Seekman ready for another big season

Hinsdale, IL — Travis Seekman is a couple weeks into his 18th season as a professional harness racing driver and the arrow is pointing upward for the modest Michigan native. The 32-year-old Seekman is coming off his best campaign in the sulky, going over the $1 million plateau in purse money for the first time.

One of the chief reasons why Travis had 102 winning drives in a shortened Illinois racing season along with $1.11 million in money won, his best ever, was another stellar season by the veteran Gerry Hansen trained ICF trotter Talk About Valor (Yankee Valor).

For the second consecutive year the gutsy now 8-year-old star of the Hansen stable was named the Illinois Aged Male Trotter of the Year and justifiably so. Talk About Valor captured 13 of 26 starts and banked $155,423 for his owner Shelley Steele. Nine of those victories came in prairie-state Open trots, all with Seekman at the lines.

Travis took over the driving chores behind the trotter in May 2021 after the Yankee Valor gelding had been sidelined since mid-September of the previous year. Talk About Valor was scratched out of the Plesac final in Hawthorne’s 2020 Night of Champions after tearing a suspensory.

Seekman’s achievement with the talented trotter over the past two years has been extraordinary — 20 victories in 37 tries. However, Travis says all the praise should go elsewhere.

“All the credit to Talk About Valor’s success should go to Gerry (trainer Hansen),” said Seekman. “He’s done a great job with Talk About Valor over the last couple of years, especially when you consider all the suspensory problems the horse has had to deal with. Gerry picks his spots with the horse well. When he does race him, the horse is always ready for a big effort.

“Talk About Valor is an easy horse to drive. He’s versatile. You can race up front or from behind and he always gives you his top effort. He’s a game and gutsy horse and it’s been a pleasure to drive him.”

Seekman guided Talk About Valor to an easy four length, first place qualifying finish Wednesday (April 12) at Hoosier Park with a 1:58.4 clocking. Travis was content to take a two-hole trip behind the pacesetter who went to the three-quarters in a leisurely 1:29.4.

Last year Travis also handled the Tim Roach trained ICF youngster Ghost Shark in his initial season when he made $63,056 and took a mark of 1:51.3 in a division of Du Quoin’s Director’s Cup.

Ghost Shark dropped his first six career starts, racing mostly on the front end, before winning out of a hole at Du Quoin in late August and following a week later with a triumph in his Incredible Finale elimination racing in similar fashion. He finished second in the championship, his last race as a 2-year-old.

“I had little choice but to race him on the front early on because he was strong headed. They made some rigging changes on him, and he became much more manageable. The horse can pace a quick quarter,” said Seekman.

“Ghost Shark was as good as any in his division, one of the best ICF freshman groups in years. He’s grown a little over the winter, but he was a big horse as a 2-year-old. He’s starting to mature and was a perfect gentleman in his recent qualifiers.”

Ghost Shark went to the front in his first qualifier on March 18 at Hoosier Park and came home in :27.1 at the end of his winning 1:54 mile, pleasing Travis.

“The idea was to race him on the lead and use him for just the last quarter. It was a cold and windy day, and the judges took two or three seconds off what was needed to qualify, so we were happy with his race.”

Ghost Shark again qualified on another windy morning two weeks later on April 1, cutting leisurely fractions of :28.4, :58.3 and 1:28.4, before finishing first in 1:57.2.

by Mike Paradise, for the IHHA