thinking of trying to drive.”

Rawlings mentioned The Meadows but Wade told him that might be a tough place to start. Between Fluet and Wade, the two got him started in driving. In 2008, he won a Pennsylvania Sire Stakes at the Greene County Fair with Wade’s Talk All Day, but did not drive again in a race for nearly a year.

“That was pretty nerve-wracking,” he said. “The anticipation of waiting was tough.”

He then went to Tioga Downs with Fluet and worked with Norm’s son Phil for two years. Phil gave him some driving opportunities at the time.

“I was still not thinking I was going to be a driver,” Rawlings said. “I was just looking to survive.”

But he kept plugging away. He began to get a reputation for being willing to drive some of the more difficult horses out there and having success with them.

“I drove all the way to Lexington for one drive,” he said. “Wherever I needed to go that I thought it could help me to get one more drive, I definitely did that. I think what I’m proudest of is many drivers work their careers to drive good young horses, but more so I’m called on to drive horses who have never raced, never seen the gate.”

But he began getting a good reputation and better horses. He credits trainer Dan O’Mara, who put him behind Crazy Wow, for helping him at Tioga and, of course, his buddy Wade.

“I was put in the right place at the right time,” Rawlings said. “Call it what you will, I got lucky.”

It might be a little bit of luck. But in the big picture, Rawlings deserves credit for doing enough hard work that he was able to capitalize on any breaks that he got.

Although this is the first winter he is not training at a stable, he wants to have a career as a trainer and driver. He also owns three horses — Unadorned Hanover, Rockin Rumble and Hayuneverknow.

“I’ll buy anything,” he said. “I just want to up my ante all the time. I’ll do anything I can do that I think is the right decision.

“I’m all about trials and tribulations. I’ve been stupid and lucky. I’m not from a racing family so I didn’t see it done the right way or the wrong way.”

As it’s turning out, Rawlings is doing a lot more right than wrong. And it’s a lot more than just luck.