by Rich Fisher, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Rich Fisher

Trenton, NJ — Between trainer and driver, their ages add up to a scant 34 years old, but they have already forged a memory that will last a lifetime.

Actually, two lifetimes.

On May 19 at Charlottetown Driving Park on Canada’s Prince Edward Island, 18-year-old Ryan Desroche drove Onehotvett to victory in his first official career start. The pacing mare is trained by Austin Sorrie, which gave the 16-year-old his first career win as a trainer.

Pretty surreal?

“Yeah, it was perfect,” Desroche said. “It was really cool. It was fun. It was an adrenaline rush, for sure.”

“It was amazing,” Sorrie said. “It was hard to believe it at the time, that it happened.”

Wade and Austin Sorrie and Ryan and Phil Desroche celebrated in the winner’s circle after Onehotvett’s win on May 19.

Both teens admitted it was made even more special because they accomplished their first wins together. Both are lifelong horsemen who met each other five years ago and became fast friends.

“He drives the matinee circuit,” Desroche said. “I think we were both walking around one day at the track, we came up to each other and started talking, and we’ve been best friends ever since.”

They have kept a tight bond despite living 2-1/2 hours from each other on Prince Edward Island. Desroche lives in O’Leary, which is northwest of Sorrie’s home in Montague. Neither has ever wanted to do anything else but work in harness racing.

“My grandfather and my father both had race horses, I got my first horse when I was four,” Desroche said. “I was driving and training and stuff and driving the matinees. Everything kind of went from there.”

Desroche graduated high school last year and got a job working for trainer/driver Marc Campbell.

“It’s really good,” he said. “You learn a lot of things working with other people and picking up little techniques and stuff. Everybody does it a little different, so you just figure out what works best for you.”

Sorrie has also been in the barns seemingly since birth.

“My dad (Wade) had horses with (owner/trainer) Bert Honkoop,” Austin said. “I would go down and help my dad jog them. When I was six I got to jog my first horse. I drove my first race when I was 13.”

As a 14-year-old, Sorrie actually drove Onehotvett to a winning time of 1:57.2 at Pinette Raceway — part of the Prince Edward Island Matinee Racetrack Development Program circuit. That was believed to be the fastest mile ever recorded for a driver of Sorrie’s age, although those races are not officially charted miles.

Last December, Sorrie was named Driver of the Year at Charlottetown by the Matinee Racetrack Development Project. He was modest about his achievement.

“I got a lot of nice horses to drive that summer,” he said.

After his record-driving run with Onehotvett, Sorrie eventually took over training duties for the pacer from his dad. Despite the fact he drove such a blistering mile, he could not be in the bike for the Charlottetown race because he is only eligible to drive matinee races due to his age.

So, who better to give a chance than his best buddy?

“This winter I was down helping them out a little bit on weekends,” Desroche said. “They asked if I wanted to drive. They put me down for the first start and pretty much said ‘Good luck.’”

Photos courtesy of Ryan Desroche

Onehotvett was a winner in 1:58 for the Ryan Desroche-Austin Sorrie team.

“Ryan had always come out and helped us train,” Sorrie said. “He helped train her a few times, I figured why not give him a shot on her and see what happens.”

He figured right, as Desroche started in the two hole and just waited for his opportunity.

“I was sitting in the two hole for almost the whole mile,” he said. “Around the last turn I pulled her out and she just went by and I just drove.”

Sorrie watched anxiously.

“Going around the far end turn Ryan popped her,” he said. “She kind of took off and from there on we knew she was going to be all right. But I was really nervous there off the backstretch.”

Desroche has driven 11 times since, and added another win to go with a second-place finish and a third. He’s still coming to grips with the fact he was undefeated after one race.

“I thought it over a few times about what it would be like to win that first race,” he said. “But I didn’t really expect to win the first time.”

And unlike so many, he reached a major goal in life at a young age.

“This is pretty much what I’ve wanted to do since I was old enough to walk,” Desroche said. “I’m more than satisfied with things so far. My only goal I really had was to get one win and I got that already. And it worked out perfect, being with Austin’s horse.”

Sorrie said if he had to pick between training and driving, he would opt for driving. But Desroche feels he’s a solid trainer.

“He’s an awesome person, he’s great at what he does,” Desroche said. “He’s really good when it comes to the little things. And he shows a tremendous amount of maturity.”

Sorrie, who got his trainer’s license six months ago, feels likewise about Desroche.

“He’s pretty good,” Austin said. “He’s starting to get some patience in there, watching the race unfold, then figuring out when to move.”

The two plan to stick together as a team and are planning for life after Austin graduates next year.

“We’ve kind of contemplated going to different places,” Desroche said. “We’ve talked about going down to Ontario, down to the States. We’re talking about going anywhere that will benefit ourselves.”

“We’ll see what happens when I get out of school,” Sorrie said. “Hopefully we can go away and try it, and see what happens from there.”

Whatever happens and however it works out, they will always remember May 19 with a smile.