Perhaps you don't think of the name Rick Plano when considering the greatest horsemen of the last century, but statistically he sits sixth all-time in training wins and would likely be in the top five if his victories from 1972 to 1991 were included in the tally. The New York native who now resides in Indiana also has over 7,200 driving wins on his record. In his sixth decade of racing, Plano, who spent more than 40 years racing in California, now splits time between Hoosier and Pompano Park. The 70-year-old took time from his schedule to discuss his journey in the sport, gambling, the closing of Pompano and much more. Sit back, relax and enjoy!    How did you get started in harness racing? My dad owned horses in the late 1960's and 70's. I had a few scholarships [football and wrestling] to go to college because I went to a small school in upstate New York and there weren't a lot of star guys because there weren't a lot of players. I was pretty good, but back in those days I didn't think college was so important. I wanted to be with the horses from the start.  During the summer I would hang out at the barns with my father's horses and the first job I got was with Jack Bailey. I worked for him as a groom for maybe six or eight months. Then I started working for Peter Mondi, who was a family friend. He basically taught me the ropes more than the other guys. They were just like "you have a job, do it" whereas this guy took me under his wing and showed me the ins and outs of things. Was there ever a chance you wouldn't be involved in the sport? Obviously there was a chance but it's what I wanted to do. The scholarship was sitting there and all moms want their sons to go to college but I spoke to my dad and told him I didn't want to go to school and would work for whoever has his horses. I wanted to be a driver and a trainer. The sport was way more popular back in those days. You've competed all over the country -- from New York to Florida to California. Can you take us on a brief journey of your career? I got my license and started driving in 1972. My dad had like five horses that he gave me to train. I was at Vernon, which is close to where we lived in upstate New York, that first summer. Then I went to Green Mountain Park [southern Vermont] in the winter. Then I went to Pocono for a while, then Delaware. That's when John Phillps became the GM of Northfield Park and asked me to bring my stable out there while saying he would pay for the shipping costs. I got married in Ohio and had my two kids there. I was there from 1975 to 1981 before moving to California. I was out there until 2012. At one point you left Cal Expo as your winter base for Florida. Why? California used to race in the south at Los Alamitos and then a short time in the north in Sacramento. Little by little for the last 10 years I was there it went from six months in the south and two-and-a-half months in the north to four months in the south and more in the north followed by no racing in the south and all in the north. In the north there was no money. I stayed in the north for about 10 years because Doc Albright who owned Los Alamitos kept telling us they would have a split meet and get us back in. I hung in there as a lot of the California boys like Joe Anderson, Gilbert Herrera and Lou Pena left about eight years before I did. Once you live in California it is hard to leave. Finally I had so many horses and couldn't get them raced so I was forced to leave. So I went to Indiana for the summer and Pompano for the winter.  What will you do next year with Pompano set to close in April? It is really starting to settle in with only about five weeks left. I might leave my race horses in Indiana [at Hoosier Park] with someone else during the winter to give them rest and buy some colts and train babies in the morning. That's a thought. Or if my wife has her choice we'll go back to California where my kids live and race a little in Sacramento. But the horses that I have may not be able to race at Cal Expo. They only have one Open and I'd need them to have an Open, Open II and Open III. What kind of car do you drive? BMW. Favorite dinner meal? Snack? Pasta, I'm Italian. Popcorn -- I have an air blower that is about 25 years old. What is your favorite track to race at? Why? Probably in Florida at Pompano because I do so well there. I always liked California and Los Alamitos was my favorite place to race. What is your favorite big event in racing? Why? The Meadowlands Pace and Hambletonian. I've had a couple of horses in those races. The Starting Gate was a horse we bought for $15,000 that was named for a bar across from Los Alamitos from my co-owner. He was beaten a [half-length] to Presidential Ball in the North America Cup [1993]. If there was a passing lane we would've won but John Campbell shut him off. By the time he got through it was too late and Presidential Ball beat us. He was eligible to the Meadowlands Pace and was favored to win one of the legs but got sick on the ship. We raced in the elimination and finished fourth but it kind of messed him up and he was too sick to race in the final.  