Widger was already 23 when he began racing because, “I didn’t grow up with the horses. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. So I kinda fell into it.” (Press Pros Feature Photos)
One of the OHHA’s most affable drivers counts on relationships, good horses, and good instincts to get the most out the time he has left on the track. “Until God tells me not to race,” says Sam Widger.
Columbus, OH — Sometimes a person falls into something they cannot climb out of, and in the end…they never want to climb out.
And it leads to what a guy like 62-year-old Sam Widger says when he is asked when he will quit: “When God tells me not to race.”
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So far the Almighty is as silent as a horse stall at 3 a.m. when it comes to telling harness driver Widger, “Hey, put away the reins and relax in a La-Z-Boy.”
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He is deep into more than 8,000 wins and counting, currently in fifth place in the Scioto Downs driver standings with far fewer rides than the four drivers ahead of him.
In was the early 1980s when Widger abandoned a college education and took a job cleaning stalls, knowing nothing about harness racing.
It was 1985 and Widger’s father, James, was assisting the construction of an equine spa near Quad City Downs.
While Widger was cleaning a stall, a trainer asked him if he’d like to jog a horse.
Widger said yes and went for a ride on the wild side.
“The horse ran off with me,” he said. “So at the very beginning I was intimidated by horses.”
That didn’t last long, especially after he and his father began training horses together and Widger began a lifetime living with, and breathing with, standardbreds.
“I starter late, but just stuck at it,” says Widger. “It’s been a Cinderella run. That’s what it’s been.”
On this day at Scioto Downs, Widger had just finished third in the third race behind the two favorites, driven by the tracks top two drivers — Chris Page and Luke Hanners.
Widger was proud of his ride with a horse named Where There’s Smoke.
“A great race. It was like a win for him,” he said. “He’s not an easy horse. He’s hot and cranky, but he’s got a lot of ability. We finished third out of the nine hole, so that was really good.”
Widger drove in three other events on the 14-race card: fourth in the sixth behind La Joya, second in the 11th with Pump Action, and perhaps his best showing in Race 12.
The Mandaloa was a 28 to 1 longshot and Widger brought it home third.
The man can drive.
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Widger was born in Canton, Ill. and began racing there, “But Illinois was starting to faze out for a long time.” So Widger ended up going to Indiana in about 2010.
“I raced there for about 12, 13 years, then I started coming to Miami Valley in the winter time,” he said about the track near Lebanon. “And I met a lot of people and did that for four or five years.”
Then three or four years ago he decided to go to Scioto, part of the season triumverate of Miami Valley, Scioto and Dayton Raceway.
“I can talk about horses forever, but the people I’ve met, ya’ know…this is like a family and the relationships are so great.”
“I decided to give Scioto a shot, y’know,” he said. “All my kids (five of ‘em) are grown and gone and they don’t need me anymore and that’s a good thing.”
And it was a good thing for the horses because Widger had time to give them his full time and attention.
Widger was already 23 when he began racing because, “I didn’t grow up with the horses. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. So I kinda fell into it.”
After his wild jog ride, Widger didn’t back down and said, “I just stuck at it and it has been a Cinderella run, is what it has been.”
Amazingly, his first winner was behind a steed named Harley’s Hog and, no, it wasn’t a motorcycle.
“It was for an older guy, an ex-educator who just had a few horses and his name was Harley,” said Widger. “And that little horse paid like $156 to win at Fairmount Park in Illinois.”
Asked about his favorite wins, Widger paused and let out a whew, and said, “I’ve won a lot of good ones.”
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A couple of them immediately popped into his mind — The Dan Patch in 2013 for one.
“I wasn’t even programmed to drive, but the driver was out of Canada and couldn’t make it,” he said. “So I picked it up that day and won.”
And speaking of horses, he named a little filly named Juxtaposition from 1997.
“She was kinda my breakout stakes horse,” he said. “I really wasn’t known as a catch driver at that point. She won a bunch of the races and a final in Illinois.”
It’s so obvious…that the affable Widger and his shiny personality love talking about racing almost as he loves doing in them.
“You know what? Probably over the years I can talk about horses forever, but the people, y’know, the people I’ve met and grown to know, the relationships, are so great,” he said.
“You compete against each other, but yet we’re a family, a close family,” he added. “And I’m a family man. It’s important to me.”
So his constant competitors are his family — Chris Page, David Miller, Luke Hanners, Brett Miller, Tyler Smith, Trevor Smith, Cameron McCown, Ronnie Gillespie, Jeremy Smith, Austin Hanners…all the regulars.
“The people are great and it’s a whole diverse group,” said Widger. “Everybody’s different, right? But in the horse aspect, even though we do the same thing every day, we deal with animals that are just like you and me.
“They’re all different,” he said. “You learn their personalities as you go along, the more you drive them. Definitely, though, that’s the big key to driving horses…maximizing their strengths and minimizing their weaknesses.”
Now that’s a whole bunch of horse sense from a guy full of every type of positive senses.
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