Jimmy Devaux is real happy where he is

Trenton, NJ — It’s only fitting that Jim Devaux fishes in the Neversink River, a Delaware River tributary that runs behind his southeastern New York home. At the rate the 55-year-old is going, his performance as a harness racing driver may never sink below outstanding.

OK, Father Time will eventually catch up, but Devaux is giving him a darn good battle. In 2022, Jimmy D enjoyed a career year in purses at $3.12 million, won his second straight driving title at Saratoga Casino Hotel and for the first time in his career was named Horseman of the Year at one of his two home tracks.

“I’ve had a few titles over the years at Monticello and Saratoga,” Devaux said. “But I think my biggest accomplishment is the trophy I got for Horseman of the Year at Saratoga. I thought that was kind of special, and I really want to thank everybody who voted for me for that. That meant a lot.”

It also meant that a crop of good young drivers emerging in the sport realize that Jimmy D is still a presence.

“You gotta let the young guns know that you’re still there,” Devaux said with a laugh. “There’s a lot of young guys coming up that are pretty talented.”

There’s no doubt he’s letting them know as he approaches his 56th birthday in March. Devaux started this season with 28 wins and $158,803 in earnings after 157 starts. His 381 wins last year were the fifth best total of Devaux’s career (his best was 544 in 2017) but it was only the second time he surpassed $3 million in earnings.

With 6,839 career wins, Jim is 161 away from 7,000, a mark he should reach this year barring anything unforeseen. At this point, he’s getting used to the milestones.

“I pretty much take them in stride,” he said. “I was happy when I had 5,000 wins, I was real happy with that. And then six came up. I’m just real happy with where I am.”

He is aging gracefully, that’s for sure. Since turning 50, Devaux has won 2,252 races and recorded his first-, second- and fifth-best win totals in those six seasons. He had no idea of his career-best earnings mark in 2022 until he was informed about it for this story.

“I go into it week to week, day to day, and I don’t really think of things that way,” Devaux said. “Now that I’m thinking about it, I feel good about it for sure. As long as I feel good and feel healthy, I’m going to go out there.”

He was, of course, out there this past Saturday for Saratoga’s opening day, which is no surprise. His dad, Butch, raced at the upstate New York track. Jim grew up there and has been driving there all his life.

For Devaux, opening day is still special.

“It’s always good to start up,” he said. “Everybody had a little bit of rest, and I look forward to it. (Racing at Saratoga) means a lot to me. I really enjoy racing on the track. I enjoy racing anyway, it’s what I do. Same with Monticello. I just enjoy racing both tracks.”

Jimmy D is not one to set goals. He prefers to just grind it out each day and see what adds up at the end of the year. Obviously, his second straight track title was something to take pride in.

“At my age, yeah it does feel good,” he said. “I really don’t go into it looking for a title or anything like that. I go into it to race. I enjoy what I do. I love the competition, I love the racing, I just go into it and go week to week, day to day and just love what I do.”

Devaux looks back on last season with mixed emotions. He’s happy with the results, but unhappy with one of the factors that helped in his success.

“I did have a lot of good power stables, and unfortunately, Brett Beckwith got hurt early in the year, and his dad Mark put me on all his horses,” Devaux said. “I really started out great. I was driving his dad’s horses. We ran off a bunch of wins, that really kind of set me up to have a good year, I believe. But it was because Brett got hurt and I felt really bad for him.”

Along with Beckwith, Devaux had his usual cast of trainers supplying him with strong talent at Saratoga. He drives for Dave Dewhurst, Amanda Kelley and Brett Derue at Saratoga, and says “I’m fortunate enough to drive for them. They’re good people, good trainers.”

At Monticello, he teams up with Ken Koch, his brother Ken and sister-in-law Dawn, and his niece Nicole.

“I always keep it in the family,” he said. “Family first, no matter what.”

It is actually his family that keeps him in shape. Aside from fishing and hunting, Devaux has no workout regimen to speak of. His wife of 26 years, Tammy, and his daughters, 23-year-old Sam and 20-year-old Sissy, keep him busy enough.

“I’m very active, I do a lot of stuff around the house,” he said. “If my daughters’ cars need to be fixed, I’ll fix ‘em. I stay active.”

He’s remained active in the sport he loves for so long thanks in great part to Tammy. The two trained horses together and had a good sized stable until 2007 and Jim greatly increased his driving workload soon after. Her backing has meant everything.

“She’s been 100 percent right behind me and supportive,” Devaux said. “When we trained, she loved the horses. There would be nobody other than her I would want to take care of a horse the way she takes care of a horse. She just loves the business. And then we got out of that, and I started driving a lot because I can make a living doing that.”

He has made that living predominantly at his two New York tracks. Devaux has raced elsewhere at times, but the brunt of his starts each year are at Saratoga and Monticello.

“I’m comfortable at both those tracks,” he said. “But I don’t underestimate myself. If I went anywhere else, it’s not like I wouldn’t be competitive. I do believe I would be. Like I said, you gotta let them know you’re still there.”

Jim’s first race was in 1990 but he didn’t start driving at a fulltime pace until the turn of the century. With his experience comes knowledge, but in the Book of Jimmy D, it still comes down to instincts.

“You can read the program as much as you want, but there’s a lot of changes behind the car,” he said. “You’ve got to read the program and play the car. You got to be ready for it. You really got to stay focused and sharp. I don’t take any time off. Monticello races all year round, so that keeps me sharp.”

His down time comes when Saratoga shuts down and he’s able to steal a few days for himself and Tammy.

“I’m happy with that,” he said. “Having those few days off is pretty much my vacation time.”

Of course, when it comes to Devaux, his job is like a vacation in itself.

“This is what I love to do,” he said. “I love the horses. I just love the business.”

by Rich Fisher, for the USTA