AMERICAN businessman Bill Donovan is in monetary terms the single biggest benefactor for harness racing in Ireland or the UK.

The Irish Field has often mentioned how a chance encounter at a 2010 US yearling sale whereby Donovan met trainer/driver Donal Murphy from Cork and owner Finbar Quill from Kerry led to a sequence of events which culminated in Bill becoming the main sponsor of the Red John Memorial Weekend in the West Cork region, now in its sixth year.

The stars collided in a perfect alignment for Irish harness racing. Quill is a straight, no nonsense businessman. Murphy and his brother Tadhg worked their way up the Irish and British scene from the bumpy fields in Cork to wins on the biggest stages in the game.

Finally Bill Donovan had money amassed from a transport business, a love of trotting and (you couldn’t make it up) his ancestors hailed from Skibbereen.

Bill happened to run WJ Donovan Stables, a major player on the US scene with horses in the Ron Burke set up and with other top class trainers. He had owned Maven, (t, 1.51.4h: $1,740,000) and sold this mare in a clever deal.

Bill fell in love with the sad story where a 27-year-old namesake of his, ‘Red’ John O’Donovan, died in a farmyard accident. Some friends of John were working on a memorial race, and a backer was very welcome.

In between times Bill has shared horses with Donal Murphy, sent horses to Innis Beg and brought the better ones back to the States.

Donal is by Bill’s side at the yearling sales in Kentucky in the fall, checking for splints, curbs and bad movers. With a Delaney fillies winner (IB Coyote) and the success of Reclamation and Rebel Rouser, the long-distance relationship is working.

Even though he is generous with his time and his money I get a sense that the transport magnate is no soft touch. A bit like a well-known airline millionaire and National Hunt owner, drivers could find themselves to be onlookers and trainers could have an empty stable if Donovan thinks it ‘was better for that horse’.

In the barn, Donal Murphy notes that Donovan is not slow to sell a horse if the animal looks to be losing form. As Michael O’Leary would agree ‘racing is a results based business’.

The 66-year-old describes himself as ‘an efficiency expert’. Therefore it is a good job that the likes of Tim Kelleher, Michael O’Donovan and Caroline Collins observe strict governance and put on a show where the sponsor gets great ‘bang for his buck’ to steal an Americanism.

With the West Cork grà for trotting, a professional committee and a fantastic land owner in the shape of Ger Heggarty, the RJM weekend looks secure.

The event is set for August 15th and 16th at Lyre, Clonakilty. Due to the Covid-19 restrictions, the main patron will not travel this year.

“Make no mistake, the Red John Weekend will go forwards,” was the word from Massachusetts this week.

Dan Carlin: How did you get interested in harness racing?

Bill Donovan: My neighbours had horses at my local track and I got hooked. I was more or less doing the full trainer’s job for a guy when my father died and my mom lured me back to the transport office. Being Irish I felt I could talk to the horses. Quite early I developed an affinity for fillies and I have even bought more fillies than colts

DC: Had you any desire to be a driver?

BD: Like all young guys I dreamt about it a bit. But let’s just say John Campbell’s stats were safe when I left the backstretch life for good.

DC: At what stage did you re-enter the sport as an owner?

BD: A few years after I went into the trucking business, some pals of mine put together $3,000 and bought two horses. After a few years, I drifted away from racing as I was working crazy hours. But I kept one old mare at livery on a farm. When she was 14 I put her in foal and she threw Bannockburn, who turned out to be my first stakes winner and national season’s champion at four.

DC: Any luck in stakes racing? They must take a lot of winning?

BD: I was blessed to have won two Breeders’ Crowns with Maven and one with Youaremycandygirl. I have owned the second in The Little Brown Jug twice and was unlucky in The Hambletonian Oaks with Maven. I would dearly love to win The Hambletonian.

DC: The Irish harness racing owners love to buy and sell. Explain about the Maven deal?

BD: She was a bit dull after racing her heart out in the Elitlopp (Sweden) and I thought of selling as I wasn’t in a breeding frame of mind. While coming up to the auction I took her off Jonas Czernyson (trainer) and switched to Ron Burke.

Wouldn’t you know she started flying with the change of routine and I got an enquiry from Sweden – would I sell her privately instead of letting her go forward in the sales ring?

We were entered in a big race that Saturday and I made a deal that if the Swedes wanted the mare, that the money had to be wired to my account on the following Monday, win lose or draw.

The mare won the race (the Muscle Hill Stake) but the money did not weigh in. Now, after a win they were mad to buy her but I told them she would now go through the auction ring. I was letting her go in the private sale for $450,000 but in the ring she made $750,000. I’ve had worse deals.

One side bar was that I came in for a bit of bad press in the US harness media for moving Maven from Jonas Czernyson. I published a letter in public justifying my move, after all I was paying the bills. I should point out that I did credit Jonas publicly for his earlier success with Maven. I had another eight horses with Jonas that I didn’t move!

DC: What struck you about Finbar Quill and Donal Murphy when you first met them?

BD: That they drank so little! I had no idea harness racing even existed in Ireland. Then with the West Cork thing we bonded pretty quickly.

DC: Two things US horsemen could learn from Irish horsemen?

BD: Patience and intutition. The Irish have great patience with their horses. As for intuition – it’s no coincidence that the man who the movie The Horse Whisperer was based on, his ancestors came from Co Armagh. His name is Buck Brannaman.

DC: And vice versa – two things that Ireland could learn from the States?

BD: From an administration point of view, to learn from the US mistakes. The reliance on government and slots revenue is precarious. I know you are a bookie, but I think pari-mutuel wagering would be better for your purses – look at the Swedish model. Also, most of the tracks in America were once owned by horsemen and we lost control of that and the various media rights.

DC: Have you any horses with Robbie Cleary for 2020?

BD: Robert is a huge talent, no doubt. But we differ in that he is racing older horses and wants to stay in New Jersey. I prefer to race two and three-year-olds of stakes calibre and winter them in Florida.

DC: Your horses have loads of followers in Ireland – name five for us to follow in 2020 etc?

a.) RECLAMATION (of course!) – now based in Ontario with trainer Richard Moreau

b.) CATTLEWASH – three-year-old pacer, trained by Ron Burke, finished third in the Breeders Crown last fall

c.) FORTUNE STARLET – trained by George Ducharme, was the NJSS Champ last year at two, but got hurt and only raced three times.

d.) FULSOME – a two-year-old Betting Line colt, trained by Ron Burke.

e.) REALIZATION – the Somebeachsomewhere half-sister to Reclamation, trained by Ron Burke.