The greatest driver in Chicago harness racing history retiring this Saturday night.

http://xwebapp.ustrotting.com/absoluten ... 6&zoneid=1

For at least two generations of Chicago harness fans Davey was The Man. The Meadowlands had Campbell and O'Donnell, New York had LaChance, and I would have taken Dave over any of them.

The first time I ever went to the Meadowlands I went to bet a horse named Mr. Dalrae. After the race we found Dave and talked to him. He was shocked that three maniacs from Chicago had driven all the way out there to bet a horse. Boomer Drummond was a big favorite in the race. Dave told us that he had followed Boomer around the track during warm-ups and noticed that every time he hit a straightaway he got on one line and bore out. Dave sat patiently on the rail and came flying up the inside to get the cash.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afqasn9Kpnc

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Ecclesiastes 5:8

Better than Earlie Fires?

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Did he ride Ramlin' Willie back in the day? I made a few $ on that horse in my yute.

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

Well, there's a big difference between a jockey and a driver, but yeah, he'd be greater than Fires. A better comparison for Dave would be Pat Day or Jerry Bailey.

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Ecclesiastes 5:8

Bob Farrington and his erstwhile son-in-law Jim Curran were the main guys who drove Rambling Willie. I'm not sure one would associate with Magee with any single horse.

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Ecclesiastes 5:8

Yea...now that I see the name I remember Farrington.

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

Did he ever venture East for an extended period of time and run with the big dogs? I don't remember him doing so but I didn't really start paying attention to the sport until the early 90s.

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Back off, Warchild. Seriously.

I guess you could say the one hole in his resume is that he never was a Meadowlands regular. But I don't think there's anyone who believes he couldn't drive with those guys.

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Ecclesiastes 5:8

That son of a bitch cost me a small fortune when he sand bagged a fixed race at Sportsman years ago.

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Dave? Well, he was driving the favorite who ended up off the board in the race that got Pelling kicked out of Chicago back in '87, but I'm pretty sure most people don't believe he was involved. Anyway, that was at Maywood. Dave was driving Fox Valley Bullet and I think the horse that won the race was Thorn Eagle.

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Ecclesiastes 5:8

Yeah Dave.

Should I bet him o win his last race?

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Mykindaprincess. I think she has a big chance. She'll probably be the favorite. I would guess they carded that NW 1/2 where he has a strong shot on Eaton's horse as his last race.

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Ecclesiastes 5:8

Fuckin Brian Pelling was stripped of his license in California,and the IRB granted him one to ride here! Fat Ass Farrington Burright the Burglar my favorite was Paisely. As a youth I liked the buggies , but the flats won my heart. I hear he is going to work in Indiana as a Steward. I wish him well.

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I'm going to bounce from the spot for awhile but I will be back at some point to argue with you about this hoops stuff again. Playoffs have been great this season. See ya up the road.

I'm out.

Dave drove a lot of horses for us, although his brother Dean was the regular guy on most of our really good ones. Dean is the same age as my partners and I and we were all good friends and drinking buddies. Dave is about ten years older than we are and he was a more serious kind of guy in a lot of ways.

To this day, Dave is the only driver who has ever apologized to me about a drive. That was when he left I Scoot Hanover short in the Metro with a ton of horse. I wasn't mad at Dave. In-race decisions are up to the pilot. One thing I can say for both of the Magee brothers, they never brought you back a horse you were going to be afraid to look at the next day.

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Ecclesiastes 5:8

That SOB never apologized to me.

What's he going off at in his last race?

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I'm sure that horse will be a very short price. She looks much the best in there. Like I said, I'm guessing they carded the races so his best shot of the night was in his last start. I think everyone would like to see him go out a winner.

Rockstarz Rosette is a horse in there that looks to be improving. I might bet the exacta Mykindaprincess over Rockstarz Rosette.

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Ecclesiastes 5:8

Is it too late to recoup my losses?

How much would I have to bet to win a grand?

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At least he got 2 wins to close it out. You could always count on an honest race from him. And back in his prime, if he was on a longshot, it was always worth a few bucks just in case he could make chicken salad from chicken shit.