Winning Ponies

Mr. Ness is mainly based at Thistledown and Presque Isle. He is winning at 42% and 35% respectively, and has a 32% win percentage for the year. He won the training title at Tampa Bay Downs in 2009. Ness' father, John, who runs a small stable in Nebraska, put training in his blood. But conditioning wasn't in Ness' immediate plans. He served as sports editor of the Collegian, the South Dakota State University student newspaper, and worked in the sports department at the Brookings Register, a daily newspaper. Ness, 33, whose boyhood dream was to be a football player, began training horses in 1999. His patience was tested early. In his second year, the Heron, S.D., native lost 56 straight races. I never forget that, he said. Jamie will share his insights into racing, and what it takes for a trainer to make his mark in thoroughbred racing in these times.