On Friday, March 27 at Harrah’s Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, Tony Morgan became just the third driver in the history of North American harness racing to reach the lofty 15,000-win plateau.
Morgan, a 56-year-old Native of Ohio, was up behind the Steve LeBlanc-trained Lightning Moon in the first race on Harrah’s Philadelphia’s 14-dash docket.
Morgan and the nine-year-old son of Western Hanover lined up in Post 5 and were in third at the :27.3 opening quarter and the :56.2 half-mile pole. Morgan and his charge held an open-length lead at the 1:23.4 three-quarters marker and paced away from the field in the final panel. The final margin of victory was four and three-quarter lengths in the 1:53.4 mile.
Dave Palone leads all harness racing drivers in the world in wins, with 16,937 to his credit. Germany’s Heinz Wewering is second on the worldwide list, with more than 16,760, followed by Herve Filion and Morgan.
Morgan rose to prominence in Chicago and now calls the Delaware circuit home. The son of driver/trainer Eddie Morgan Jr., himself the winner of 4,724 races, Morgan got his first win one month shy of turning 15 in 1973.
“It’s nice to be recognized by your peers, but it probably means more to my family than to me,” Morgan said earlier this week in regard to approaching the milestone. “I get my kicks out of just working every day. I like that. I like the daily grind. I like the competition and keeping busy.
“It’s another feather in my cap, I guess, so it’s nice. And it gives my family something to talk about. That’s nice, too.”