Dawg’s Big Players
Every sport has its heroes. Dawg's taking you into the paddock to
introduce you to the trainers and drivers at the top of their game.
Jody Jamieson
Birthplace - Truro, Nova Scotia
Birthdate - November 6, 1976
Residence - Dundas, Ontario
Colours - Green - Yellow - White
Favourite Driver Growing Up - Bill O’Donnell
Favourite Race - Confederation Cup
Favourite Sports Team - Toronto Maple Leafs
Favourite Athlete - Wayne Gretzky
Favourite Movie - Speed
Favourite Actor - Sandra Bullock
Hobbies - Hockey
Why he’s sulky: Like Babe Ruth, Jody called his shot last year with Tell All, promising trainer Blair Burgess that he would drive Tell All to a 2007 North America Cup victory. I guess you could call it a literal game of H.O.R.S.E!
Randy Waples
Birthplace - Toronto, Ontario
Birthdate - July 31, 1965
Residence - Moffat, Ontario
Colours - Blue - Gold
Favourite Driver Growing Up - Ron Waples
Favourite Race - North America Cup
Favourite Sports Team - Whoever Gretzky played for
Favourite Movies - Pulp Fiction and Wizard of Oz
Favourite actor - James Stewart /Olivia Dehavilland
Hobbies - snowmobiling, jogging, working out...considered an acting career prior to attaining harness racing success. –
Why he’s sulky: Waples was “blacklisted” from the Score interviews for four months after jokingly referring to Austin Powers character “Allotta Fagina” during an on-air interview. No answer on if he had said “Fat Bastard”, whether there would have been repercussions.
Rick “The Whip” Zeron
Birthdate - September 8, 1956
Birthplace - Ottawa, Ontario
Residence - Oakville, Ontario
Colours - Blue -White -Red
Favourite Drivers Growing Up - Andre St. Amour, Jim Lancaster
Favourite Races - Hambletonian and Maple Leaf Trot
Favourite Sports Team - Toronto Maple Leafs
Favourite Athlete - Magnus Ver Magnusson (world’s strongest man)
Favourite Movie - Shawshank Redemption
Favourite Actors - Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci, Al Pacino
Hobbies - cooking, golf, home repairs
Why he’s sulky: Received his nickname for his habit of tossing his whip into the crowd after a victory. The action bred many copycats until Dave “The Helmet” Smith was banned from racing for causing too many injuries.
Mike Saftic
Birthplace - Sudbury, Ontario
Birthdate - December 3, 1961
Residence - Milton, Ontario
Colours - Blue-Red
Favourite Drivers Growing Up - Keith & Ron Waples
Favourite Race - Little Brown Jug
Favourite Sports Team - Toronto Maple Leafs
Favourite Athlete - Joe Theisman
Favourite Movie - North Dallas Forty
Favourite Actor - Nick Nolte
Hobbies - golf, curling, shuffleboard, spending time at the cottage
Why he’s Sulky: Saftic has topped $2 million in earnings for 17 straight years. With numbers like that, they say the only sure things are death and taxes, but they might have to add Mike Saftic to that list.
Chris “Baby Greek” Christoforou
Birthdate - October 17, 1971
Birthplace - Hamilton, Ontario
Residence - Milton, Ontario
Colours - Light Blue-White-Gold
Favourite Drivers Growing Up - Doug Brown & Steve Condren
Favourite Race - Meadowlands Pace
Favourite Sports Team - Detroit Red Wings
Favourite Athlete - Steve Yzerman
Favourite Movie - Pharlap
Favourite Actor - Anthony Hopkins
Hobbies - golfing.
Why he’s Sulky: One of Canada’s top drivers, at 5’11”, Chris is also one of the tallest. But I think Baby Greeks’ 3 O’Brien trophies challenges the notion that you have to be mini to be major.
"Super" Mario Baillargeon
Birthplace: St. Hubert, Quebec
Birthdate: 07/27/57
Residence: Milton, Ontario
Colours: Red-Green-White
Favourite Driver Growing Up - Herve Filion
Favorite Sport - Football
Favourite Sports Team - Detroit Lions
Favourite Athlete(s) - Ken Griffey Jr. & John Campbell
Favourite Movie - The Godfather
Favourite Actor - Martin Drainville
Hobbies - Racquetball
Why he’s Sulky: It’s not just a nickname; if I was casting a live-action “Super Mario Bros.” movie, we could cast Baillargeon, stick a red cap on him, and not waste a penny on makeup.
Paul Mackenzie
Birthdate - February 12, 1961
Birthplace - Charlottetown, P.E.I.
Residence - Puslinch, Ontario
Colours - Red-Black-White
Favourite Driver Growing Up - Joe O’Brien
Favourite Track - Mohawk
Favourite Race - Breeders Crown
Favourite Actor -Sylvester Stallone
Favourite Sports Team - Toronto Maple Leafs
Favourite Athlete - Wayne Gretzky
Hobbies - hockey, golf
Why He’s Sulky: Paul’s the all-time wins leader at Flamboro Downs, with more than 6,000 wins at the track. To put that in perspective, you’d have to win a race every single day for the next 16 years to catch Paul’s record. Better start practicing!
Mark MacDonald
Birthdate - December 9, 1978
Birthplace - Charlottetown, P.E.I.
Colours - Blue-Gold-White
Why He’s Sulky: In 2006, MacDonald rewrote the history books as he broke the single season Canadian record for driving wins with 739. As impressive as that is, the record he beat was his own.
