Braiden Rhoades is a man with a plan

Harness racing driver Braiden Rhoades has a plan, and he’s sticking to it.

The 18-year-old Ashland, Ohio native recently scored his first-ever driving triumph, piloting The Bus A (Art Major) to victory in 1:57 on Nov. 15 at Northfield Park. The win, really, was a culmination of years of experience training horses, alongside his father Bill Rhoades, one of Northfield Park’s leading trainers.

“I’ve helped my dad since I was old enough to be in the barn,” Braiden said. “I live with my dad full time and have been working in the barn full time ever since I graduated high school.

Braiden graduated from Ashland High School this past spring and was active in both wrestling and baseball there.

“My cousin wrestled, and he got me interested in that, and my parents got me involved in baseball,” Braiden offered. “I liked baseball a little bit better, simply because I was better at it.”

While his parents are divorced, Braiden keeps close ties to his mother Brooke, who works for a pharmaceutical company, and to his three younger sisters, Lily, 16, Layne, 11, and Nova, 2. Braiden says he’s planning on taking over his father’s 53-horse stable at Northfield, once his father retires.

“My dad’s wife is a vet, and he wants to work with her as her assistant,” Braiden said. “I’ll be taking over the stable full time once he feels that I’m ready, and when I feel able to do so.”

Braiden, though still a teenager, speaks with a calmness and confidence way beyond his years, and it shows in his accumulation of training wins—which number 35 from 170 starts, along with 13 seconds, and 26 thirds with $278,664 in purse earnings. He holds a provisional license (P), and began driving last year, with just five trips behind the starting gate. This season, he’s had 37 pari-mutuel starts, and 50 qualifying efforts, and has a total of $10,520 amassed from his driving efforts.

“I’m still undecided,” said Braiden, when asked if preferred driving or training. “I’d like to drive, but if that doesn’t work out, then I definitely want to be a trainer. I’ve been fortunate to be around top guys like Aaron (Merriman) and Ronnie (Wrenn, Jr.), and they’ve given me a lot of tips. My grandpa, who passed away, taught me a lot, and Aaron especially has helped me—teaching me the basics, like keeping the bit in the horse’s mouth, staying on a helmet, and being up on the gate.”

Braiden did explain that if he had not decided to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather and become a horseman, he might have gone into criminal justice and law enforcement.

“I like the thought of catching the bad guys,” he stressed. “And it’s fun to look at all the evidence surrounding a police case.”

Besides learning the business firsthand from his father, Braiden admits there are several other trainers he looks up to as well.

“My dad has taught me everything you can learn about the business—how to shoe, the different ways to keep horses healthy—basically everything you need to know from top to bottom,” Braiden admitted. “But I really admire Ronnie Burke—he’s the greatest—and Brian Brown, my dad looks up to him too, and he’s a very good horseman.”

Braiden says the best part of the business is just spending time with the horses.

“The horses teach you so much, and the best part of being a horseman is getting to spend time with them, and learning new things each day,” he said reflectively. “For instance, one time in a qualifier, a front hobble came down, and the horse went on a break, and I had to work to get him back pacing, and then I was able to get him stopped, and avoided something bad happening.

“Another time, someone hooked wheels with me, and their horse went sideways and fell down, but my horse and I, we just kept on going,” he added. “Those are the kinds of things and situations that you learn that nobody can really teach you. You have to learn those things on your own. I’ve learned a lot so far and hopefully; I can continue to do good things.”

by Kimberly Rinker, for Harnesslink