Attitude is everything for Logan Rowe

Logan Rowe has been involved with horses for as long as he can remember. 

The 28-year-old Urbana, Ohio native grew up in a harness racing family, but oddly enough, his first paying gig saw him working at a non-racehorse horse farm. 

“I was in high school when I started working for nearby riding horse farm,” Logan remembered. “I cleaned stalls and did farm hand chores, like pulling weeds, and cleaning up debris around the farm. Even though I lived on a farm too, I really didn’t have a lot of involvement with the race horses until I started helping Matt (cousin Rowe) out at his place. I did a little bit of everything for him from the time I was old enough to drive.” 

Logan attended Kenton Ridge High School, and then nearby Springfield’s JVS, before graduating in 2014. Although he began working construction almost immediately, it was the horses that eventually grabbed his full attention.  His father, trainer Dean Rowe, had assisted Matt and Mark Rowe with their training duties, and all had learned the business from their grandfather, Charlie Rowe. Mark and Matt built their own farm in Urbana in 1999 but stabled their racehorses at the Urbana Fairgrounds until building their own half-mile training track in 2022.

“I was 21 when I started working for Matt and Mark full time,” Logan explained. “I stopped working construction and began focusing on the mares and foals at the farm, and then started going to the races when we had one in to go. After five or six years, I decided that I wanted to focus on training, along with breaking the yearlings and looking after the mares and foals.” 

Logan’s vision had brought him far. In 2024, his first year holding a trainer’s license, his charges started 120 times, with 21 wins, 17 seconds, and 12 thirds to date, earning $171,299 with a UTRS of 0.292.  

One of Logan’s best horses is the 4-year-old mare Beautiful Seaside, p, 4, 1:50f ($186,795), a daughter of Downbytheseaside, out of the Your Nemesis mare Your Beautiful, owned and bred by Matt. She is a consistent performer in the Open divisions at Dayton and Scioto this season, earning $49,085 to date. Last year, she amassed $134,210 from ten wins in 19 starts. 

BEAUTIFUL SEASIDE WINNING AT SCIOTO DOWNS REPLAY

“She’s got a very nice athletic build and is a real sassy mare,” Logan asserted. “When she jogs, she likes to go a long slow gallop and seems to enjoy it, so I don’t try to tell her what to do.” 

Logan also conditioned multiple Ohio Fair Stake (OFS) winners his first season, including Robinthefire, a 2-year-old son of Catch The Fire, out of the Stand Forever mare Robinemblind. This gelding racked up two wins and four seconds in 12 starts, earning $19,322 for owners Matt Rowe, Levi Bontranger, and Rushcreek Stables. He captured a $7,160 OFS freshman colt pace at Findlay in 2:01.2 and took a career mark of 1:59.3 at Greenville. 

“This colt was always quick of foot,” Logan explained. “If he got spooked by something, he’d take off like a shot. He’s a tough colt. Even if he had some aches or pains, he’d go out there and fight.” 

Twice As Much was another success story for Logan, scoring OFS victories at Findlay (in 2:01.4), at Sidney (in 2:03), and at Washington Court House (in 2:03) this season. The son of Mr Apples, out of the Art Major mare Double Major, amassed $19,506 in 2024 from four wins and a third in eight starts. He took a record of 1:53.3 at Delaware on Sept. 19 in a $20,000 Buckeye Stallion Series division, drawing off for Chris Page by nearly eight lengths with a front-stepping performance. 

“He’s a horse that had a lot of bad luck, and got sick at times, so I’m hoping he’ll come back better at 3,” Logan noted. “He was kind of a bully and would mess with another horse, so we kept him by himself, which turned out to be kind of a curse, because he kept getting hung up in the fence. He did that three times this year. It was like he was bored when we turned him out by himself, but I definitely think he has the potential to be much better than he showed.” 

