Ken Weingartner

Freehold, NJ — When Jim Morand began his career as a harness racing driver in 1981, his target was 3,000 wins, which represented the level of success achieved by his stepfather, Gerry Bookmyer. Morand reached 3,000 wins in 1994, but has not stopped winning. Entering Monday, Morand needed two victories to reach 8,000 in his career. Morand, who will turn 45 on Wednesday, ranks No. 17 in lifetime wins among all North American drivers in history.

“I thought 3,000 was an accomplishment,” Morand said. “After that, I had a lot of good horses to drive and a lot of good trainers to drive for and they just kept adding up.” He added with a chuckle, “I’ve been doing it for a while, too.”

Morand’s top season for wins was in 1997, with 469. The total was good enough to rank sixth in North America that year. From 1991 through 1998, he was a fixture among the top 15 drivers each season.

This year, Morand has 203 wins and $1.9 million in purses while competing primarily on the Delaware circuit of Dover Downs and Harrington Raceway. In his career, horses driven by Morand have won $52 million.

Jim Morand

“I’ve had a good time so far,” said Morand, who was born in Ontario and started his racing career in Ohio. “You have to have good trainers and good horses to drive. I’ve driven some good horses. Everything has worked out good.”

Morand and Kiev Hanover won 1990 Bluegrass Stakes over eventual Horse of the Year honoree Beach Towel. The duo also won a heat of the Messenger Stakes and a division of the Cleveland Classic. In 1993, Morand won the Colonial at Rosecroft Raceway with Pine Chip. He also drove 2004 Horse of the Year Rainbow Blue to three wins in her career.

In recent years, Morand, the father of three children ages 9 and under, has cut back somewhat on his schedule. He has started owning more horses, including Delaware standout Juanita.

“I try not to travel as much as I did, so owning horses can help make up the slack,” Morand said. “I like staying close to home with the kids now.”

It might seem more interesting if Morand got win No. 8,000 on his birthday, or with a favorite horse, but he wants nothing of it.