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| Eric was Michigan's Driver of the Year in 2010 |
Conceived by a teacher, Eric has been around horses for most
of his life. Growing up in the state of Michigan, his dad owned low conditioned
horses that raced at Hazel Park, Northville and Sports Creek. Today, he has
migrated from car country, to Illinois and now the Keystone State. Eric, who is
very lenient when it comes to catching drives, is the first call man for the
Ken Rucker stable at Pocono Downs. He is currently ninth in the driver standings,
with 19 wins out of 210 starts and earnings of $279,635 this meet. But you will
figure out that his stats are miniscule in the big picture that Eric views.
The Racing Inquirer: What I want to know is how did you get
involved into the sport?
Eric Carlson: My dad had horses, that’s basically how it
started. He was a school teacher but he had a couple of hobby horses, then I
qualified $1,500 Claimers and they were pretty good, they made some money and I
just kind of caught the bug you know.
TRI: So, this was at like Northville and all in Michigan
right?
EC: Yeah. Northville, Hazel Park, where ever.
TRI: So I see that you started at Northville and Hazel and
all those tracks and when did you get involved?
EC: I had horses and I trained horses for a long time and I
graduated college and got some pretty good, decent jobs and bought some of my
own horses. I trained them and drove them as well and I did pretty well with my
own, which were just average horses you know, mid-level, conditioned claimers
you know, mostly cheap. I did pretty well with them and you know, I started
catch-driving more and more and I guess that’s how I got to where I’m at.
TRI: When did you decide to stop training and become a
catch-driver?
EC: It was probably about three years ago. I had an
opportunity to drive a horse in the race that was better than the horse that I
owned. I sold a couple here and there and emptied out. The driving kind of
picked up and took off from there.
TRI: With the problem that Michigan is purse-wise, like
there top level race is the Invitational for $10,000, I can see that you moved
to Balmoral in 2011 and how were you able to pick up drives?
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Eric driving Zall Good to a victory in the Orange & Blue at
Balmoral Park |
EC: I had a couple connections and I got hooked up with a
guy named Perry Smith and Perry does pretty well there in Chicago. He said come
on out here and I’ll put you on all of my horses. I did that and picked up
drives from people there; things went really well. I did well and met up with
another guy named Ken Rucker and he said do you want to come out to Pocono,
Pennsylvania and drive my horses. I said yeah and it kind of went from there,
meet people and driving. I seem to make them happy when I drive for them. I try
to get the best out of my horse with every drive and so far, nobody seems to be
unhappy with everything that’s going.
TRI: I see with Balmoral and how their purses have increased
very well, you still wanted to come out East. Other than the connections, what
else influenced your decision?
EC: Just opportunity, you know the opportunity towards the east
coast is great as there are more tracks and the purses are better. Trainers are
better, horses are better, tracks are better. Chicago is not bad, its good
racing, the purses are pretty good over there right now, but you’re still
limited. Racing in one state, versus the east coast. There is just much more
opportunity out on the east coast.
TRI: Even though you were fifth in the standings (and he
still is) at Balmoral Park, does it matter how much you win?
EC: No, I don’t even think about winning, I never did and I
just hope whatever horse I’m driving, I just hope I hit the board; try to
figure out how to get the most out of whatever I can in the race. I focus on
whatever I’m on in the moment and if it totals up to some pretty good numbers
or whatever that’s great.
TRI: So what you’re saying is that you don’t care about your
standing, but you just care about making the owners and trainers happy,
basically.
EC: Well, that’s it, you got to make your owners and
trainers happy and then, you’ll do fine in the standings. But if they’re not
happy, then your not going to have any work. So yeah, you just do the best you
can with whatever you’re driving and try to make whoever your driving for
happy. Try to take care of the horse and get the most that you can out of the
horse without hurting it.
TRI: Do you have any tactics for when you’re driving in a
race?
EC: It depends, its all relative to what you’re driving and
what you’re against. What your post is, what class and it depends. If you have
to gas hard, that makes sense or if you have to layoff the pace, it makes more
sense. Every race is different, you’ll have to alternate or change your tactics
every race. You may have a game plan, but you may have to make changes. I think
that’s a part of what makes a good driver is that they don’t necessarily have a
fixed plan, but you just have to be able to go with the flow and modify your
tactics. Usually, I hope I make pretty good decisions while doing that.
