Sport: Harness Racing
Born: January 31, 1960
Town: Howell, New Jersey
Jack Moiseyev was born January 31, 1960 in Asbury Park and grew up in Howell, NJ. Jack was raised around horses, trainers and tracks in central New Jersey. Sid Moiseyev trained a stable of 20 trotters at Freehold Raceway. The day Jack turned 17, he secured his professional driver’s license and he was racing at Freehold that afternoon for his father’s stable.
Over the next decade, “Jackie Mo” established himself as one of the Top 10 drivers in the country, working with trainers Brett Pelling and Bill Robinson, as well as heralded owners Peter Heffering and Tony Chiaravalle.
Among the great horses Jack piloted were Precious Bunny and Presidential Ball, who won $5 million between them. He drove Precious Bunny to victory in 1991 at the Little Brown Jug, Breeders Crown, Adios and Meadowlands Pace. Precious Bunny was named Horse of the Year; Jack says it was his greatest horse. Jack also won the 1991 Hambletonian behind Giant Victory. Ironically, his great 1991 season came after a six-month suspension foe various infractions.
Presidential Ball won the Meadowlands Pace in 1993 and Jack was named Driver of the Year. He drove Pacific Rocket to the U.S. Pacing Championship in 1995 and took his second Little Brown Jug in 1996 behind Armbro Operative. Jack captured Breeders Crown titles again in 1997, 2002 and 2003.
In 2004, after The Meadowlands closed, Jack moved north of the border and began racing in Ontario on the WEG circuit. While harness racing’s popularity in New Jersey was lagging, it was growing in Canada. Jack enjoyed the racing environment north of the border—which was also home to his fiancé’s, Joan.
In 2005, Jack eclipsed the $100 million mark in career earnings. In 2007, he won his 9,000th career race. In 2011, Jack reached the $2 million mark in winnings for the 25th consecutive season. That same year he equaled a world record of 1:54.2 for a half-mile track behind Dayton Magician.
Jack took his last serious ride in 2018 and moved to the training side of the business.