Whether it is equipment, medication, driver or trainer: When is the right time to make a change in harness racing? Do you wait until something is obviously not working, or should you be proactive and pull the trigger quickly? When I first started owning horses over 20 years ago it was always ingrained in me that you should list the driver who handled your horse last time. The incumbent always had right of refusal. To some extent I understood because having someone who knows the horse and you've built a relationship with can be vital to success. On the other hand, sometimes horses get stale with the same set of hands behind the lines regardless of whether they are part of a Hall of Fame résumé or any catch driver. When Tim Tetrick appeared on the entry sheet as the driver for Sylvia Hanover in the Clara Barton at Plainridge Park on July 21, it marked the first time in her 28-race pari-mutuel career that someone other than Bob McClure was listed to drive. Was a change necessary? Was it the right moment? Statistically speaking, McClure had won 18 of 22 starts with Sylvia Hanover as a 2- and 3-year-old. Going into the Clara Barton, the now 4-year-old mare was winless in six starts (four seconds and one third) with three of her defeats coming at the hands of the top-ranked horse in the country Twin B Joe Fresh. The facts are that Sylvia Hanover's raw ability and stamina simply overpowered the competition at 2 and 3, making it very feasible for her to race from behind and win with regularity. Clearly the competition has improved some and has been more versatile, which that has resulted in her inability to win. McClure didn't forget how to drive, and he's most definitely a very capable and accomplished driver. Perhaps Sylvia Hanover got "used to" McClure and needed someone new at the controls? "I feel bad for Bob [McClure] if he does lose the drive," said driver Corey Callahan, who added he 100% agreed that sometimes a change needs to be made, while admitting he wasn't sure this situation called for it. "Sometimes horses get stale. They get stale to training regimen, to whoever has been driving them and the way they've been driving them. Sometimes change is good." ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter Hall of Fame trainer Jimmy Takter was never shy when it came to making driver or equipment changes in order to get just a little bit more out of his horses. He recalled one situation with double millionaire Pure Country, who was recently on the ballot for Hall of Fame induction herself. "I had Brett Miller driving Pure Country in her first season, and at the beginning of her second I started to see that she had no respect for him," said Takter, who described Pure Country as perhaps the laziest horse he ever trained. "So then I switched to Mark MacDonald. The horse got new life and ended up winning the Breeders Crown. As a 4-year-old I switched to Yannick [Gingras]. Sometimes horses, especially lazy ones, they get used to the driver. "When you put a new driver on a good horse, that guy is going to be excited about it where the old driver might accept that a horse isn't racing as well. It is a little bit like a trainer. If you have a horse for two seasons and it hasn't worked out, I believe you have to change them." Getting back to Sylvia Hanover, on paper the driver change to Tetrick worked out perfectly as he moved the mare to the front after the opening quarter and cruised to just shy of a two-length win in 1:48 2/5. Of course, that victory comes with the caveat that Twin B Joe Fresh decided not to compete in the Clara Barton. "Tetrick may've woken that horse up a bit more than Bob would've done, but next time she may get a tougher trip," said Takter, who added that Beach Cowgirl tiring badly in the pocket helped Sylvia Hanover's chances of winning. "Sylvia raced great for Bob in her last start [Dorothy Haughton], but she just had a tough trip." The fourth meeting of 2024 between Sylvia Hanover and Twin B Joe Fresh seems likely to come at the Meadowlands on August 3 (Hambletonian Day) in the Lady Liberty. That is the next target for Sylvia Hanover according to the connections, who would not commit on whether Tetrick would be in the bike that afternoon. "In this business and sports in general there is a 'what have you done for me lately' attitude. Just look at NFL quarterbacks," said Callahan, who recalled a couple of instances where he lost drives for no particular reason. "You have to take things in stride because it happens to everyone and trainers too. There is no sense dwelling on it. Life's too short and another good horse will come up before you know it." Wise words from Callahan, who is certainly one of the more laid-back drivers in the sport. Staying on top as a Grand Circuit driver in harness racing is no easy task. It requires a great time commitment, from showing up at morning training sessions and baby races to travelling from state to state on any given day, or even intra-day to get to the next event. In a perfect world all that hard work equates to a permanent assignment on a star horse. In reality, most drivers are only guaranteed to be in the bike when listed and then they must perform up to standards or sit on the sidelines next time.