Rich Fisher

Trenton, NJ — Matt Brown’s family is a constant presence when he drives in a race. Unfortunately, they missed one of his biggest nights while driving in traffic.

In August, the 29-year-old picked up his first career driving win with Winning Misty, a trotter with which he recorded his first four training victories in 2021. And while his family was there for those triumphs, they were conspicuously absent for that momentous driving win.

But it wasn’t due to disinterest or lack of effort.

Matt Brown celebrated in the winner’s circle after Winning Misty scored one of her four training victories for him in 2021. Conrad photo.

“They all got stuck in traffic,” Brown said. “They usually make it to the races but there was a bad accident that night and they were all stuck behind it. I told them don’t worry about it, it’s no big deal, there’s plenty of other races. I ended up winning that night, so they were all pretty upset.”

It also got Matt to do some playful thinking.

“I told them they were banned for a while from coming to the races if I’m going to win when they’re not here,” he said with a laugh. “I told them ‘Hey, I got to win some races here.’”

Brown was actually surprised to get that first one, as his 4-year-old trotter “just hasn’t been as sharp as she was last year. I was glad to see her get back to her old ways that night.”

Winning Misty started on the rail and was second at the quarter pole, and Brown sat there until the half.

“I pulled her at the half, and I was pretty much two wide the whole back half,” he said. “Coming home I saw (Dan Noble), who was in front of me, working on his horse pretty good. I thought maybe I had a shot there once we hit the top of the stretch and maybe she could out-trot him home. She did, won by half a length.”

Brown felt his first training win and first driving win were both special but felt a little different. He noted that with the training win, he knew he had it as he watched the horse come down the stretch. In the driving win, there was a different shot of adrenaline.

“Just knowing that a horse I was training went a good trip and I was there in the bike behind her, it was a good feeling,” he said.

Shortly thereafter, he got his second win with Fiesty Sam, a horse bred by his grandfather. And that in itself made it special, as Marvin Brown brought Matt into the business and has guided him each step of the way.

“He still comes to the races and gives me pointers on something I should try or change on a horse,” Matt said. “He’s always been involved with trotters, that’s all I’ve ever done. He’s influenced me to stay with trotters. He taught me most of what I know.

Matt Brown has been driving and training horses since 2017. Facebook photo.

“The last few years I’ve been on my own, I live an hour and a half from him now, so I don’t get to see him most of the time. I’ve learned a couple other things from local trainers at Mount Vernon. But he still comes to races and gives me pointers and criticisms. He loves it. I pretty much do it for him. He can’t do it anymore.”

The reason being that, while trying to break a yearling 10 years ago, the horse got away from him and Marvin suffered an accident that nearly took his life. He stepped away from it at that point, which Matt was forced to accept.

“I was pretty upset but I totally understood where he was coming from,” said Brown, who was attending Hocking College at the time. “I didn’t want him messing with the horses without me there anyway, just because I knew what his health conditions were, and I didn’t want something to happen again.”

Marvin was a crane operator and got into harness racing in his 30s. He had trained quite a few horses for himself and other owners and got heavy into the business before Matt was born. Matt’s dad is a truck driver so his schedule leaves him no time for the horses, but when Matt was in seventh grade Marvin bought some trotters and got his grandson interested.

“I kind of just started going to work for him, started jogging the horses for him,” the lifelong Ohio resident said. “I’d go to the racetracks with him, he’d race up at Northfield and Scioto and go through the Signature Series at the county fairs. I worked with him all the way through high school and early college.”

While Matt’s parents had no problem with his interest in Standardbreds, they did have one firm stipulation.

“My family pushed me into going to college and getting a good full time job first; at least setting myself up with a degree and stuff before I thought about (harness racing) too much,” he said. “My parents support me to this day. They try to go to every race they can. If they’re not there in person they’re watching it on the computer. They’re very supportive of me.”

And their insistence on college paid off, as Brown now has a fulltime job as a court bailiff for Licking County Domestic Relations. While it may not sound as glamorous as being an undercover cop on a stakeout, it beats working nights and weekends.

“I wanted to be a police officer before I started college,” he said. “After I graduated, I got a police job working for Granville Police Department. From there I decided I liked the bailiff schedule better, just Monday through Friday.”

So, he got a courtroom job that now supports his wife and son, and the daughter that his wife is soon expecting.

He took a break from the stables for a while during college and after graduation, but began to realize how much he missed the sport. Three years ago, shortly after he got married, Matt and Marvin each bought half of a 2-year-old colt, The Disciple.

“I trained him at the Delaware County Fair,” Brown said. “At that point (Marvin) came out all the time and he helped me get started that way. We just raced him at the fairs. That colt was a big learning experience for me.

“My grandpa was out with me just about every day at Delaware. We raced him that summer and that’s when I fell in love with it again, going through that experience with him. I knew I had to get a few more horses.”

Thus, he bought Winning Misty and Fiesty Sam. He trains and drives them both, and is also training Team Bravo. He purchased Winning Amber last year, but the filly never trained down like he hoped, so she was sold.

This season, Brown’s stats are the same in driving as they are in training — two wins, two places, two shows. He has earned $14,439 in the sulky and $16,089 as a conditioner. Since his career began in 2017, he has earned $19,810 as a driver and $59,125 as a trainer.

Despite the security of a fulltime job, the thought of turning to harness racing for a living still dances in Matt’s mind.

“I guess it just depends,” he said. “I know Ohio is really strong right now with their racing program. If the right opportunities presented themselves, I may look elsewhere and do this fulltime. I’ve really gained a love for it. It’s something I want to keep improving at every year.”