Nick Graffam perfectly content where he is

Trenton, NJ — Few people are completely content with their lot in life. They are constantly looking for higher-profile jobs, better pay, more recognition. The list goes on.

Harness racing driver Nick Graffam is one of the few.

At age 32, the lifelong Maine resident is perfectly content driving three New England tracks; Plainridge Park in Massachusetts as well as First Tracks Cumberland and Bangor Raceway in his home state. Those may not be the epicenters of the sport, but along with great lobster, Graffam is enjoying success, traveling reasonable distances, working with his family and making a good living.

The bright lights of, say, The Meadowlands would draw unwanted attention to Nick.

“I’m the kind of guy that likes to be right below the radar; it takes the pressure off,” Graffam said. “I’m pretty content with where I am. I’ve got three tracks I can drive to, all two hours away.

“Being raised in Maine, I don’t really have connections outside of racing where I am now. It’s just tough to go somewhere when I’m already established here. I just don’t feel the need to have to travel to try to get more success.”

And why should he? Since becoming a driver in 2013 at the “advanced” age of 22, Graffam has 988 wins and over $8.5 million in earnings in 7,768 starts.

This season, the Falmouth resident has 14 victories and $122,884 in earnings in 99 starts. He is third with eight wins at Cumberland, where he finished in a tie for sixth and eighth the past two years. Bangor, where he finished sixth in 2022, opens today (May 3). Nick is having a slow start at Plainridge, where he finished fourth in 2022 and third in 2021.

He’s not too concerned, figuring things are picking up.

“It’s one of those things where there’s a bunch of drivers there all trying to do the same things as I am; and it’s whether or not you’ve got the power enough to do it,” Graffam said. “(The horses) are starting to get in better shape. Obviously, Maine starts later than everyone else, just to get into race shape takes three or four starts. But they’re getting there. I think everything’s getting better weekly.”

Despite being raised with horses, Graffam is the least likely guy to be a driver for those who knew him as a youth.

Nick’s dad, trainer Mike Graffam, has owned and operated their historic Norton Farm stable in Falmouth since the 1990s. It is historic because it is a pre-Revolutionary War site, founded by Graffam’s descendants in 1742.

Loring Norton, Nick’s great-grandfather, began racing horses and when his son, also Loring, passed away, Mike took over.

“My sister (Bethany) and I were raised on the farm; I’m the 13th generation to work at the farm,” Graffam said.

Considering the scenario, Nick was probably chomping at the bit to start a driving career, right?

“That’s not how it went at all,” he said.

Oh.

So, how did it go?

“I didn’t like school that much,” he said. “I did the work-study program, where I’d come home, work at the farm, my dad would report back to school what I did, and I’d get credits for working there.”

Apparently, it was the lesser of two evils.

“I absolutely hated it,” Graffam said. “But I hated being in school. I’d rather be home than be in school. I didn’t have any interest in driving. I don’t even think I jogged a horse until I was, maybe 14 or 15.”

After graduation, Nick worked at the barn cleaning stalls, haying, doing tractor work in the fields, and any other odd job that needed doing.

“I did whatever my dad wanted me to do,” he said. “I wasn’t a big fan, but it grew on me.”

It grew due to necessity. Since Nick was not working anywhere else, money started to become an issue. He finally decided to give driving a shot.

“Most guys start when they’re 16, and I didn’t start driving until I was 22,” Graffam said. “After the first few paychecks, I started getting a little money and I was like ‘All right, I can make a little money driving, I’m all right doing this.’

“It just turned into more and more. I got better horses, made more money and I was addicted. I always had a need for speed, I always wanted to go fast. The faster the better. Being in a race has almost become like slow motion to me.”

Graffam’s first win came in an afternoon fair at Cumberland — just three miles from his home — in 2013 when he only had a qualifying license. After getting his provisional, Nick won in his fifth start at Scarborough Downs, but still rated the fair win a bigger thrill.

“Probably my first win was the special one,” he said. “It was one of my favorite horses, Fox Ridge Joey. I was parked three-quarters of a mile right from the seven hole. We left out of there, got parked, the course cleared at the three-quarter pole, and I won by a neck. I’ll never forget it.”

In 2017 things began to click. Graffam won 129 times and his mounts earned over $920,000. He had his first million-dollar year in 2018 and, after two solid campaigns, earned a career-high $1.91 million in 2021 followed by $1.82 million last year.

Nick felt his success was a combination of improved driving and better horses.

“The more you’re out there the more you’ve learned,” Graffam said. “You have better technique and management and where to place your horses and all that kind of stuff. Getting hooked up with George Ducharme (in 2019) down at Plainridge has really kind of boosted my purses and stakes; I’m driving a lot better quality horses. I have to attribute a lot to him.”

One of Ducharme’s better ones was 2-year-old female trotter Tennessee Lindy, who Graffam drove to a Massachusetts Sires Stakes title in 2021. Graffam also won a Massachusetts Sire Stakes championship that season with 3-year-old female pacer Purameri, trained by Jessica Okusko.

His top win last year came with Wolverina. The Mike Graffam-trained filly won the Maine Standardbred Breeders Stakes final for 3-year-old female pacers at Bangor Raceway. She was also second in the Massachusetts Sire Stakes championship at Plainridge and, in 2021, won the Maine Standardbred Breeders Stakes final for 2-year-old female pacers.

“My dad bred her and raised her and we trained her down,” Graffam said. “It’s nice when you put all that work into breaking them as a baby to have that much success. It’s a good feeling.”

Nick also won the 2021 MSBS final for 3-year-old female pacers with another of his dad’s horses, Justcallmecasey.

As he continues to pile up wins, Graffam finds himself close to a milestone. He needs just 12 for 1,000.

“When you start driving, it seems like it’s gonna take forever to get to a thousand,” he said. “Then you race against people like (Nick’s cousin) Bruce Ranger who’s coming up on 10,000, it really makes you feel like I haven’t really done that much yet. But 1,000 is a good milestone.”

His favorite numbers, however, have dollar signs in front of them.

“I really only care about the money column,” Nick said. “They don’t give you anything special for a certain amount of wins.”

The money end of it has been pretty good for Graffam in recent years. He has been able to build a house for himself and fiancee, Natalie Michaud, who he plans to marry June 1, 2024. He also purchased some land in Northern Maine that he has plans to build on.

Natalie works at Norton Farm with Nick’s sister, Bethany, who was named the 2022 Fair Island Farm Caretaker of the Year, sponsored and presented in conjunction with the U.S. Harness Writers Association.

“We’re very proud of that,” Graffam said. “She puts in long days, she’s on the road to Plainridge just like we are. She does a lot of catch paddocks for other people as well as our horses; and really a lot of the paddock help is probably the biggest thing when you’re racing. If you have someone to take care of your horses, I don’t have to stress about it when I’m on the track or my dad’s out warming up, getting somebody else’s horse ready. It’s great peace of mind.”

There’s no doubt that Nick is in a relative comfort zone these days. Things are going well at the stable, which is home to 55 horses (23 that race), and he’s getting a lot of catch drives along with driving the majority of his dad’s horses.

“It’s always good to get better horses to drive,” he said. “I’m not gonna turn them down if the opportunity arises, that’s for sure.”

He’s getting just enough good horses to keep his winnings high, while keeping his stature just low enough to stay under the radar.