Plainville, MA — When Jim Hardy won the sixth race at Plainridge Park on Thursday afternoon (Sept. 12) with Poppy Wow (1:56.1, $10.40), it gave him his 3,500th driving win in a career that has now spanned 40 years.
Hardy started driving in 1984 and got his first win with a horse named Presumably Swift at Foxboro Park, the track he drove regularly at from the beginning of his career until they closed in 1997. Hardy then moved on to regularly compete at Freehold Raceway, Scarborough Downs, Saratoga Raceway and Yonkers Raceway until 1999, when Plainridge Park opened and he returned home to Massachusetts, where has been a staple ever since.
Known to many as “The Sheriff of Plainville,” Hardy had his winningest year in 2010, when he scored 191 victories, and his most lucrative in 2023, when he drove the winners of $1,225,228 in purses.
At the current Plainridge meet, the 60-year-old native of Newburyport, Mass., is the sixth-leading driver with 42 wins, 47 seconds and 50 thirds, having amassed earnings of $540,000.
Since he got started at the lines, Hardy has made 22,787 starts with 3,500 wins, 3,293 seconds and 3,358 thirds, giving him a 45% in-the-money rate and total purse earnings of $13,955,838 for his career.
Hardy also has 1,065 wins as a trainer and has earned $4,358,527 in that capacity.
The featured race on Thursday was the $25,000 Open Handicap Pace, in which Alluneedisfaith N got a perfect trip and registered his fourth win of the year.
The Wild Card (Nick Graffam) took the lead from post one and marched the field to the half in :55.2 while Alluneedisfaith N tracked from second. Fourever Boy (Brett Beckwith) made the first move from behind and got to within a length of the leader at three-quarters. But Fourever Boy’s bid failed in the turn and left The Wild Card and Alluneedisfaith N the clear contenders. When they straightened for the line, Alluneedisfaith N tipped and charged The Wild Card and eventually ran him down by a neck to win in a seasonal best 1:51.2.
Alluneedisfaith N ($28.60) is owned by Douglas Overhiser and Alicia Gray, who also trains the winner.
Live racing at Plainridge Park resumes on Monday (Sept. 16) at 2 p.m.