Monticello, NY — It’s only fitting that Jim Devaux set a major career milestone at Monticello Raceway, where it all began for the 56-year-old in 1990. He’s come a long way since his first year, where he had just three starts and earnings of only $496. On Wednesday (June 27), he won his 7,000th race aboard Luvcrunchess, who scored a 2-3/4 length, wire-to-wire win in 1:58.3.

Jim Devaux celebrates his 7,000th career win. Geri Schwarz photo.

It was the 10th win of the year for the Candace Brandstatter-trained mare.

Devaux has been no stranger to the winner’s circle. His impressive body of work includes winning purses of $35,817,674. He’s also a three-time leading dash winning driver at Monticello Raceway. Last season he was the leading dash winning driver at Saratoga Raceway and he is well on his way to securing another title at the Spa. Currently, Devaux is ranked 11th in North America for dash winning drivers with 188 wins and purses totaling $1,653,882.

He splits his racing between Saratoga on the weekends and Monticello Raceway during the middle of the week. He hasn’t trained since 2013, relying solely on catch driving. His most productive year was 2017, when he registered a career high of 544 wins and drove winners worth $3,005,547.

The horseman was born into a family with harness racing running through its veins. Born in Kingston, N.Y., he currently resides in Port Jervis. His father is in his late seventies and is still an active participant in the sport at Saratoga Raceway, as well as his brother, Ken, who races his stable at Monticello Raceway.

Devaux cut his teeth training and driving at Monticello Raceway in the early 1990s with a small stable, proving early on he had a talent and prowess for driving.