How often are horses or racing on your mind? I've been doing it since 1972 so over the years I've probably bored the hell out of my wife [MaryAnn] because all I talk about is what I do every day. She's my biggest owner. I don't deal with many partnerships anymore and I own most of the horses myself. My wife does everything on the business end, which is a lot. I tell her all the time, I make the bacon but she has to cook it and it is a lot harder to cook it than make it. What is your favorite thing to do outside of harness racing? I like to ride my motorcycle to unwind. What is your favorite sport to watch? Team? It used to be football but now it is more golf because football is so violent now. I see these talented 20-25-year-old kids in golf now who can handle the pressure a lot better than the players in their 40s. It really amazes me. What is one thing about you most fans/bettors don't know? I'm a pretty emotional guy and a horse lover. I got into the business because I love horses and I love what I do every day. There are obviously days when we aren't at our best, but 98% of the time when I go to the barn in the morning and look at my horses it is a great day. A lot of people do this for the money but I'm a horse lover. I buy good horses and I don't abuse them. When I retire them we find them good homes and hope they live happily ever after. What is one word that describes harness racing for you? It used to be "great" when I was growing up, but it is more disappointing now. Thirty or so years ago when I got on an airplane people knew who I was and wanted my autograph. Now when I get on a plane they look at me like everybody else, I'm just a nobody.  You compete as both a trainer and a driver. Which are you better at? I want to think I'm a better driver but I get phone calls all the time from people that are having problems with their horses asking for my help or if I can take them, so I'm obviously maybe a better trainer than a driver. From the time I started out in my 20's I haven't lost too much as a driver. I've won a lot of titles but I'm not one of the top 10 drivers in the country. I hold my own out there and whenever I race I compete at a high level. I can read a program well. I know what I can and can't do, but I'm not a Walter Case, who for whatever reason could make a horse go very fast.  With over 7,200 driving wins and over 4,000 as a trainer, what do those numbers mean to you? Not much, really. It makes me feel good that I've done really well and made money at it, enough to have a good home and a nice car. It's been good to me. I'd say 75% of the people out there who do what I do struggle and live on a week to week basis. So many times I'll be in a race coming down the stretch and I'll see some guy knocking away [whipping his horse hard] and I'm sitting fifth or sixth. I'm not trying to miss a check, but in my mind if it works out that way, that guy probably needs fifth more than I do so they can put some food on the table and clothes on their kids' back. I know what it is like because when I was young I used to struggle because I had an old Italian father that didn't take mistakes very well. I never really got along with him when I got going because if he thought I should've won a race it didn't matter if I was in the house by myself or in the grandstand surrounded by people, he would read me the riot act on what I did wrong and what I should've done. He was a good guy at heart but we all have faults and that was one of his.  [EDITOR'S NOTE: USTA only has statistics for drivers from 1977 on and 1992 on for trainer so Plano's actual win totals are undoubtedly higher. He estimated 4,500 on the training side and 7,500 as a driver.] ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter How many horses do you currently have in your barn? 22. Now 70, do you see yourself slowing down at all? I really do, especially with Florida closing down. If I don't go anywhere next winter I'm definitely going to cut my racehorse stable down. My wife wants me to retire and vacation but every time I go away on a small vacation, whether it is a few days or a week, after a day or two I get bored and want to go home. So hopefully I'm getting out of that. I feel like maybe I can relax a little bit more now. We also have health issues and I'm 70 years old and have a few of my own. That in itself will make you slow down some. Which is the best horse you've ever trained or driven? I've had so many good ones but most were from California that I bought when they were young. They all won championships out there. The Starting Gate was one. Another one that raced in the Meadowlands Pace was Frankyluvsmeatballs. He was named after my father. He was by The Panderosa. I had a few horses that never lost a race in California as 2- and 3-year-olds. For a number of years I totally dominated California. Joe Anderson was a top guy out there and I claimed a cheap horse off him and he claimed two or three off me, he had some big-money owners. He ate [did poorly with] every one he claimed off me and I claimed three or four more off him. So he came to me and said "let's stop the bullshit." The bottom line is that guys like Ross Croghan and other bigtime guys out there in the 1980s and 90s -- Brett Pelling was working for Croghan out there and today he's one of the top guys in the business -- believe me when I tell you and I'm not bragging, I dominated them.  