Post by gtapp on Dec 3, 2009 21:12:56 GMT -5
Driver Matt Kakaley puts Northfield Park in his rearview mirror: Horse Racing Insider
By D'Arcy Egan, The Plain Dealer
December 03, 2009, 7:30AM
Matt Kakaley, hopes to one day race at tracks in New York. He is racing in Florida this winter.Young driving star Matt Kakaley is coming back to Ohio this weekend. It won't be to climb aboard a sulky at Northfield Park, where he set a record this year, becoming the youngest reinsman in racing history to notch 1,000 career victories.
"It's too cold there [to drive in the races at Northfield Park]," Kakaley said with a laugh. "I'll be in town to clean out my apartment. Then I'm heading back to Florida."
Kakaley, 21, has focused on helping his mother, trainer Linda Kakaley, with her string of eight horses this winter at Florida's The Isle Pompano Park. The young driver's reputation for winning at Northfield Park earned him a lot of catch-driving opportunities in Florida, where Kakaley has won 17 of 125 races, with 14 seconds and 19 third-place finishes.
"I don't see myself going back to Northfield, unless they get the slots and the purses are pumped up," Kakaley said. "I can make a lot more money elsewhere. I enjoyed racing at Northfield Park, and it was a great place for me to start my career, but it's time for me to move on to bigger things."
Kakaley's 2010 plans are still up in the air. He would like to race at the powerhouse tracks in New York and in sires stakes events. He is still affiliated with Pennsylvania's Burke Racing Stable, which brought him to Northfield Park last winter to sharpen his driving skills and to train horses.
Kakaley ended up winning some major stakes at Northfield Park and at The Red Mile in Kentucky and made an appearance in The Little Brown Jug at the Delaware, Ohio, Fairgrounds. He is grateful for the time he spent in northern Ohio.
"I never thought it would work out the way it did," he said. "I would have never had the opportunity to win all of those races. The people at Northfield Park were good to me, and really helped me a lot."
Before he returns north, Kakaley has some big races on tap.
"I'll be taking out a 2-year-old filly and a 3-year-old filly for Saturday's Florida Breeders and Owners Super Night program," he said. "The 2-year-old, Isle of View Too, is a real handy little filly. I'm looking forward to racing her."
By D'Arcy Egan, The Plain Dealer
December 03, 2009, 7:30AM
Matt Kakaley, hopes to one day race at tracks in New York. He is racing in Florida this winter.Young driving star Matt Kakaley is coming back to Ohio this weekend. It won't be to climb aboard a sulky at Northfield Park, where he set a record this year, becoming the youngest reinsman in racing history to notch 1,000 career victories.
"It's too cold there [to drive in the races at Northfield Park]," Kakaley said with a laugh. "I'll be in town to clean out my apartment. Then I'm heading back to Florida."
Kakaley, 21, has focused on helping his mother, trainer Linda Kakaley, with her string of eight horses this winter at Florida's The Isle Pompano Park. The young driver's reputation for winning at Northfield Park earned him a lot of catch-driving opportunities in Florida, where Kakaley has won 17 of 125 races, with 14 seconds and 19 third-place finishes.
"I don't see myself going back to Northfield, unless they get the slots and the purses are pumped up," Kakaley said. "I can make a lot more money elsewhere. I enjoyed racing at Northfield Park, and it was a great place for me to start my career, but it's time for me to move on to bigger things."
Kakaley's 2010 plans are still up in the air. He would like to race at the powerhouse tracks in New York and in sires stakes events. He is still affiliated with Pennsylvania's Burke Racing Stable, which brought him to Northfield Park last winter to sharpen his driving skills and to train horses.
Kakaley ended up winning some major stakes at Northfield Park and at The Red Mile in Kentucky and made an appearance in The Little Brown Jug at the Delaware, Ohio, Fairgrounds. He is grateful for the time he spent in northern Ohio.
"I never thought it would work out the way it did," he said. "I would have never had the opportunity to win all of those races. The people at Northfield Park were good to me, and really helped me a lot."
Before he returns north, Kakaley has some big races on tap.
"I'll be taking out a 2-year-old filly and a 3-year-old filly for Saturday's Florida Breeders and Owners Super Night program," he said. "The 2-year-old, Isle of View Too, is a real handy little filly. I'm looking forward to racing her."