TRI: Have you ever persuaded Ken Rucker to try at another
track like Yonkers or the Meadowlands?
EC: Truthfully, no. Ken Rucker and like a lot of these guys
out here they’ve raced everywhere and they know what their stock is, they know
what they have, they know what they are best to race. I don’t really offer too
many suggestions to trainers or where they should go with their horses. The
only time I suggest anything to a trainer is equipment wise or lameness or how
the horse raced. Where they want to go with their horses is completely their
business. It’s not a rare occasion that you may have a suggestion but mostly,
trainers like Ken, these guys are keen and they know where their horses belong
and they don’t need my help.
TRI: When you’re driving in a post parade, is there anything
that bettors can look for to see if a 30 or 40-1 shot, perhaps an 8-1 shot too,
is ready and prime for a race even though his past performances may not show
the exact same thing?
EC: Truthfully, not a lot. The only thing that I sometimes
notice is if a horse is really hot in the post parade, it doesn’t always
translate into the race. If a horse is hot, by that, I mean that they are
anxious, ready and wanting to go usually means that they want to race. It means
that they will usually try to get into the race somehow and sometimes it can
backfire and sometimes it may work out. Usually if a horse is kind of hot, it
usually means they’re excited to race. It’s up to the driver and the trip, but
usually it means they’re ready to go. Behind the post, sometimes the horse is a
little lazy or acts a little off in the post parade, if he’s kind of dead
scoring down; as a gambler, if I went out and saw a horse scoring dead, I would
be more tempted to throw one of those horses out than something that’s kind of
hot and ready to roll.
TRI: Other than Ken Rucker, is there any trainer you’ve been
trying to catch drives?
EC: Not really, you know I just try, talk to people and
sometimes offer my services to some people. But I just work hard and be
friendly, you do the best you can and I’ve been lucky that some of these really
good trainers are throwing me some good horses here and there and things seem
to be picking up, so I’ve been doing some pretty decent work and making them
happy. I’m just appreciative that these trainers are throwing me good drives. I
just keep trying to do the best I can. I drive to win, I try to get the highest
placing I can with whatever I have. One thing that most people know about me
when they put me up to drive a horse is I’m going to try and get all I can
without hurting the horse. I’m trying to do well.
TRI: Is it possible that we can see Eric Carlson training
again in Pennsylvania?
EC: Its possible. I’ve had a few people call me and they
want to send me a horse or two. It is definitely possible, I’d probably take
lower level horses to take something. I’ve had a couple of opportunities to
train an Open horse here and there, but I don’t really want a stable because
I’m not trying to go back into training so much. I like driving and I like
having the opportunity and if I have a stable of my own again, I am obligated
to drive my horse, which kind of limits my opportunity because I can’t drive
for other people. I enjoy driving and I’m going to stick with that and if I
pick up a horse or two here or there, its possible definitely. I’m definitely
sticking more towards the driving side of it.
TRI: Your still in your 30s and approaching the midst of
your career, is it possible that you’d be able to meet up with the top drivers
at the Meadowlands?
EC: I guess I would say its possible, but I’m just going to
try; I’m not going to even look towards that. To me, its just mostly trying to
do the best I can with what I’ve got and where I’m. You can’t just get there,
you have to climb the ladder and do the best you can here at Pocono and if you
do well there, you might get an Invitation to drive a horse here or there. I
guess anything is possible. I don’t look towards that like I said, I don’t look
towards standings or anything like that. I just look at whatever I’m driving
tonight and try and do good with that, then look forward to tomorrow night. If
in two or three years I land somewhere else down the road, that’s terrific. If
not, I’ll do the best I can with where I’m at and that’s all I can really do. I
am really privileged to do what I do. I’ve trained and I’ve always been a fan
of the equine athlete. So I guess I’m pretty much here and I’m very privileged.
TRI: What is a bigger influence in the race, the driver or
the horse?
EC: It’s definitely the horse it is the overriding factor. I
don’t care who’s driving the horse. If you’re 20-1, it doesn’t matter. If you
don’t have enough horsepower to be there, then you won’t. Drivers are very
important to, but the main thing is that you have to have horsepower. That’s
how its been and its going to always be that way. It doesn’t matter who’s
driving; if you don’t have power, you won’t be there no matter what.
