It’s just simply weird to see Jay Randall still driving well because back in the late 70s and early 80s - when even weeknight crowds were big and Saturday nights were mobbed - Randall was driving. In those days, drivers were perceived as stars, like nascar drivers. I remember after the races people spotting JP Morel at Luke Rocco’s bar just up the road from the stable gate and asking him to autograph their programs.
Seeing Randall still driving is like seeing an apparition of harness racing’s past.
His colors have historical roots too because they’re modeled after Jimmy Allen, a top driver in the 70s when competition was much fiercer than today and much tougher. You would never see a young driver dominate right off the bat like you do today. Those were the halcyon days in the rise and fall of American harness racing.
