by Evan Pattak, for The Meadows

Meadow Lands, PA — Marty Wollam drove the 1,000th winner of his career Wednesday (August 12) when he piloted Summer Heat to victory at the Greene County Fair in Waynesburg, Pa.

The victory total is especially impressive since Wollam, 60, is primarily a trainer who uses catch drivers for most of his horses.

Marty Wollam

“Back when I started, we drove our own,” Wollam said. “There wasn’t such a thing as a catch driver. Right now, I like to drive mainly just the young trotters and let others handle the rest, especially pacers. I’m really not too gung-ho on them, unless they’re a little tough to handle. Then I’ll try to get them straightened out so they’re okay to drive.”

Wollam launched his career in 1965 when, as a student at Worthington (Ohio) High School, he signed on with the legendary Forrest Short. He soon would operate his own stable but not before a significant academic digression.

“My dad didn’t think I could make a living with horses,” Wollam recalls, “so I had to have a back-up plan. I graduated from Ohio State with a degree in agriculture. I don’t regret it. It gave me a good background.”

From his farm in Warren, Ohio, Wollam sends most of his 30 horses to race at The Meadows and elsewhere in Pennsylvania. His operation is quite the family affair as his wife Patricia owns and cares for many of the horses. Son Myles works for the stable while daughter Lori is a caretaker. Lori’s husband, Al Manke III, is Wollam’s second trainer.

In recent years, Wollam has pared his stable by about half, but his goals remain the same.

“You always want to win the big races,” he said. “We had Cams Van Go in the Jugette this year. That’s probably as close as I’ll get to the Little Brown Jug because I don’t do too many pacers. But you always want to win however many you can win.”