Bongiorno’s Big M Sweet 16 a slam drunk

Driver Joe Bongiorno has been as hot as a raging fire in a windstorm of late at The Meadowlands, as the 32-year-old pilot, who was named the track’s Driver of the Week on March 20 for the six winners he had the weekend prior, did far better the week that followed, taking 10 trips down victory lane last weekend (March 20-21) with back-to-back five-winner nights to cop a second straight DOTW trophy, which will be announced officially on the Friday (March 27) night pregame show.

Over the four racecards, Bongiorno won 16 races from just 38 starts, for a gawdy win percentage of 42.1.

“You kind of look at a card and see what chances you think you have going into the night,” said Bongiorno of last week’s 10-bagger. “I definitely thought I had a few chances going into each night, but that doesn’t always work out as planned. When things start rolling early, you kind of feel like you are doing everything right putting horses in the right spots, and that kind of carried over through the whole weekend.

“I mean, that was probably one of the best weekends I’ve ever had in my driving career. I’ve been focusing on trying to trip horses out and put them in the right spots. When you get on a roll, you feel like you can’t do anything wrong.”

The numbers back Bongiorno’s words up.

At the current Big M meeting, Bongiorno is 30-for-122, and that win percentage of 24.6 is the driver colony’s highest among the 12 pilots with at least seven winners. He’s currently tied for third in the standings with Mark Herschberger, and trails only Brett Beckwith (60 winners) and Colin Kelly (34).

“Right now, thankfully, everything is good in my life,” said Bongiorno, who has put his battle with depression in the rear-view mirror. “I’m enjoying (harness racing) again for the first time in a long time. Getting to drive for Ronnie (Burke) through the winter has been fun, and my own stable has been racing well. I’ve picked up a lot for smaller stables and had a super amount of luck for them the last few weeks.”

Bongiorno is a young man, but spoke the words of a wise, old one when referencing the most important thing in his life.

“My son, Parker, is 18 months old, and there is nothing better in the world than being with him,” said Bongiorno. “You could win 20 races over a weekend and that would still be very minor compared to being a father.”

Bongiorno said Parker “is the light of our world” for him and his fiancé, Nicole DiCostanzo.

Yes, Bongiorno loves his son, and driving horses, but with all of that on his plate, he still finds time to be a serious force when it comes to training as well.

His numbers as a conditioner are also prolific. He’s 12-for-54 (22.2 percent), and with 35 on-the-board finishes, his horses finish in the top three 64.8 percent of the time. He sits second in The Meadowlands standings behind only Per Engblom, who has 24 victories.

Bongiorno currently has 55 horses in his barn, and is hoping to get 10 more by the time summer begins.

The driver knows that also being a trainer will help in the coming months after the return of the bigger-name drivers to the colony. Dexter Dunn, Yannick Gingras, Todd McCarthy, Scott Zeron and Jason Bartlett will all be making their Big M 2026 debuts on Saturday. Andy McCarthy is also on the card after making his return a week ago.

“I have to create my own power at times, having my own horses to race is very important,” said Bongiorno. “It puts me on the sheet and gives me an opportunity to pick up other drives on the card. Right now, I like being able to do both.”

Bongiorno has a plan, and the plan will no doubt please his Big M fans.

“I want to stay at the Meadowlands on Friday and Saturday, for sure,” said Bongiorno. “That’s where I’m happy.”