All in the family for two of the top racers at the Spa
There is no question that harness racing is and always been a family type of business. A high percentage of the trainers and drivers not just at Saratoga Casino Hotel but really throughout the industry either were raised in horse racing families or had relatives that were involved in the sport. That is certainly the case for Jordan and Brett Derue, who are the sons of Jimmy Derue, a man who spent his life around horses and in the harness racing business both in Canada and here in the U.S. Jimmy was the track farrier at Saratoga before passing away in 2012. There is a series at the Spa named in his honor, a series whose seventh installment will take place this fall.
Jordan started in the business at a young age and wasted very little time making an impact at the Spa. Derue won the Johnny Page Award back in 2009, an honor bestowed to the track’s top up-and- coming driver. After enjoying success right away at the age of 19, Derue continued his improvement not only as a driver but even more so as a trainer. Just a few years later, Jordan took home the prestigious Horseman of the Year Award after a ‘14 campaign that saw him finish in the top ten as both a driver and a trainer at Spa.
While he doesn’t have any titles to his credit, Jordan has remained a solid force at Saratoga over the years ( he’s still not 30 years old by the way) and is enjoying another strong season in 2019. Jordan came into last week’s action in seventh among local trainers in ‘19 and aided by his biggest night of the year wound up climbing the