Rising Star: Wyatt Farmer

By Wes Mayberry

How important are young people to the future of harness racing? Very, according to Hall of Fame harness racing writer John Berry.

“For me, the search for youth always continues, watching for youngsters to carry the torch for our sport for decades to come,” Berry wrote in the April 25, 2025, edition of Harness Racing Update.

Among the young stars Berry identified by name in his column was driver Wyatt Farmer, and he too is hopeful for a continual injection of youth into the sport. So, what can be done to make that happen? According to Farmer, there’s no easy answer.

“That’s a tough topic, but I feel like we just need more people to see it,” says Farmer. “I don’t think there’s enough advertising out there, and I feel like there’s not enough younger eyes seeing harness racing. There are parents who have kids who grew up with it, but we need other kids seeing it too. If more people see it, then more people might get involved.”

While Farmer, a third-generation horseman, was introduced to the sport through his family’s involvement, he has set an example for others of any background to follow. As of late April, he boasted over $1.4 million in earnings and a career record of 151-166-196 in 1,992 starts, all before turning 21 on May 27. The Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association recognized his status as a promising up-and-comer in 2023, naming him the recipient of its Terry Holton Youth Award.

Taste of Victory

Farmer, of Toledo, Ohio, is the son of longtime horseman Billy Farmer, who has banked over $3.2 million in career trainer earnings. The younger Farmer has thus been ingrained in harness racing his entire life. He started out helping his dad in the barn and jogging horses and later got the itch to drive.

“When I was around 15, I decided I wanted to be a driver and give it a shot and see what happened, so my dad has given me opportunities, and here I am now,” he says.

As a two-time letterman and MVP, Farmer was a standout hockey player at St. John’s Jesuit High School. But he quit playing hockey after his junior year and graduated fully intending to pursue a career as a harness racing driver. He began his career in 2021 and drove primarily for his dad early on. His first win came in just his second start, guiding Jumping Jillybean to victory on Sept. 15 at the Allegan County Fair in Michigan to earn $456 of the $830 total purse.

“The purse wasn’t very high, but it felt good just to win,” he says.

It was that thrill of victory that solidified his desire to become a full-time driver. He was the runner-up in his second race that day to pick up an additional $212 in what marked his final purse start of the year. But there was plenty of success on the horizon.

Seizing Opportunities

While continuing to drive horses primarily trained by his dad, Farmer began to get more opportunities in the bike for other trainers in his second season. All 56 of his purse starts in 2022 were at fairs, and he finished with a record of 10-11-9 and $27,583 in earnings. A regular in Signature Series races, he had success with the likes of Lil’ Day Drinkin, trained by his dad, and Lyons Friends, trained by Elizabeth Tolley. He made purse starts for eight different trainers across 18 fairs that year.

“I started showing up to more and more fairs, and more and more people started putting me down for drives,” he says.

Farmer nearly quadrupled his purse starts in 2023, giving him even more opportunities to put his skills on display. He started driving at pari-mutuel tracks that season and scored his first pari-mutuel victory on July 12 with Roy Murphy Jr. trainee Delishka N at Eldorado Scioto Downs. They won by four lengths, tripping the wire in 1:52.3.

“That horse was completely nuts, and nobody else really wanted to drive her,” Farmer remembers. “Scioto is a fast track, but going 1:52 with any kind of horse is a good feeling.”

Farmer drove horses almost exclusively out of his dad’s stable over the final month of 2023 and capped the season guiding Pine Master to victory at Dayton Raceway. He finished that year with 24 wins, 13 seconds, and 16 thirds in 203 starts while banking $163,350.

“It was just a matter of good trainers giving me good opportunities,” he says.

The next year, 2024, was truly his breakout campaign. Opportunities to drive full race cards started presenting themselves, and he was being paired with more talented horses. That formula resulted in Farmer notching 888 starts on the year and surpassing his goal of 50 victories. He finished with 59 wins along with 68 seconds, and 93 thirds while banking $653,142 at just 19 years old.

Farmer entered the 2025 season with over $844,000 in career earnings and went on to add more than $520,000 to his total to easily surpass the $1 million mark. Reaching that milestone is something he still finds hard to fathom.

“Wow,” he says, pausing a bit to comprehend that earnings total. “I didn’t even know I did that last year. To do that and be only 20 years old, that’s pretty cool.”

Now well on his way to $2 million, Farmer had already amassed 127 seasonal starts and over $108,000 by April 24 this year. Wearing his signature blue-and-yellow racing colors, he had nine victories to that point. By the end of the year, he hopes to have set a new seasonal best for wins.

“I’d like to get more than 60 wins, hopefully somewhere between 75 and 100,” he says.

He’d also like to get more experience in higher-level races after driving Troy Schuberg trainee The Great Escape in a Buckeye Stallion Series event last August. He believes those opportunities will come as he continues to improve. He’s already come a long way in a short amount of time thanks in part to a more patient approach during races.

“You have to make a move so fast, sometimes within seconds, and I feel like I overthink everything, so being calm has helped with that,” he says. “I focus on being more relaxed on the track, and horses can sense that.”

Busy Days, Promising Future

Now in his fifth season as a driver, Farmer is fully entrenched in his career. Between helping his dad and competing on the track, he barely has time for anything else.

“I’m always in the barn or at the track,” he says. “But I still play hockey every once in a while, and I like to watch sports on TV.”

On a typical day, he gets up early to feed the horses and then eats breakfast before helping his dad with various tasks in the barn. Traveling to any of Ohio’s four pari-mutuel tracks from Toledo takes anywhere from two to two-and-a-half hours, meaning he needs to leave home in the early afternoon on race days.

“If I have drives, I help my dad jog horses and clean stalls, and then I leave between 1:30 and 3 o’clock depending on what track I’m going to,” he says.

After finishing his drives for the day, he packs up and returns home to get some rest and do it all again the next day. While it keeps him busy, he can’t envision himself in any other vocation.

“The pari-mutuel tracks have really good driving colonies, so it’s tough. But I’m still young, and I’ll take whatever opportunities I get,” he says. “I’m just happy to be out there.”

Farmer points to Scioto Downs as his favorite track and cites the adrenaline rush he gets from the speed and competition of racing as what he likes most about being a driver. The sport holds a special place in his heart, and he encourages other young people to give it a shot.

“I really love working with horses, and if you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life,” he says. “I feel like it’s a lot easier than most ‘real jobs’ out there, and if you’re good, you can make good money. It’s just cool to work with horses and watch them grow up and follow them throughout their racing careers.”

This story appeared in the May 2026 issue of The Buckeye Harness Horseman magazine.