RIDGFIELD – Resident Scott Keppler, 55, is living the dream, because at this stage of his life, he can.
Growing up, he attended Morrisville-Eaton High in Morrisville, NY where he loved to play football. But he also had a passion for another sport – harness racing.
His father Richard Keppler, who passed away five years ago, owned and trained harness racing horses and introduced Scott to the sport. He learned to train and drive races as a teenager but left the sport in 1986 to pursue a career in the software industry.
His harness racing passion has been revived thanks to the internet.
“One day I suddenly searched the internet to see if I could find anything about the harness racing industry,” Keppler said. “I was surprised to see some great websites in the industry like ustrotting.com. I read all these articles about people I fought with when I was young or I met through my father.
“That kind of ropes me back and I started tracking the sport again on a regular basis.”
In 2020, with the support of his wife and two sons and the finances to do so, he returned to the harness career to follow his dream when he was young. He bought three trotters and returned to the grumpy – the carriage used in the sport – to drive in his first race since 1986.
In 2020 he had no wins in three driving starts in the amateur division race at Yonkers Raceway in New York and Monticello Raceway in New Jersey with wallets as high as $ 15,000. He won his first race in 2021 with his horse, Judge Ken, in Yonkers on Aug. 6. Last year he finished with three wins, five second place and three third place and earned $ 29,960. In 2022 he has three wins, two price in second place and a third place finish at 15 starts for $ 12,663 revenue.
“My first win back in the sport was special,” Keppler said. “But I have to be honest, I really enjoy every interaction I have not only with the racehorse, but the people in the industry.
“That’s another big part of the connection I have with the sport, people. Some of the best individuals I have met are people in the horse industry. Colorful, generous and hardworking, these people remind me of where I grew up in the hills of central New York. I enjoy talking to them sharing a laugh or two.
‘Hooked’ on the sport
Scott Keppler spent his early childhood in northern New Jersey until his father moved the family to upstate New York where they owned a 50-acre farm. There Richard Keppler realized his own dream of owning and training a stable of harness racing horses at Vernon Downs in Vernon, NY. Scott Keppler would help his father, who first jogged horses at age 10, later helping them train and began driving racing at state fairs in 1983 at age 16.
“When I met the racing side of things, it was clearly the speed and the competition that was enticing,” Keppler said. “Working with horses to compete at a high speed really excited me.
As a youth Keppler thought he would have a career in harness racing. But after he graduated high school, reality came. If he succeeds in life, it’s not in harness racing. In 1986 at the age of 19 he drove his last career and moved on. As a driver from 1983-1986, in 29 total starts he had three wins, two second places and four third places, with $ 1,716 revenue.
“When I realized that a harness career wasn’t my path, I went back to school, followed Grateful Dead for a while, and eventually received a BS (bachelor of science) in finance and an MBA in marketing,” he said. Keppler, who works from home for ServiceNow, a software company based in Santa Clara, Calif. “I got involved in the software industry and I was lucky to work with some successful companies.
“For a long time, I was a professional man with a great wife (Katie) and family and was excited to move to Ridgefield and continue raising our children,” he says.
They moved to Ridgefield about 11 or 12 years ago. His oldest son, Liam, graduated from Ridgefield High School last year and is a freshman at Penn State. His younger son, Max, is a freshman at Ridgefield High School.
Liam Keppler is a standout wrestler at Ridgefield High and Max is on the Ridgefield High football team.
In addition to Judge Ken, Keppler’s two other trotters were named Lincoln Tunnel and Brilliant Bob. They compete in the North American Amateur Drivers Association’s Spring Series, a 10-race event where races are split and held in Yonkers and Monticello, Va. The fourth leg was held on Thursday and Keppler is looking for his first win in the Spring Series. The horses receive points based on finishing order and the top eight advance to the $ 15,000 purse final in Yonkers on May 19th.
“My horses are stable in Monticello,” Keppler said. “I use turnout farms near there when I give them their regular break from the racetrack. I love finding a farm near Ridgefield where I can turn them out in a week or two. for my wife and children to also spend more time with them.
“I enjoy introducing people to great horse athletes. In my opinion they are special and they usually leave a lasting impression on people.
Keppler said he enjoys both the training and driving aspects of the sport.
“I want to be hands-on and work with them as much as I can,” Keppler said. “These animals are the result of decades of fine breeding that allows them to perform at a high level.
“When you work with them you become teammates and when you win a race, I think they feel the accomplishment as much as I do. It’s really weird. ”
When it comes to driving, training and owning his horses, it continues to be a learning experience for Keppler. But the main line was in the earnings he made in the races that he wasted on the cost of maintaining his three horses. What was more important to him was his fun.
“With my family, my job and harness racing, I live my best life,” Keppler said. “When you have an interest in something, but it’s not part of your life, you have to give it a spin and say ‘why not me.’ My father taught me that. “