“He’s got a lot of finesse,” said veteran driver Ron Marsh, who started in the early 1970s in the Quad Cities about the same time Magee started his professional career. “He knows his horse, and he makes the right move 99.9 percent of the time.”

Milestone win

On May 21 at Balmoral, Magee recorded the 10,000th win of his career. He is the first Chicago driver and only the sixth in the world to reach that plateau.

Maywood recognized the feat with Dave Magee Night on June 30. Add it to a list that includes induction into state and national harness hall of fames, a World Driving championship in 1995 and numerous driving titles at area tracks. Two years ago, Hawthorne even had a Dave Magee bobblehead doll giveaway.

“We’ve had a lot of battles, and we traded off driving titles around here a lot in the 1980s,” said Marsh, winner of more than 5,000 races himself.

“We all have to trust each other because we’re working with animals, and sometimes they don’t do what you want them to do. We make it look easier than it is.”

Trainers also sing his praises.

Mark Fransen, also from Big Rock, and Darcy Pletcher, who is based at Balmoral, both used the words “class act” to describe Magee.

“I don’t know if he remembers, but I was there for the first pari-mutuel win he had,” said Fransen. “It was at Quad City Downs. The horse’s name was ‘Senator Haven.’ He’s been a friend for a long time. ... He’s a very honest, upfront guy and a great family man.”

Pletcher calls Magee “the best driver that’s ever been around Chicago, in my opinion.”

The right approach

A Green Bay, Wis., native who began his career racing for his grandfather at county fairs, Magee said, “I was just doing it on a whim, for the fun of it. I wasn’t expecting to make a career out of it.”

He hasn’t encouraged his children to pursue it.

“When I grew up in it, it was all fun. It was a healthy environment,” he said. “You’re at the county fairs with the family. ... That’s how I was introduced to it.

“As a catch driver, it’s a business. I just go there, do my thing and come home.”

That professional attitude makes a difference, Pletcher said.

“The thing I like about Dave, between every race he studies the program (to learn about his competition in upcoming races),” he said. “When they turn for home, he’s got the horse in position. Now, whether the horse has the pace or not (is out of the driver’s control).

“He’s done his homework. He knows what’s going on. Other guys, you see them standing around and not doing anything (between races).”

A night at the races

On this midweek night at Hawthorne, Magee is scheduled to drive in races 2 through 11. After making good time on the drive in, he gets to the jockey room about 30 minutes before the 7: 40 post time for the first race.

That gives him time to review a schedule of race entries for a night later in the week. His name is listed for more than one horse in several races. Magee reviews each field before deciding which horse he will drive.

Trainers for those he doesn’t choose will later turn to their second choice.

He then turns to that night’s program and starts studying the field for each race. While the charted line for each horse may look like the computations of a NASA scientist to the novice, it contains a wealth

of information for not only the savvy bettor but an experienced driver.

“It shows you what position he was in at the quarter (mile mark), half, three quarters and his time in the final quarter,” said Magee, pointing to a listing, then pointing out other factors of note.

Each horse’s entry can include charts of its last six races, if it’s had that many. And that’s the reason for the qualifying races. It gives untested horses at least one charted line, “to give the betting public an idea of the potential of a horse,” said Magee.

Preparation is key

He studies the field trying to get an inkling of how his “ride” stacks up.

“I’m trying to figure out scenarios that might happen,” he said. “How I might react. A lot of times I key on one or two horses inside of me. ‘If they do this, I’ll do that.’ A lot of times you have to decide in a fraction of a second what you want to do. If you’re prepared, it helps.”

The untrained observer wonders if it would be a good night to bet on Magee’s rides.

“I really don’t have a lot of power tonight,” he said. “Last night would have been good. I won the first three then had a second and then a win. And then two seconds and a third.”

He adds that his horse in the second — Incredible Kitty — will be his best bet for a win.

Running out of the fifth slot a half hour later, the 2-year-old filly is the favorite among bettors and proves worthy, covering the mile track in 1:55.1, well ahead of her previous best of 1: 56.3. She pays $2.80 on a $2 bet to win.

“You win some and lose a lot,” Magee says, sounding like a baseball hitter trying to explain batting averages to a youngster.

“The best we can hope for (tonight) is to stay with the pack and pick up some crumbs.”

Been there, done that

He notes that in one race, he will run with five drivers whose fathers he drove against earlier in his career.

Experience is a reason Fransen likes to use veteran drivers like Magee.

“The young guys can drive horses well. And their reflexes might be a little bit better,” he said. “But the easiest way to explain it is to compare it to baseball. Who would you want in your lineup, Barry Bonds or a younger guy like Corey Patterson?”

Enough said.

Magee is out of the money the next six races, but he finishes strong. In the ninth, underdog Caroline’s Fame comes up a winner and pays $18.40 on a $2 bet. In the 10th, Bangkok Cruiser takes third and pays $9 on a $2 bet to show. In the 10th, Take Down the Flag rises to the occasion and finishes second, paying $11.40 on a $2 bet to place.

The last two races featured horses trained by Pletcher.

“They both had outside (positions) and didn’t really stand a big shot,” Pletcher said.

A wry smile crosses Magee’s face as he says with a shrug, “That’s why you race and why they don’t hand out the checks ahead of time.”

from the Aurora, Ill. Beacon News July 2005