The first of many for John Urbanski

There wasn’t a dry eye in the harness racing winner’s circle after John James Urbanski scored his first driving win in the sixth race at Freehold on Saturday (Sep 14).

Those who follow Freehold racing know the Urbanski name well. Harness racing is a family affair for the Urbanskis. Brothers Ned and John as well as John’s two children, Alex and John James, can all be seen throughout a Freehold program on any given day.

All four of them train but beginning February 2024, John James has appeared on the program at Freehold as driver fifteen times. Mostly driving his own horses or horses for his father, 22-year-old Urbanski has started to put his name out there as a new up-and-coming driver. He joined the amateur ranks and has made starts at Ocean Downs, Harrah’s Philly, and even the Meadowlands.

His first win eluded him until today where he drove Real McCoy (Better Caviar) (who he owns and trains) in his first start after being claimed. It was an American Harness Drivers Club trot. The pair drew post position two. Urbanski said “I saw the one horse lacking off the gate so I figured I should go for the lead. I liked the way that my horse felt all week. I figured that was gonna be a good play for me.”

He was right. He captured the lead and set the pace for the rest of the mile at 10-1 odds. “Turning for home, I stepped on the gas. I heard the yells from the guys behind me get quieter and quieter and I knew I had it won.” He crossed the wire with a huge grin on his face. The time for the mile was 1:59.4.

REAL MCCOY REPLAY

Urbanski has been in the barn for as long as he can remember. His father’s operation runs right out of their backyard and they all work together to get it all done as a family. After countless stalls cleaned, miles on the road, early mornings, late nights, and horses fed, jogged, trained, and raced- it is moments like this that remind horsemen why they do what they do. John also spent time working at the Per Engblom stable all while still helping his family with their stable to even further his harness racing education.

“This makes all the work that I have done worth it. That feeling is so unbelievable. It’s the best feeling in my life”, Urbanski said.

Urbanski’s sister Alex, Uncle Ned, and girlfriend Holly ran to the winner’s circle with tears in their eyes and, of course, lots of hugs were in order. Real McCoy stood like a champ in the winner’s circle as the family celebrated a dream-come-true moment. Urbanski’s proud parents experienced the thrill from home and regretted that they couldn’t be there. According to Urbanski, a celebratory dinner is in the cards for the family.

Urbanski’s win was just one of many upsets on the ten-race card, with four race winners coming in at odds of 10-1 or greater. The card also saw an Austin Siegelman grand-slam and two divisions of NJSS SDF paces for 3-year-old colts and geldings. The first of which was won by Royal Desire and John Ahle in a blistering 1:52.2 for Kathleen and Donald LaMontagne in an early non-betting race. Arbitrage Hanover took the second division in 1:53.1 with Jim Marohn Jr in the bike for Brett Pelling.

Racing returns at Freehold Raceway next Thursday-Saturday with first post at 12:30pm.

For complete race results, click here: US Trotting results.

by Katie Eick, for Freehold Raceway