Jason Skinner has been training horses for over 20 years and is coming off the best season of his life in terms of stable earnings ($731,839). The 40-year-old Maryland native who stables in Delaware owes that success in large part due to recent Armbro Flight winner Call Me Goo. Skinner is a third-generation horseman who worked hard to get his own farm and now trains a stable of about 25 horses. During some down time in the middle of the day he took the time to discuss his path in the sport as well as his current star trotting mare. How did you get started in harness racing? I’m basically third generation. My grandfather [Jimmy] had a bunch of horses and my dad [J Tim] always had three or four. I was jogging horses since I was 7 or 8 and was training by 10 or 11. You’ve been a licensed trainer since you were 18. Was there ever a chance you wouldn’t work in harness racing? No, it’s all I ever wanted to do. Your barn is focused in Delaware mostly. What’s it like to train and race there? I think it is a great place to race. Both of the tracks are pretty much centrally located. I have a farm in Greenwood, Delaware and I’m about 10 minutes from Harrington and 30 minutes from Dover Downs, and I pretty much race all year round there, so it is pretty nice. The purses are also good. So you have your own farm? Yes, it is 33 acres with a half-mile track and four barns. Was it a family farm or did you buy it as you had success? My wife and I worked really hard and it took us a long time to get the farm. I always wanted one and an opportunity came up. The farm was rundown pretty good and we’ve done a lot of upgrades to get it to where it is today. Over the last 20 years you’ve averaged just over $440K in earnings per year which equates to $22K in winning commissions. Is it hard to make a living as a Delaware trainer? I don’t know that it is hard. We own a lot of the horses, so that helps us. If you train for other people you probably have to do things different. We race a lot of young horses and buy a lot of colts every year while trying to do the Non-winner of 1, 2, 3 thing. If you are just training in Delaware to make a living you have to go with claimers because they go for a lot more money. How many horses are in your barn? About 25. What is your favorite track to race at? Why? Probably Rosecroft Raceway. I grew up there as a kid and sat by the fence before I could get into the paddock and watched every race. It just brings back childhood memories. What is your favorite thing to do outside of harness racing? Spend time with my wife [Susan] and two boys. What is one thing about you most fans/bettors don’t know? I don’t know, I’m pretty transparent. Probably that I get a little nervous when I’m racing [Call Me] ‘Goo’ or any good horse in a stake race. With overnight horses there is no pressure because there is always next week, so you don’t worry as much. What is one word that describes harness racing for you? Pure joy. What is the best advice you’ve ever gotten or given about harness racing? Mark Kesmodel once told me when I was young, ‘Don’t change anything. If it works for you, just keep doing it and stick to what you do.’ What was your best moment in harness racing? Winning the Legislator’s Cup on Harrington Fair day with the mare I own BJ’s Sweetheart [2015]. I purchased her for like nothing and she earned $400,000 including a leg of the Ontario Sire Stakes. She’s one of my all-time favorite horses. Which is the best horse you’ve ever trained? Call Me Goo. [DRF HARNESS: Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter] Call Me Goo just won the Armbro Flight at Woodbine Mohawk Park. Was that a fluke or do you see her going with the Jiggy Jog’s of the world? Jiggy Jog is a whole different beast, but beating the mares in that race wasn’t a fluke at all. I really believed if she got a trip she could beat them. Two weeks prior she was put in a spot where she had to go to the front and when you do that she just wants to go fast. Call Me Goo has won 18 of 25 career races. Is it fair to say she is still improving at age 4? Definitely. At ages 2 and 3 we babied her. Jonathan [Roberts] did a good job. We never pushed her. She raced with an ear hood and cotton in her ears. We always thought she had a lot of talent but I don’t know if we thought she would win in 1:51. We knew she was special for a Maryland-bred. Are there any other horses from your barn we may see on the Grand Circuit in 2024? Probably not. I have a [2-year-old] Sweet Lou colt who is ok. We are going to qualify him Tuesday [July 2]. We put him in a couple of [stakes] races for his 3-year-old season [next year]. This year we’re going to race him light. Your wife Susan has been working on PA Harness Week. What’s it like to have a TV personality in the family? It’s good. She really enjoys it. She likes getting dressed up and I think she likes being on TV. She gets up early Wednesday morning and does what she has to do so she can go shoot the show. Then she’ll come back and do whatever she needs to do. She goes above and beyond, that’s for sure. So Susan works with you in the barn? Yeah, every day. If you had the power to change one thing in the sport, what would it be? I would like unified rules. Can you foresee unified rules ever happening? No. The states need the money and they like control. They will never give up control. How do you view the future of harness racing? I think it is pretty strong. My oldest son sleeps and breathes it. He can probably tell you more about the Grand Circuit than I can. He never misses a race, so for his sake I hope it is strong. In Delaware, Ohio and Indiana, I think they are locked in and should have great programs for years to come because they are pro-agriculture. A lot of other states worry me a little bit but I think those are solid. In Delaware I’m on the Board of Directors and I think our future looks bright. Delaware was the first to get Racinos, no? We were the first ones to start with casino legislation and we have a lot of things that others states don’t have. We have to have racing to have a casino. We get a piece of table games, sports betting and now with online betting. Do you ever worry about the day when state government will try to take away the casino purses from you? You always have to worry about that. You have to make sure you speak your voice to the politicians and make sure they know that they need you. I think sometimes they forget how important this industry is to the community and how many jobs it produces. You have a few minor smudges on your record in the last handful of years in terms of Class 4 violations. Is it just inevitable that trainers are going to get some positives? When you have a lot of horses it is pretty much inevitable. It is hard to keep on top of everything and you are going to mess up at times and make mistakes. It isn’t hard to think one is in on a Tuesday and it turns out they are in on a Monday. I respect Ronnie Burke a lot and he has had a couple of positives. Deep down I think he runs a clean program. A lot of his positives are cross contamination, and with testing nowadays that can happen pretty easily. What does a day in the life of Jason Skinner look like? I get up and go to the barn and work all day. If I’m not racing at night I’ll cut the grass or clean something up. Pretty much the farm has consumed my whole life. Time for the stretch drive… Best Horse you ever saw:  I think Wiggle It Jggleit’s Little Brown Jug was the best one I’ve ever seen. He was one of the fastest and toughest horses. I told my son when we watched it, I don’t think you realize what you just saw. Lasix – Yes or No: Yes. If a horse needs it they should have it. I’m fortunate enough that ‘Goo’ doesn’t need it. One day she might and I’m not against it. Favorite TV Show: Yellowstone. Trotters or Pacers:  I would say pacers 90% of the time but lately I have a little bit of the trotting bug in me. We have a couple of Delaware-bred trotters that will go for $110,000 in a few weeks. We have two in the finals, a filly and a colt. They both won a division of the Sire Stakes. Once you get the gait solid on a trotter I think they are easy but sometimes it is tough getting to that point.