Scarborough, Maine – Wally Watson wasted precious little time in claiming the 1500th driving win of his 21-year career on Sunday, winning two of only three sulky-sitting opportunities on afternoon card at historic Scarborough Downs.
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Wally Watson
coasts to the
finish line
behind Kalamkari
on Sunday at
Scarborough
Downs to notch
his 1500th
career driving
victory – – photo by
Derek Davis |
Watson, in fact, claimed catch-driving victories in both ends of the late-daily-double wager, scoring win number 1499 in furious stretch-driving fashion to cajole Keystone Natalie home over Sheeza Shady Lady by a mere whisker, before reaching the cherished milestone with a front-running, open-lengths jiggy jog with the pacer Kalamkari.
“I was way too excited to even watch” said Kalamkari’s co-owner Rebecca Clough, “Wally’s driven for us since 1994. His mother Peggy got us started in the business and helped us pick out our first racehorse, Carburation, who Wally of course drove. We’re just so excited that he could get his 1500th win with one of our horses.”
Watson, a state of Maine native and a prototypical Down-easter, carries a reputation as a man of few words and is known as an absolute straight talker; qualities that have endeared him to his friends and associates.
“It’s all about honesty with Wally Watson” Clough continued, “He’ll always tell you the truth. You might not always want to hear what he has to say but you certainly have to respect his candor. I can’t say enough good things about Wally, we absolutely love him. He’s a first class guy.”
Watson’s benchmark performance at Scarborough Downs on Sunday proves that first class guys sometimes do finish on top – twice in fact, on this historic day.
Scarborough Downs proudly features live harness racing every Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening at 4:15 pm (EDT). The popular Sunday matinees feature a 1:30 pm post time.
