Palone notches 15,000th victory

PHILADELPHIA, March 28 (UPI) -- Dave Palone has become the second driver in harness racing history to card 15,000 career victories.

The Hall of Fame driver reached the lofty plateau Tuesday night at The Meadows near Pittsburgh. The only other driver to accomplish the feat is fellow Hall of Fame driver Herve Filion.

"This really is special, knowing that only one other guy has reached 15,000," said Palone, who began the day with 14,996 wins. "It's a nice number to reach, and it happened a little quicker than I thought it would. Now that it's out of the way, the next thing is to go for the record, I guess."

Filion, who was on hand to watch Palone notch win No. 15,000, finished his career with 15,180 victories.

"Regardless of what you do in life, you can't do it by yourself. You need your competition," Filion said. "Dave's always been a strong competitor. Drivers are like a family, and only two have won 15,000. That's not something you see every year. Dave deserves all the attention he gets because it's not easy, believe me. I've been there. You have to drive a lot of horses, and you need Lady Luck on your side."