>

Laura Perino looks for three straight with Juiced Up at Goshen

Goshen, NY --- Orange County resident Laura Perino made her first driving win a memorable one. The fledgling driver entered her 7-year-old trotter Juiced Up into the Open Trot at Goshen’s opening matinee card on June 5. When the gate sprung she sent her horse out of the three hole and never looked back, giving him a new lifetime mark of 2:02.1h in the process.

One week later on Sunday, June 12, she accomplished the same feat. This time she scored from post two and won wire-to-wire in 2:03h.

Following that race she realized that she may be able to accomplish something special. This Sunday, June 19, Laura Perino and Juiced Up will attempt to be the first horse and driver team to sweep the Open Trot on three consecutive matinee cards at Goshen Historic Track.

A resident of Middletown, N.Y., she hails from Waldwick, N.J. How she found harness racing is as serendipitous as how she found her favorite horse, Juiced Up.

Miss Perino started riding ponies at the Meredith Manor International Equestrian Center, a world renowned school for horsemanship and equitation in West Virginia. It was at Meredith Manor that she honed her riding skills and also learned how to shoe horses. Following that education she worked for a number of blacksmiths, primarily trimming and tacking on shoes.

When she moved back to New Jersey in 2002 she got a job bartending at the Steak and Ale in Upper Saddle River. It was there that she met Frank Guadio, an avid horse owner from Bullville, N.Y., and got her start in harness racing. She initially worked for Frank Yanoti and then for Eddie Hart. During her five-year stint at the Hart Stable she learned from one of the best trainers in the business. That is also how she acquired Juiced Up.

In 2007 the Dream Vacation colt was three and was plagued with injuries and was not supposed to race. Seeing the connection that Laura had developed with the struggling trotter, Eddie Hart gave her the horse. Laura nursed him back to health, and by 2009 the horse made the races. He started just five times and then got injured with a slab fracture to the knee.

Following more care and training, the horse recovered and started 21 times last year and saw the winner's circle twice. This year he has had just six starts at Monticello, with an impressive 1-2-1 summary. However, for his owner, trainer and part-time driver, the fun has just begun. This Sunday, the young lady with a lot of talent is hoping that some of that skill will continue to rub off on Juiced Up.