81-year-old Doc Gill wins at Mighty M

November 15, 2007

Standing in the Monticello Raceway winner's circle on a cold, rainy and windy Thursday afternoon after directing his own Sealed With Love to a victory, 81-year-old Howard "Doc" Gill answered, "Dad gum, if the young fellas can go in the rain I can too. Just because a man has a little age don�t mean he has to be a sissy,� when asked why he decided to drive in such poor weather conditions.

Neither rain, nor sleet, nor gloom of night can keep him from his appointed rounds. No, we�re not talking about the mailman we referring to Dr. Howard E. Gill, who is known as "Doc." As much as Gill likes to drive his own stock you might have thought that the octogenarian would beg off and hand the lines to a young fellow and watch his horse compete from the comfort of the drivers lounge.

But no, not Doc Gill. He�s from the old school and he was scheduled to drive his 5-year old Sealed N Delivered mare Sealed With Love in the seventh race and he did just that. And with tremendous success, too.

After they sat back off the leaders in the early going Gill rallied Sealed With Love in the final quarter mile and she responded with her first victory of the season in a credible time of 2:01.

A well respected and mostly retired veterinarian, Gill is the last of a breed. When most men his age are looking for an easy chair the good doctor keeps working with his horses like he was a teenager trying to make a name for himself.

Last year Doc Gill was a co-winner of USHWA�s National Amateur Driver of the Year Award and though he�s added another 364 days to his age he�s back in the sulky again having already reined seven winners thus far this year.

And if Gill didn�t take time off to help his friends--the local vets--during the breeding season he�d undoubtedly have had more drive and more winners.

In recent years his pride and joy has been Miss Gibbons, a 1:53.2 record trotting mare who banked nearly $300,000, with most of the purse money earned with Gill in the sulky. During her 3-year-old season Miss Gibbons, a daughter of Giant Hit, was the New York Sire Stakes as well as Monticello Raceway�s �Horse of the Year.�

An outstanding college football player as a youngster and a longtime veterinarian, Gill has always found time during parts of the racing seasons to get away from his veterinary work to drive his own stock.

�I looked forward to then and even more so now because it keeps me young--though my wife Irene would prefer that I slow down,� he says. �I keep telling her that some day I will--but that�ll be a sad day in my life when I do.� (with files from Monticello)

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