What this Chesapeake horseman can teach you - Virginia Horse ...

HORSE RACING 12 Fall 2009
hooked on harneSS racinG
Mechanicsville doctor is
a globe-trotting reins man
By Andy Taylor
They call him “The Driving Doctor.”
It’s pretty amazing that Scott Woogen, a gastroenterologist
and Hall of Fame amateur harness racing driver,
achieved either part of that nickname considering his
background.
He grew up poor in the Bronx, a place where Woogen
acknowledges “there weren’t a lot of horses.”
On closer inspection, though, his background might
say a lot about his success in both fields.
As a kid he played competitive sports on the gritty
streets and parks of the borough that is home to the New
York Yankees. And he was always willing to work hard to
earn a little money and better his life.
That’s how he learned about harness racing.
One day when he was playing a pickup basketball
game on outdoor courts, a New York City policeman approached
the group and asked who wanted a job.
Woogen, 14 at the time, said he was probably a little
more aggressive than the other guys so the officer picked
him. The job involved going to the last train station before
the Yonkers Raceway stop and selling programs and
handicap sheets for $5 a night. The policeman’s side job
was handicapping the horses.
By the time he was 16, Woogen was going to the track
and doing his job from the parking lot. From there he
landed a job cleaning horse stalls and by that time, Woogen
said, he was hooked on harness racing.
From money he made at the track, a part-time job in
the garment district and scholarships, he was able to
enroll in Columbia University. As a sophomore he represented
Columbia in the Intercollegiate Driving Championship
at Roosevelt Raceway in Westbury, N.Y., and took
the first-place trophy.
His racing days, however, would soon come to a temporary
halt. He enrolled in medical school at New York
University and decided that his focus needed to be on his
career.
He came to Richmond to do his residency at Medical
College of Virginia (Virginia Commonwealth University)
and now practices with Richmond Gastroenterology Associates.
“About 10 years ago I decided to get back to driving,”
Woogen said. That meant qualifying for a license. After
making 16 drives, the judges awarded him his license.
There are various permits, such as a “matinee license”
that allows drivers to compete in qualifying or county
fairs; a “provisional license” for apprentices and a “Class
www.horsenation.us
Dr. Scott Woogen and the No. 3 horse, Electrifying King, won this race in Goshen, N.Y., on July 3.
A” license for proven reins men.
Woogen has a “Class A” license which permits him to
race at any track in the world.
It’s a good thing because he travels around the U.S.
and to foreign countries to race, usually for other horse
owners. He has raced in Virginia, New York, California,
Florida, Canada, Finland, Estonia, Italy, Russia, New
Zealand and Spain.
Woogen said he has won 81 Standardbred races in the
U.S., two in Canada and one in Europe as an amateur
driver.
The only thing the amateur designation means is that
he doesn’t accept the prize money, Woogen said. Drivers
earn 5 percent of the winnings from each race and he donates
his earnings to charity. Two of his favorite charities
are Crossover Clinic and the Virginia Institute of Pastoral
Care.
To offset the cost of his expensive hobby, the tracks he
goes to usually provide lodging and meals and he usually
only has to pay for airfare.
Woogen, though, is not only a driver, he also owns
outright or in partnership 40 Standardbreds, the breed
used in harness racing.
His greatest success as a horse owner is with Lolique, a
6-year-old he purchased with co-owners John and Pamela
Wagner of New York for $6,000. To date, Lolique has
earned about $480,000, Woogen said.
He said it’s not that much of a stretch for a doctor to be
involved in harness racing. He jokingly sums up the similarities
of being a gastroenterologist and a harness driver:
Photo courtesy of Dr. Scott Woogen
“My position in life is behind the rear end. It’s the
same view.”
Still, being a full-time doctor and globe-trotting harness
driver creates a demanding schedule.
Woogen is in the office five days a week at CJW Medical
Center — Chippenham Campus, diagnosing and treating
patients for diseases of the digestive system.
In addition to racing at Colonial Downs in New Kent
County and Rosecroft in Maryland, Woogen travels 15
weekends a year to other states and countries.
To keep up with the schedule and the physical demands,
Woogen said he goes to the gym and lifts weights.
At 54, that is becoming more of a must, he said.
“Some of these horses, as I get older they get stronger,”
he said with a laugh.
So why does he continue to race, considering the
demands and the potential danger?
“I’m competitive by nature,” Woogen said. “It’s kind
of like golf, you’re competitive with yourself. It’s getting
more out of the horse, driving to the best of my ability.”
A harness-racing friend, Dr. Scott Leaf, said Woogen
is incredibly competitive. Leaf is the director of the Capital
Area Amateur Drivers Association, an organization of
harness drivers from the Virginia and Maryland tracks.
“If you’re in a race with Scott, he is not going to do
anything to help you in any way,” Leaf said. “The only
way you can beat him is if you’ve got a better horse.
Before and after the race he’s your best friend.”
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