In only its second season of hosting live harness racing events, the track at the Mint – Cumberland Run is consistently bringing top-tier drivers from around the world to compete right here in the tri-county area.
Among those drivers appearing on the track in Corbin this season is Andrew McCarthy, who, along with his younger brother, Todd, is originally from Australia.
Prior to suiting up for races earlier this week, McCarthy took a few moments to share his thoughts on competing in the Bluegrass State, saying, “I spend a lot of time racing the Kentucky circuit at places like Red Mile, Oak Grove, and now in Corbin. It is a really great program, and worth coming down for. It is beautiful here.”
McCarthy was a part of the inaugural harness racing season at Cumberland Run last year. Speaking about his experiences at the facility so far, he said, “It has been great. The fact that they have built a race track up here in the mountains is pretty wild. They had to move a lot of dirt to get this in, but it is so pretty up here, especially this time of year. The track is really good, too. The horses seem to really like it.”
The McCarthy brothers are third generation drivers, growing up in the sport in their homeland of Australia. Andrew McCarthy explained that, at this point in his career some of the adrenaline has worn off, but he will always consider himself lucky to be doing something that he loves.
“Most horsemen are bred into this game,” McCarthy said. “We all really love and appreciate good horses, and there are a lot of good people too. Some days it can feel like a grind, and it’s not as much fun if you’re not doing too good, but there is an old saying in this game that goes, ‘You’re only one win away from happiness.’ If you can get that win, the everything is right in the world again.”
McCarthy estimated that he will drive in approximately 1,500 harness races during a typical six-month period, which he says is actually on the lower end of what many drivers will take on. On Monday of this week he was slated to drive in eight separate races while representing a total of five different trainers.
Yannick Gingras is another third-generation driver who is competing at Cumberland Run this season. This is the first time that the Quebec, Canada native has visited Corbin, as he was in action in Massachusetts this time last year, but he is no stranger to racing in Kentucky.
“I have raced in Kentucky a lot for many years,” Gingras said. “It is the place to be. It really is.”
Similar to McCarthy, Gingras said that he has always been around the sport. “I wanted to be in the barn with my dad 24/7 as a kid,” he explained. “I drifted away from it a little bit as a teenager, but I got the bug when I started driving in amateur races. I knew then that this is what I wanted to do.”
While Gingras obviously feels that there is no better place to be racing than right here in Kentucky, he said that he would like to see standardbred competition grow to where it is consistently drawing the same types of crowds as the thoroughbred competitions that are featured at tracks such as Keeneland.
“This is horse country, but it is definitely thoroughbred country,” Gingras said. “I wish that we could attract some bigger crowds. For me, I love being on the race track. There is nothing better than to go out for a big day of racing with a packed crowd of roaring fans, but we don’t get to do that often enough.”
On Monday, Gingras was scheduled to appear in a total of nine races at Cumberland Run while representing six different trainers.
Those interested still have several opportunities to see drivers like Gingras and the McCarthy brothers in action before the conclusion of the current racing season. Dates for upcoming races are this Sunday-through-Tuesday, Oct. 27-29 and Sunday-through-Tuesday, Nov. 3-5. For more information, visit the Mint – Cumberland Run online at www.themintcumberlandrun.com.