Madelines Cruzn Up, a 3-year-old Lather Up gelding, out of the Yankee Cruiser mare Spring Cruise, has earned $37,167 for Logan, taking a mark this season of 1:54f at Scioto Downs on June 12, and winning a $3,618 Sophomore Colt Pace at Urbana on Aug. 7 in 1:56.3 by 12 lengths. 

“I think a lot of the reason I had success this first year was that a lot of our babies that we race are homebreds, such as Beautiful Seaside,” he said modestly. “It’s pretty cool when you get to work with them from the very first day their born until race day. It’s a fantastic opportunity and one that I don’t think a lot  of people get to experience. You get to see the evolution of a foal, and a lot of their characteristics that carry over from day one. A lot of horses that we race are bred right here at the house. Also, I tend to be very laid back and let the horses dictate to me where they’re at in their training, and what they want to do. Some days they go out and feel full of themselves and you can tell by their demeanor early in the barn what kind of day they’re going to have. I think listening to the horse is a key in their training.” 

Having family and a racetrack on the farm are also a plus, Logan admits. 

“Basically, I have a two minute walk to work every morning, and the other positive is that we have a very family-oriented working environment,” Logan stressed. “Shari and Matt are always here, and their kids Josh (33), Dawson (23), and Elijah (18), also collaborate with the horses. Right now in the barn we have 17 racehorses, along with eight yearlings who will be 2-year-olds in a month, along with broodmares and some retired mares. We have some horses who are turned out on other properties as well, so when we bring all of them back, we’ll have round 20 racehorses to tend to.” 

Logan says while he feels fortunate to have been born into a harness racing family, he feels that it is important not to get stuck into a single way of doing things, and that a person can always learn from others. 

“I picked up stuff from Mark when he was still alive, and Matt is also a terrific resource,” he stressed. “I make it a point to listen to other trainers talk when they’re being interviewed from the Meadowlands, and I try to key in on a lot of the success from other trainers. This carries over into how I treat my horses. For instance, I don’t keep them on a set training schedule. Every horse likes to do different things. Ake (Svanstedt) says he does interval training and (Ronnie) Burke says horses need to sprint. We jog everything four miles here at the farm and if they’re feeling good, I might let them sprint a bit. I mix things up all the time, especially with the babies, as I don’t want to make it like an assembly line for these horses. 

“Any time it is nice outside all of our horses go out, where they can eat grass and just be horses,” Logan added. “I think that keeps the horse happy and healthy and I don’t think there’s too much that can beat having them go out and kick their feet up and enjoy the sunshine.” 

Logan says he also believes that having a good blacksmith is essential to success on the racetrack. 

“The guy who shoes for us is very sharp,” he acknowledged. “If I’m stumped with an issue, I’m not scared to ask questions of the blacksmith, the people I work with here at the farm, or another trainer. I’ve always been one to ask a lot of questions. Especially with the babies, I like to keep things simple. I don’t put a lot of rigging on them right off the bat. It’s not something I get carried away with, throwing a lot of equipment on them. I like to take the time to teach them to speed up and slow down, and I like to ease them into things. I don’t want to force a horse into doing something. With the farm, we’re extremely fortunate in that we can take our time out here. I’m not scared to give a horse the time they need to develop.”  

Logan said he feels the future looks bright for 2025 and beyond, especially regarding a quartet of recently purchased yearlings. 

“We have a Summa Cum Laude half-sister filly to Beautiful Seaside, a Dancing Yankee filly, a Racing Hill colt, and a Well Said colt that I’m pretty excited about,” Logan said. “They all are terrific looking yearlings with great pedigrees behind them.” 

Having a bit of luck never hurts the hopeful trainer either, Logan noted. 

“Luck is important,” he admitted. “But a lot of what happens with a stable comes down to talent, and having a laidback, easy going attitude. Having nice broodmares and top stallions that your yearlings come from is key too. If you give a guy a barn full of talent, then it figures that he’ll likely have rather good luck on the racetrack.” 

by Kimberly Rinker, for Harnesslink