OTTAWA, Ohio – Greenville native Jeff Nisonger has spent nearly three decades guiding Standardbreds around racetracks across Ohio and beyond, building one of the state’s most accomplished driving careers. Now, the 45-year-old harness racing veteran has reached a milestone that once seemed unimaginable – his 4,000th career victory.
Nisonger achieved the historic win at Ottawa, Ohio, after entering the evening’s card with 3,998 career victories. His first trip to the winner’s circle came aboard Zumma World, who crossed the finish line in 1:57.4 to move him within one win of the milestone.
Four races later, history was made.
Driving Ourcoltofmanycolor, a 3-year-old gelding by Fool Me Once out of Our Gray Girl owned by Cis Racing, Nisonger guided the horse to victory in 1:59.2, securing career win No. 4,000.
“Every milestone like that is pretty special,” Nisonger said. “I was pretty excited about it. I never thought I would get to a thousand and once I got to a thousand I thought maybe two thousand and I never dreamed I would get to four thousand.”
The milestone carried extra meaning because the winning horse belongs to owners with whom Nisonger has shared a relationship spanning more than two decades.
“I have been pretty blessed in this business,” he said. “I got great opportunities. It was exciting plus it was one I trained and the people that own the horse I used to work for them when I was younger and now I train for them because they are older, so the people in the win picture, I worked for them since I’ve been in my early 20s.”
A Greenville Senior High School graduate who now resides in Lebanon, Nisonger launched his driving career in 1997. He won two races during his rookie season, with his very first victory coming in just his sixth career drive at the Greenville harness track on Aug. 18 behind Bobs Other Barb for trainer Tommy Householder in 2:12.2.
From those modest beginnings, Nisonger steadily established himself as one of Ohio’s most consistent reinsmen.
His most prolific season came in 2008 when he recorded 205 victories. In 2018, he earned $858,736 in purses.
His career statistics now include 25,087 starts, 4,000 wins, 3,726 second-place finishes, 3,462 third-place finishes, a lifetime UDRS of .288 and career purse earnings totaling $15,254,990.
Although he continues to compete at a high level, Nisonger acknowledges that the perspective of experience has replaced the relentless pursuit that fueled him during his younger years.
“You can drive horses until you can’t do it, it’s just like driving a car,” Nisonger said. “You can hold a license and drive until you physically can’t or they force you to stop. Your 20s and 30s are your prime. I am definitely out of my prime. I could literally walk away after that. I am going to keep going but I have lost the kill on the hunt for it all.”
While the competitive fire still burns, it has evolved over time.
“I still enjoy it and the competitiveness,” he said. “I still enjoy that but it definitely is not like it was when I was in my 20s and 30s. It was pretty awesome, it was the best thing you could do for me – win a race. Now it’s just like getting in the car and going to the store, you don’t think about it, you just do it. That may be called getting older.”
Nisonger believes harness racing faces significant challenges in attracting the next generation of drivers as the number of family farms and horse operations continues to decline.
“It’s a small group of kids, not really enough to sustain the sport, I don’t believe,” he said. “There are a few. Some of the people that are in the business there are families doing it.”
He says many people underestimate the physical demands and long hours required to make a living in harness racing.
“Our business is a lot of manual labor,” Nisonger said. “You’re letting an animal make your living, so it doesn’t matter how hard you work or how much you want it. I work seven days a week. There are days I work from five in the morning until noon or 1 p.m. and then go to the races and then get home at midnight to 2 a.m. and start all over again the next day. I would terrify people if I told them my hourly wage.”
Despite those demands, Nisonger says the sport becomes part of a person’s life in a way that’s difficult to explain.
“It’s an addiction for one,” he said. “I don’t drink or do drugs but if I was to imagine what an addiction to that kind of stuff would be, that’s this business. Once you’re in it you’re hooked.”
Developing young horses into winners remains one of the most rewarding aspects of his profession.
“I like my young horses and to start with a horse that you can’t even lead with a rope to winning a horse race, it’s very reassuring and satisfying to develop them into a competitive athlete,” Nisonger said.
He also acknowledges one of the greatest challenges is that horses can’t communicate what’s wrong.
“The bummer and bad part of it is they can’t talk, so everything you do is either by experience or trial and error,” he said. “Not every week the horse is going to show up and race good.”
Over the years, Nisonger has endured numerous racing accidents, including several that resulted in broken bones.
“I have been hurt multiple times, a lot,” he said. “Been in a lot of serious accidents including broken bones.”
When asked whether he would choose harness racing again if given the opportunity to start over, Nisonger paused before offering an honest answer.
“Probably not,” he said. “One thing you’ll learn about me – I tell it like it is and tell the truth. I probably wouldn’t.”
Still, he recognizes how fortunate his career has been.
“Now, have I done well? I’ve done well for myself,” Nisonger said. “A lot of times I was at the right place at the right time. I got lucky a lot of times with that and just been blessed with a lot of people.”
He credits the many trainers who believed in his abilities throughout his career.
“I have a lot of trainers who backed me driving horses and stuck with me,” he said. “I have been blessed but if I was to take that chance again it could easily go the other direction so the gamble is too high for me to want to do it again.”
Calling harness racing “the original NASCAR,” Nisonger believes the sport is facing an uncertain future.
“Back when you rode horses to go do something or you drove a carriage or cart to work, that was your transportation and people’s competitiveness kicked in and they wanted to race,” he said. “Then people started betting on it, so it was just a chain reaction until this goes by the wayside.”
While his career has taken him throughout the state, one stop remains especially meaningful each season.
Darke County racing fans can expect to see Nisonger once again compete at the Great Darke County Fair, where racing has become both a professional commitment and a cherished family tradition.
“I try not to miss the Darke County Fair,” Nisonger said. “I enjoy the fair plus I like to go because my grandparents on both sides of my family come and they watch the races, so that is my way to get to see them and them get to see me do my job. I always make it a point mainly for my family to go to Greenville.”
Four thousand victories later, Nisonger’s passion for the horses, respect for the people who helped him along the way and appreciation for his hometown roots continue to define one of Ohio’s most successful harness racing careers.
