by Rich Fisher, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Rich Fisher

Trenton, NJ — Wil DuBois is the kind of kid you want to see succeed in harness racing, if only because he loves it so much.

A third generation horseman along with his brother, Thomas, and sister, Samantha, Wil proudly states that the sport is in his blood. For any doubters, consider two stories to prove the point.

The first came during Wil’s junior year of playing football for Biddeford High School in Maine. At the time, he was also helping out his dad, Todd, at their stable and was unable to make football weightlifting sessions. He still lifted on his own, but the coach wasn’t buying it.

“He said football comes before family and stuff,” DuBois said. “I said ‘You know what, I’d rather be with the horses anyway.’”

He continued to play lacrosse that year and, after early graduation in February 2015, Wil and Thomas went to New Jersey so Wil could work with trainer Linda Toscano. That’s where the second story comes in.

Thomas took a job and Wil worked with Linda while both lived in a hotel room. Because Wil didn’t have a car, Thomas eventually quit his job so Wil could get to the stables every day. It was a sacrifice in the name of Standardbreds, but it eventually cost the brothers.

“It was pretty cool,” said DuBois, who turns 20 in August. “But I really wasn’t making enough money to support both of us. He couldn’t find another job, so we came back up this way. I lived with my uncle (Billy DuBois) and started working for him.”

Photo courtesy of Wil DuBois

Wil DuBois earned his first driving victory last Oct. 3 at the Cumberland Fair with Real Yankee.

That wasn’t really a problem, since Wil considers working with horses about the greatest thing on earth. He earned his first driving win last October and since getting his trainer’s license, has garnered four training victories since April.

Wil’s fraternal grandparents, Gordon and Jane DuBois, and maternal grandfather, the late Raymond Sawyer, are all Standardbred veterans. Todd and his wife, Donna, fell right in line, and their kids are keeping the tradition alive. Samantha works with Todd in his barn and will attend Morrisville for horsemanship, and 23-year-old Thomas is in his fourth year at Scarborough as the youngest paddock judge in the U.S.

For good measure, their cousin Jordan Derue is one of the leading drivers at Saratoga in New York.

“They all seemed to gravitate toward the horses,” Todd said. “It’s almost like they’re born into it; like there was never going to be a question for any of the kids.”

There’s a reason for that.

“The biggest thing is they actually love the animals,” Todd said. “Even if there’s not a lot of money, if you wake up and can be around horses and enjoy your day that’s all the money you need in the world. I think they see that.

“Not that you don’t need to make money and pay your bills and eat; because you do. But Wil’s out hustling. He jogs horses; he does what he needs to do. He’s not sitting around doing nothing. He helps his grandfather, he helps his uncle.”

He is literally living the dream, except for the part where he has to work part-time at a bakery to pay his bills.

“When I was younger I got interested in different stuff but I’ve always wanted to train horses,” he said. “Train and drive, that’s always been my dream. I’m up every day at the barn. I’d rather be there than at the bakery.”

You know it’s serious. Who doesn’t want to be at a bakery?

Actually, Wil would rather still be in New Jersey, which was the original hope when Todd hooked him up with Toscano.

“I’d like to see him get out of Maine, and I got him the job with Linda and thought maybe he could launch from there, but it was tough with the two guys down there and just one job between them,” Todd said. “But he definitely learned some stuff with Linda.

“They’ve got a higher class animal. They’re in a different league. It’s more condensed. I have 15 horses, and two or three of us take care of them. Down there, you’re only going to take care of three or four. It’s more polished.”

Wil found it to be a great experience.

“It was really cool,” he said. “I got to see (2012 Hambletonian winner) Market Share, ($1 million-earner) Doctor Butch. I got to see how differently New Jersey is from Maine. It’s a lot more business, where up here it’s more of a family thing. I loved every minute of it. Hard work every day. Seven days a week — no time to get in trouble.”

Asked if he tends to get in trouble, Wil laughed and said “Oh yeah, once in a while.”

Fortunately, he has put trouble on the backburner, getting his provisional driving license and trainer’s license within the last seven months.

At 6-foot-2, 250 pounds, DuBois’ frame is not conducive to driving. But on Oct. 3 at the Cumberland Fair he drove Real Yankee to get his first win.

“It was surreal, it was the best feeling I ever had in my life,” Wil said. “It was pretty cool, too, because I was working for my uncle Billy. That day we had three in and we won all three races.”

His first training win came in April, and he has amassed three more since.

“That was a little different than the driving win,” DuBois said. “The horse I won with last year was my own. My uncle was the trainer, my grandfather was the owner, I didn’t have any of those licenses yet. These horses I don’t own so it’s kind of different.”

Wil enjoys climbing in the sulky, but realizes his size limits what he can do.

“I like messing around in the amateurs and stuff,” he said. “If I ever get down (in weight) to drive later, I’d love to drive.”

“I think he’s good at both driving and training,” Todd said. “It’s his dream to be a driver, but there’s not many 6-2 guys out there. Jason Bartlett is 6-2 but he’s a beanpole. Wil’s quite capable for being a driver, not just because he’s my son, but he’s got a good set of hands and gets along with the horses. He makes good moves.”

DuBois’ immediate plans are to stay in Maine for the summer, work with his family and check out the racing in Maine and Massachusetts. He feels “the fair season up here is always the best. It’s peaceful, everybody knows each other. It’s a fun atmosphere.”

He and Todd also know that for Wil to advance, he will need to move elsewhere. In the winter, he will see where things stand and is hoping to go to Florida “and learn some things.”

Where he ends up depends on what kind of position he gets.

“It depends if I get a job offer or if we can find somebody who wants to race down there,” Wil said. “If we can find someone who wants to race I would love to go to Pompano. If not, I wouldn’t mind breaking babies somewhere.”

He has at least one guy in his corner who feels he can make it.

“I think that he’s going to have a good career,” Todd said. “He’s a good horseman, he’s got a good set of hands. He gets along with them. He knows what he needs to do.”

More importantly, he knows what he wants to do.

“It’s all about keeping the horses happy,” he said. “This has been in my blood. I don’t focus on anything else.”

A high school football coach and an older brother willing to give up his job and car can both vouch for that.