You've gotten some fines during your career for failing to pause while whipping and unsatisfactory drives. In today's culture, is there a fine line between what you feel is necessary for the horse and what the public thinks is ok? The thing that has changed in my mind is that the people that run the racetracks are casino owners now and they don't really care about the racing industry. All they know is that the casinos are going and they have to give us a certain percentage of what they make, and that is what keeps our racing going now. Back in the day I used to get fined for not whipping enough or lack of effort. The gamblers would have a table at the finish line. I was a gambler most of my life. I finally started making money about 25 years ago when I realized I wasn't that smart as a gambler and I stopped. The reality is that when I was betting on horses or other drivers, if I saw them coming down the stretch and they weren't whipping on that horse, I would say, "what are you doing?" Nowadays you can hit a horse three times and you have to stop or you can only lift your hand to your elbow and the whip can only be so many inches long. It has changed a lot in that respect. I don't know if that is a good part of it. I'm an old school guy. I always knew that a whip didn't make horses go faster. I always said it stops them from slowing down.  You mentioned being a gambler. Were you just betting on yourself to win? Of course. When you think you have a horse that can win, back in the day that is what horse racing was. My dad would go to the races every night and along with my mom they would be betting every race and thinking they were going to win. When you analyze the whole thing it is impossible to bet every race and win. It was the recreation in those days. Now horse racing is kind of dying because there are so many other things to do.  With purses much higher now, it seems that betting to make money as a horseman doesn't make financial sense? 100%. Where I race at Hoosier, the top race is $24,000. I have two trotters that make over $100,000 for the year and they have $50,000 already and I'm not even at Hoosier yet. If you cut a $24,000 purse in half that is $12,000. How much would you have to bet on a horse to make $12,000? It's almost an impossible feat. Which horse are you most looking forward to racing this year? I have a 2-year-old named Topville Somebeach. I bought him out of the sale for $40,000. I haven't messed around with babies in a while but I bought a couple this year for the reason I mentioned earlier, there is no more racing down here [Florida]. So I took a shot. I had a couple of friends that wanted to buy some young horses. I figured if one of them steps up I can go to the sale next year and buy a half-dozen. He's got a long way to go yet but he's shown me some progress. He's on my mind a lot. What is the best advice you've ever gotten or given about harness racing? It's a great business if you treat it right and do the right thing most of the time. Every day, no matter if I party until 3am, 5:30 the next morning I'm on my way to the barn. To me the best advice I can give is that you'll get out of it what you put into it.  What was your best moment in harness racing? I've won so many races with horses I've owned and I don't mean million-dollar Grand Circuit races since I spent most of my time in California, but those are the ones I remember. I had a good string of horses and won the Breeders Championship or Sire Stakes Championship for $50,000 or $60,000 with horses we owned ourselves and that is what vaulted us into the realm of doing well.  Are you looking forward to the meet starting at Hoosier at the end of March? Yeah. I've been down here [Florida] almost six months and I'm ready to go home. Racing is a lot more difficult up there, but it is a well-run racetrack and they keep the track up good. ► Celebrate the 10th anniversary of DRF Harness with FREE Harness Eye PPs Your son Luke has made a nice name for himself as well. How would you rate him as a horseman? When he started he didn't know anything. He just won because he worked for his dad and he could make horses go. Now I rank him as a top horsemen. He learned on his own and has done very well in the business.  If you had the power to change one thing in the sport, what would it be? I would change the way the rules are written from one track to another. It doesn't seem like it would be that difficult to have universal rules everywhere. To me that is one of the biggest problems in racing because what you can do at one track you can't do at another. How do you view the future of harness racing? I believe within the next 10 years or so there will be a half-dozen tracks that can survive. There are horse shortages all over. Every race track you go to or watch on RTN there are all short fields now. I would think that Yonkers, Woodbine, Hoosier, The Meadowlands and a few others could be the sole survivors. The small tracks like Vernon where I was raised they will eventually go away I think and the strong will survive.  If you weren't involved in harness racing, what would you be doing? My dad was a butcher and owned a supermarket in New York. When I was a kid I used to work in my dad's store. He made a living making Italian sausage. I know the formula and I make it for us. I believe that is what I would've done because I enjoy doing it. I don't know if you could survive doing that anymore but it made my dad a good living for many years. Time for the stretch drive... Best Horse you ever saw: Niatross Better driver you or Luke: I think my son is now. He's younger, more live and more aggressive. I don't need to be aggressive with the horses I have, but my son is a very good and competitive driver. Back 25 years ago when I was in California, I can't even tell you how many times he ran me over when I thought I could win, and I was betting back in those days. He would go by me and I'd go home and yell at his mother [laughing]. Lasix -- Yes or No?: Absolutely yes. Favorite TV Show?: I mostly watch sports. Trotters or Pacers?: Trotters by a mile. They are special. Pacers are a dime a dozen.