Case on verge of Plainridge return

It’s still not a 100-percent done deal but it appears as if Walter Case Jr will indeed be back in the sulky Friday at Plainridge Racecourse after submitting a license application Tuesday afternoon to the Massachusetts Racing Commission that was subsequently approved by the state stewards at the racetrack.

After Harness Tracks of America reported Wednesday afternoon that Case had been licensed, Plainridge general manager Steve O’Toole explained the licensing process to harnessracing.com. O'Toole said that the license had not yet been granted, but barring any unforeseen circumstances, he expected it to be approved sometime Thursday morning. That would open the way for the driver to resume his career that was curtailed in June 2004 after he was found guilty of felonious assault for stabbing his estranged wife with a steak knife and subsequently sentenced to five years in prison. Case, who reportedly trained dogs as companion animals for disabled persons while in prison, was recently released about eight months early for good behavior.

However, Case’s comeback may be a short one. After Friday, Plainridge races just three more cards—Monday, Nov. 24, Tuesday, Nov. 25, and Friday, Nov. 28. Also as part of the process, Case needed approval from his parole officer to travel to Massachusetts from Ohio, where he was imprisoned at the Belmont Correctional Institution in Saint Clairsville.

Case currently stands fifth on the all-time win list with 11,028 victories. He was the first driver to win more than 1,000 races in a single year when he tallied 1,077 victories in 1998, a number surpassed last year when Tim Tetrick scored 1,189 wins.

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