Andrew Harris wanted to celebrate. Oh, how he wanted to celebrate.
But for several seconds, which seemed like several years, he had to let his stomach churn as he watched and waited.
Finally, the photo finish showed that his horse, Brandon Blvd, had given the 41-year-old owner-trainer his first Meadowlands Pace victory in his 23-year career. The $800,000 Pace in East Rutherford is one of the biggest events in harness racing, a premier Grade 1 race for 3-year-old pacers.
It was the “first horse good enough” that Harris, an Allentown resident, could enter in the event. As his colt held off a charge from three others, the trainer thought he had it won but was not about to pump his fist until it became official.
“It was amazing because I actually saw him reach his head out and put his head out in front, and I thought that was so cool,” Harris said. “My emotions were off the charts. But you had to wait until it was official because you don’t want to celebrate too early and look like an idiot. I was trying to tamper down my emotions.”
With standout driver Dexter Dunn in the sulky, Brandon Blvd took a slight lead on the backstretch before a group started closing. The horse beat three challengers by a head in 1:48.1. It was his 11th win in 16 career starts to go with four second-place finishes.
“It was obviously very close, you’re not super confident,” Harris said. “But I know that’s how that horse is. He’s one of those horses that likes to do what he has to do and tries not to overdo it.”
The victory was worth all the angst as Harris continues to build his prominence in the sport. He has nearly 1,300 career victories and more than $29 million in earnings, and his stature has risen in recent years with some major Grand Circuit stakes victories.
The father of two worked under several trainers after starting in 2004, when he earned his first victory. He went out on his own in 2015 and won more than $1 million for the first time the following year.
The following campaign produced a career-high 147 victories and a then-career-high $3,131,655 in earnings. From 2018 through 2024, he won between $1.4 million and $3.1 million.
Then came 2025, his best season to date.
Harris’ horse, Yo Tillie, won the 3-year-old trotting filly division of the Breeders Crown, which is considered the most prestigious annual championship series in North American harness racing, along with the Hambletonian. It was the biggest win of the trainer’s career at the time, and Yo Tillie would go on to be named the sport’s best 3-year-old female trotter.
“Everything comes down to the Breeders Crown,” the Canadian native said. “A lot of weight is on the Breeders Crown so to win it is actually huge. I don’t care what division it is, it’s amazing to do.”
Although his 100 wins were the sixth most in his career, Harris cracked $4 million in earnings for the first time, thanks to having higher-powered horses to enter in more lucrative stakes races.
“I’ve graduated to a grand circuit barn,” said Harris, who has been stabled at Manalapan’s Gaitway Farm since 2020. “I only have one race horse in the barn, everything else is a stakes player. At the end of the day, we focus mainly on stakes horses.”
His ability to do so came when he partnered with Freehold’s Punisher 11 Stable, operated by Bill Pollock and Bruce Areman. Harris met Areman while training one of his horses, Law Maker. Areman introduced Harris to Pollock, who was looking to get involved with standardbreds but wanted to buy only the best in the business.
Harris partnered with the duo in June 2022, and when they spent $535,000 on a horse, Andrew knew he had the financial backing necessary to take the next step.
“They were obviously a huge help for sure, without them I wouldn’t have these type of horses,” Harris said. “They’re helping me buy these good horses and giving me the opportunity to shine by picking the right ones. It covers all bases. It helps in every aspect of it.”
The third-generation horseman has come a long way from Hamilton, Ontario, where he and his twin brother, J, would help their father, Jack, clean stalls before school. The two would jog and train horses on weekends and had some riding horses “that we’d putz around with in the barn. It was all very horse oriented.”
While it might seem romantic to say that because of his upbringing, Harris always longed to make harness racing his career, it was not quite like that.
“At an early age it was forced on to me,” he said. “You’re not sitting there thinking it was gonna be a career because I didn’t really have a choice in it. My dad would make me go to the barn.
“Unfortunately I wasn’t excited to go to the barn because I HAD to go to the barn. But as the years went on, I got my driver’s license, drove a little bit, picked up from there and it kind of snowballed into what it is today.”
Harris received his schooling under two well-respected trainers, Bill Robinson and Casie Coleman. He began with Robinson during his final year of high school, and after two years, he was offered a job by Coleman, who sent him to work in the United States.
“Both of them were two horsemen with two totally different styles, and to see how they did it helped,” Harris said. “Casie’s been a great friend of mine ever since. We’ve done very well together over the years when I worked for her and she still supports me and cheers for me to this day.”
As for leaving home to head to the United States, Harris was more excited than nervous.
“I was happy to do it,” he said. “It wasn’t something on my bucket list. I was probably 20 and I was young enough I wanted to explore the world so I was keen on checking out the world. I didn’t think I’d make it my home for the rest of my life. At the time I figured I’d go down for a month, check it out and come back.”
But when he returned to Canada, “all hell broke loose, nothing went right, horses were getting scratched.” Coleman enticed Harris to come back as a full-time trainer, and he has never looked back.
He originally lived in Hightstown and East Windsor before moving to Allentown seven years ago with his wife, Sofia, and his two daughters. Andrew met Sofia when she was working with some standardbreds and offered to give his girls riding lessons.
That grew into a relationship. Older daughter Gracie is in ninth grade at Allentown High School, while Kinsley is in sixth grade. They both ride horses, while Sofia works with show horses.
“I love Allentown,” Harris said. “My kids go to school in Allentown, it’s a great school district. I love every part about it.”
Harris was stabled at Showplace Farms in Millstone and White Birch in Allentown before moving to Gaitway six years ago. He went out on his own in 2015 when Coleman began cutting back on her horses.
“She was focused on going to Florida and didn’t have winter horses for me,” he said. “I was ready for it but I was also kind of forced into it.”
His first year on his own produced $727,688 in earnings, which would be the final year in which he did not break $1 million. Before hitting it big in the Breeders Crown, Harris had other successful horses, such as Law Maker, Waitlifter K and Pedro Hanover, to name a few.
When it comes to major stakes races, he takes the same approach as he does with any other outing.
“After campaigning and getting a lot of experience at that level, you just treat it like it’s another race,” he said. “You try to give them the best schedule going into it so they’re fresh and sharp and then if you’ve got all your I’s dotted, T’s crossed everything works out.”
Through 188 starts this year, Harris had 37 first-place finishes, 28 seconds, 24 thirds and $1,521,088 in earnings as of July 11. He keeps making progress but knows there is more to accomplish.
“I’m not where I want to be yet,” he said. “I want to be bigger and probably fulltime in Kentucky and fulltime in Jersey. I want to get bigger and win bigger races and keep growing that way.”
