The 2024 season at the Saratoga Harness Track is drawing to a close with a timeline of milestones and records left in its wake at the Upstate New York half-mile oval. With 151 live race dates, the meet ran from early February to mid-December with thousands of races contested. Highlighting the conclusion of the Saratoga year was the award ceremony to honor the Trainer and Driver of the Year winners, Mark and Brett Beckwith, respectively. For the first time in the track's history, a father-son duo swept the leaderboard at the Spa. Mark Beckwith, a New England native, had a career year overall with 220 winners and $1.85 million banked. At Saratoga, however, he set an all-time record, becoming the winningest trainer in the history of the track after he sent out 182 winners and took home $1.21 million in purse earnings over 576 starts. "I found out earlier in the year what the record by Colin Johnson was and made it my mission to try and break it," Mark Beckwith said. With his record season came his first training title at the track, and he was able to share it with his son Brett. "To be able to win it with my son as leading driver is a dream come true," Mark said. "But make no mistake about it, without the support of the people that work with me and my family and the best owners a trainer could want, none of this would be possible." On June 23, Mark set the seasonal-best for most wins in a card with five wins, all piloted by Brett. Mark Beckwith maintained a stable of around 20 head throughout the year with horses racing at Saratoga Casino Hotel and Plainridge Park. Between himself, his wife Melissa, Brett, and his grooms and riders, the team harnessed up many winners while keeping a tight operation and an immaculate stable. Now, several of his trainees are on the ballot for Saratoga year-end awards, to be decided on January 4 at the annual banquet. On the driving side, Brett Beckwith was a clear winner on the leaderboard, stepping away with an over 60-win lead as he has made north of 300 trips to the winner's circle, producing $2.36 million in seasonal earnings. "It's an honor. I grew up here watching my dad drive, so to be able to take the reins from him and both of us be the top dogs is something out of a fairytale," Brett said. The 21-year-old finished second last year by one point in the polls for the USHWA Rising Star title after becoming the youngest to achieve $4 million in a season and winning 452 races. This year, in his sixth year of driving, Brett has since magnified his stats and standings. With 585 wins to date and nearly $6 million earned, Brett sits third in the national rankings behind Aaron Merriman and Jason Bartlett on the win end. There were multiple days in which Brett scored five or more wins on a single card, including full weekends where he swept with five wins each day. On July 13, Brett equaled the all-time Saratoga record for most wins in a single card with eight, tying Hall of Fame driver Frank Coppola Jr. Driving across the Northeast throughout the year, Brett has made starts at Freehold Raceway, Tioga Downs, Yonkers Raceway and the Meadowlands, in addition to driving full-time at Saratoga and Plainridge Park. Not only did Brett lead the rankings at Saratoga, but he shared the driving title at Plainridge with Bruce Ranger as the co-leading drivers. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter "There's been so many fun moments and memories but [the best] probably would be the Massachusetts Sire Stakes final with my dad's horse, or the night I won eight [at Saratoga]; everything was just flowing that whole night," Brett said. Next year, Brett has raised his goals again and hopes to continue with the success he has had. "I just want to keep the ball rolling, but for next year I want to grab a couple higher purse wins and maybe get a crack at the Gerrity again," he added. Closing on Brett for the driving title with a quick surge during his stint at the Spa for the season was Wally Hennessey. A member of five different Halls of Fame (PEI, Canada, Florida, Saratoga and Goshen), Hennessey is no stranger to the spotlight and headlines. He arrived at Saratoga in May, three months after the start of the meet, and wasted little time in rising through the ranks. He rattled off five and six winners on multiple cards, reaching seven winners on May 13. On September 30, the 66-year-old piloted six straight winners, marking the most consecutive number of wins by a driver at the Spa, and then later added one more to make another seven-win score for his seasonal-best tally. "I learned a long time ago as a catch driver, your destination is not in your hands but in the relationships you develop with the owners, trainers and grooms," Hennessey said. "It's with them, having the opportunity and being prepared to accept and adapt to each race as it comes. The main thing is the Standardbred horse, who is and always will be my main purpose for why I continue to work with each one. They are amazing individuals with different talents and traits. They for sure make your life complete if you have the passion." Despite his three month late start and his departure to Florida a month prior to the conclusion of the meet, Hennessey racked up 238 winners over 874 starts with the highest UDR of .420 of the top 20 drivers. Adding in his $1.72 million accumulated, Hennessey landed in the standings in second. "The success this year was a combination of getting to drive for the leading trainers and just trying to give everybody the best possible result, and as always, having to have great luck and always keeping your confidence whether results are good or bad, because without confidence your longevity is pretty short," Hennessey said. Hennessey's success at Saratoga in the 2024 meet propelled him into the top 10 for national all-time winningest drivers. He is now 129 wins shy of the 12,000-win milestone. Overall, Saratoga produced a record handle for the track with $714,997 wagered on the May 5 card. The track also saw a record amount of money raised for the annual Charity Match Race that was showcased on Saturday, July 27. The event merged the Thoroughbred and Standardbred racing worlds together as Brett Beckwith drove against prolific jockey Robbie Davis and harness trainer/driver/RUS rider Michelle Crawford rode in a RUS-style race against jockey Katie Davis. The grandstand was packed with the highest number of fans in attendance for an event in the year, and over $20,000 was raised for two local charities: the Franklin Community Center and Kelly's Angels. A week prior to that huge event was the marquee race of the Saratoga meet with the $250,000 Joe Gerrity Jr. Memorial, and Jason Bartlett made history as the first driver to win twice in the 15 years since the race's installment. Bartlett steered Coaches Corner to a 1:49 3/5 mile for trainer Per Engblom as the fourth-fastest mile in Saratoga's history. As for the horsemen, the milestones kept on rolling with Jaymes Mcassey reaching 500 training wins, Gary Levine and Scott Mongeon reaching 1,000 training wins, Matty Athearn and Brett Beckwith reaching $10 million, Wally Hennessey passing $80 million, Brett Beckwith achieving 1,000 driving wins, and Jay Randall notching 5,000 driving wins. With many races dedicated to career recognition, milestones, and records for horse and horsemen, Saratoga Casino Hotel produced a historic season in 2024.