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Tuesday, September 15, 2015

The Top Ten Drivers on the Money List


Here’s a comparison of what some of the top drivers have accomplished stat wise through September 13, 2015—this past Sunday—and what they’d done through September 12 of last year. The scheduling of several stakes, including the Maple Leaf Trot and other WEG stakes, has been changed, so this is obviously not a clean comparison.

Yannick Gingras is on top by a clear margin, just as he was last year at this point. However, he has 149 fewer drives and 88 fewer wins this year. And his bankroll is depressed by more than $1.8 million. Yannick’s UDRS was 0.380 last September; it is now 0.347.

David Miller moved up to number two after a good night at Scioto Saturday. Last year at this point he was fifth, and he finished in fourth. Unlike Gingras, Miller’s drive total is up by 229 starts, and he has 45 more wins. Miller is almost $1.4 million richer this year than last. His UDRS is about the same—0.274 as opposed to 0.271 last year.

Tim Tetrick, who finished second last year, and was second a year ago this week, is in third. He has just two fewer drives than last year, and 27 fewer wins. His bank account is almost $245,000 lighter than it was in 2014. Tim’s UDRS is down to 0.297 from 0.322.

Jason Bartlett, who topped the list until summer, is currently in fourth. He was in ninth at this point in 2014. Jason has 18 more wins on 34 more drives. His money is way up; he has more than $1.8 million more than last year. His UDRS is 0.349.

Brian Sears is in fifth. He was fourth last September and finished the year in fifth. His drives are down by 172 and he has 60 fewer wins. Still, his money is up almost $410,000. Brian’s UDRS was 0.342 last September; it is now 0.329.

Ron Pierce was third last September, and finished there. The way his drives have been divided up has obviously had an impact on the field.

Corey Callahan, who was sixth a year ago and finished there, is consistent if nothing else. He’s in sixth. A high volume driver, he has 46 more starts than last September, and $1.3 million more in earnings on 88 more wins. His UDRS is up from 0.285 to 0.323.

George Napolitano, who was twelfth last September and finished the year in eleventh, is now in seventh place. He has 77 more wins on only three more drives. And his bank account is $848,000 bigger. GNap’s UDRS is up to 0.390, the highest in the top 50, from 0.342 last September.

Dan Dube, who was smoking hot for the first third of the year, is now in eighth place on the money list. He was way back at twenty last September, and finished 2014 at 21. Dube had driven in 129 more races and has an eye opening 93 more wins. His bankroll is a commensurate $2.3 million larger than a year ago. His UDRS is up to 0.269 from 0.214.

Yonkers mainstay George Brennan is in ninth, one spot ahead of where he was a year ago and where he finished 2014. He’s driven in 124 fewer races and has 51 fewer wins. Although his earnings are up more than $164,000. Brennan’s UDRS is 0.272, down from 0.289. The four  Yonkers regulars—Bartlett, Sears, Dube and Brennan—are all showing increased earnings.

And number ten on the list at mid-September is Brett Miller, who was eighth a year ago and finished 2014 in ninth. Miller has driven in 477 fewer races and has 94 fewer wins. His earnings are off almost $430,000. Brett’s UDRS of 0.241 is very close to that of last year.

Joe FitzGerald




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