“It’s Inconceivable” -- Meet Dave McCaffrey
By Ron Uchman

The “inconceivable” part came when we were discussing the apparent waning interest in Harness Racing. The whole quote was ”It’s inconceivable that anybody would want to sit in a smoky room and pull a handle or push a button playing slots when they could be outside, enjoying the weather, watching and playing horses.”

The 38-year-old McCaffrey, unlike so many in this sport, doesn’t come from a racing family but his father did like to play. Growing up in the Quad Cities area, he would accompany his father to Quad City Downs every third or fourth Thursday and it was at that time he got the bug.

Once he got into high school and learned how to drive, he and Marcus Hersh (currently a correspondent for the Daily Racing Form) would tell their parents that they were going to the library but would sneak to QCD instead.

After high school Dave got a degree in business at St. Thomas in Minnesota, then later wound up at Morrisville College in New York where he entered the Master Horse Program and took classes in horse anatomy, physiology, stable management, and nutrition therapy. The school also offered classes in harness racing. They would have classes in the morning and go to the barn in the afternoon. Then, as part of a summer program, using donated horses, they raced in county fairs and, during this time, they were entirely in charge of all facets of running a stable.

When he got into training as a profession, the first horse he got was owned by a couple of guys who wrote tip sheets. He planned to race the horse, Caduceus, at Fairmont but instead took him to Maywood where he reeled off four or five wins in a row.

Writer/handicapper Tom Krish took notice. He wrote an article about Caduceus in the Sun Times without telling McCaffrey that he was doing it. When he found out, Dave wrote a thank-you letter to Krish. Tom was so surprised that he got a thank-you letter, he wanted to meet McCaffrey. While they didn’t become fast friends, McCaffrey’s unexpected response must have struck a chord. About a year later, a retired couple, Bud and Micki Marshall, contacted Krish in search of a trainer. Tom recommended McCaffrey. Over a two or three-year period, the couple bought about 20 horses for him to train.

It’s been quite awhile since those events took place. Now, McCaffrey is an established trainer on this circuit. Just Saturday, his Live Out Loud, who they bought as a yearling, emerged victorious in the $53,500 Jimmys Pilot and boosted his earnings to just a hair under $500,000.

When he first started training on this circuit, Dave didn’t know how long he would last. He marked the days by buying 50-count boxes of Q Tips and using one a day. Every time he reached the end of a box it was cause for a minor celebration because he had made it that far. He doesn’t do that anymore. He’s up to the family size now.