'Nothing is guaranteed:' Harness racing vets make hobby a priority
Zachary Holden
BUCYRUS - Two drivers were in just about every single race in Wednesday night's harness races at the Crawford County Fair: Daren Harvey and J Duke Sugg.
Harvey kicked off the evening winning the first division, 2-year-old colts and geldings, with Wow Me. In the next seven races, either his name, Sugg's or both popped up in six of them.
The pair dueled in the fourth race — second division 2-year-old colts and geldings — with Harvey and Favorite Uncle edging out Sugg and Son of Sona for the win.
Harvey and Sugg square off from time to time, but their paths don't cross as often as one might think, considering Wednesday's frequency.
"Whenever I head over this way because Duke is more western Ohio and I'm more eastern Ohio," Harvey said. "But it's always fun because I also drive with his brother Kurt a lot up in Cleveland."
When they race is also dependent on when the pair can find free time from their full-time jobs.
Harvey does product support for John Deere, while Sugg works for CSX Railroad.
"The job I have, it's kind of hard at times to get off work," Sugg said. "I can't just go in and say 'Hey, I have to go to the fair.' It's not like that."
That limits Sugg's ability to race like he used to.
"I've only been with the railroad for about eight years," Sugg said. "I did this full-time, then went to the railroad when the racing in Ohio got bad. Now it's coming back around.
"With my job, if I do go away, I have to figure that schedule out. Most of the time I just race around the fairs and occasionally make a trip to Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati or Dayton, if it fits in my schedule."
Sugg started racing when he was 16 and now, 31 years later, he still chases racing nirvana.
"(I love) the competition, competing, coming out and getting that high racing horses," Sugg said.
Both drivers pick up races whenever possible when they go to fairs. Harvey said he loves that aspect about the smaller races.
"Up in Cleveland, I don't get a bunch of drives up there," Harvey said.
Racing since he was 20, the now 34-year-old said one thing has stayed true since the day he started up until now: "nothing is guaranteed."
The one challenge that comes along with picking up races is learning the horse you'll be driving in a short span of time.
"After you do it for a while, the post parade is a good way to get a feel for them," Harvey said. "There are still the ones that'll trick you, though, even past the post parade. When you've done it a while, you kind of know tricks and tells, they'll tell you if they're ready or if they're not."
The Crawford County Fair is special to Sugg, not just because it's a place he frequents come fair season.
"It has probably been close to 30 years," Sugg said. "I came here with my dad and my brothers before I even started driving, I remember coming here as a kid."
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Twitter: @Zachary_Holden