Trainer John Bax has been involved in harness racing since the late 1970's and has won many of the top races in the sport including the Breeders Crown and Maple Leaf Trot. The 2001 Trainer of the Year in Canada who specializes in trotters, currently has a strong group of 2-year-olds eyeing the Mohawk Million and Breeders Crown.  Now 68, Bax has moved into more of an oversight and on-track training role as his son Matt handles the more tedious parts of the business in the barn, but he still loves the game and was happy to spend a few minutes discussing his journey in harness racing.  How did you get started in harness racing? My father [William] bought a farm with 40 Standardbreds on it when I was in my early 20s. We had no experience before that. We went through those 40 and learned on them. As it turned out none of the 40 were any good but you learn a lot on bad ones. You said that harness racing wasn't on the landscape for you early in life. What were your plans? My father had worked with horses back in Holland in the old country so he was familiar with them for sure. I had just gotten out of university at the time we got started. I grew up on a dairy farm and we had dairy cattle. He sold the dairy cattle and bought the horse farm so it was all hands on deck.  Who most helped you start your career? I went to the track and worked for Carmen Hie. He had a first trainer named Joe Heath who took me under his wing. So I spent a year at the track and worked for Carmen. What kind of car do you drive? Toyota. Favorite dinner meal? Snack? T-bone steak and potatoes; peanuts. What is your favorite track to race at? Why? Right now it is Mohawk because it is only five minutes away. Over the years I always loved racing at a little track called Hanover in Ontario. It is a half-mile track which I had a lot of success over. It is the best racing surface in Ontario.  What is your favorite big event in racing? Why? The Hambletonian is on my bucket list. I've raced in the Elitlopp and I'd like to win that. The Maple Leaf Trot is great. Those are three special races in this business. You mentioned the Hambletonian is on your bucket list. Is that the one race missing from your résumé in your eyes? There is a lot missing but it is the race you'd want to win for 3-year-olds. How often are horses or racing on your mind? 90% of the time. What is your favorite thing to do outside of racing? I always played a lot of sports. I've given it up now but I played old-timers hockey, basketball, soccer, baseball. I love competing in sports. What is your favorite sport? Team? I'm Canadian so it has to be hockey. I don't tell anyone this but I am partial to the [Toronto] Maple Leafs. I am old enough to remember the last time they won the [Stanley] Cup [1966-67]. What is one thing about you most fans/bettors don't know? Maybe how competitive I am. What is one word that describes harness racing for you? Challenging. You've trained a number of top horses during the years including Goodtimes, Duke Of York and Define The World. Does one stand out above the others? Goodtimes, partly because of when he came along. It was a little after we started out and I had a young family. We owned half of him and he got us going. I always tell people that he bought a lot of shoes for the kids and groceries. He also helped buy a lot of yearlings. He's special and is actually still here on the farm. He's 31 or 32 now. His eyes still burn bright. He was very competitive. You have 246 wins as a driver and over 900 (since 1992) as a trainer. What do those numbers mean to you? Not a whole lot. I don't dwell on it. I think I'm more proud of the trainer part. I don't consider myself a driver. I drove like a trainer. I guess it just means I've been doing it a while. You switched to a focus on just trotters in the 1990's. Why? The number one reason was that we were doing better with trotters. I think they are more challenging and it takes more skill to get one to stay trotting. It was king of a combination of we were doing well with them and simply enjoying dealing with them. Pacers go so fast but to me they are a dime a dozen. I don't use trotting hobbles a lot. When I have to I do, but I guess I'm a purist. They are great for the sport and I don't knock them. I spent a lot of time with Carl Allen, he was a great horseman, and he was the one who kind of made it alright to wear trotting hobbles. What about the filly Righteous Resolve who won the Peaceful Way. Will she be in the Mohawk Million? I'm not so sure the owners want to pony up the money for it. She's in Thursday as well. I agree that the fillies can go with the boys but if the owners are looking at the Breeders Crown, do they beat her up in the Mohawk Million or save her? [EDITOR'S NOTE: This interview took place before the draw for the Mohawk Million and Righteous Resolve wasn't entered.] How many horses are currently in your barn? Right now we are training about 17. You now work in concert with your son Matt. At 68, how much of the work are you still doing? [Laughing] I'm into delegating. Matt does the hands-on. I still drive horses every day but I let him do all the heavy lifting because my bones creak a little. At what point do you see yourself walking away from the sport? Do horsemen ever retire? I still enjoy it. I don't need the day-to-day anymore of the bills and paperwork. I certainly enjoy being with the horses. I love going to the sales but sometimes I'm like those people that eat too much, sometimes my appetite is bigger than my budget. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter What was your best moment in harness racing? Winning the Maple Leaf Trot with Goodtimes was pretty special. A close second is when he finished third in the Elitlopp. That was pretty special. The whole experience, I've been there four times, it really opened my eyes. It is a sport over there. It is more money-oriented here.  Looking at your career, while your starts are consistent the performance in terms of earnings are up and down in three to four year intervals. Is training like riding a roller coaster in some ways? It always boils down to how you pick them. If you are training bad horses you are not going to make money and if you pick bad ones, I don't care how good of a trainer you are they are never going to make you money. Sometimes it is circumstances, sometimes it is poor picking. For Matt and I, we are on a two-year cycle. You buy yearlings and race them at 2 and 3 before getting rid of them. You just keep rotating. I've had years when I didn't have anything in the Gold [Ontario Sire Stakes] up here and this year I have five 2-year-olds and one 3-year-old in the Gold. We got along well with offspring of Balanced Image and some offspring you don't have luck with, so I guess it does go in cycles. If you had the power to change one thing in the sport, what would it be? My one pet peeve is the track is too hard. They don't listen to me anymore because I always complain about it. You go over to the track to warm up at 6:00 and they haven't even started yet. They haven't even cut it. It's frustrating. How do you view the future of harness racing? Up here they have online betting now and we are not getting a fair shake there. I guess I'm glad I'm at the end and not at the beginning because I don't see the alliance with the casinos working out too well. They don't care too much about horses. It could be a happy marriage if we worked together but it seems like they put up with us because they have to, not because they want to make racing better. I'm not real bullish on the future but I hope it keeps going. If you are going to make a living at it you better like it. If you weren't involved in harness racing, what would you be doing? I'd be a farmer of some sort. I like working on land. I grew up on a dairy farm and I enjoyed it.  Time for the stretch drive. Best horse you ever saw: Niatross. Best driver ever: Keith Waples and John Campbell as 1 and 1A. Favorite horse in your barn: They never stay that long in our barn. I guess the favorite right now would be Duly Resolved. He was pretty special last year and he seems to be coming along now.  Lasix -- Yes or No?: No.  Favorite TV Show?: NCIS.