RICKY MAY



Ricky May A man small in stature, modest of nature but big on achievement, leading freelance driver Richard (Ricky) Terence May is one of the 2013 inductees to the Addington Harness Hall of Fame.

From a prominent harness racing family - grand father Clarrie May won 1946 AK Cup with Loyal Nurse, father Terry May (trainer and former driver) and uncle Leo May (former trainer/driver) - meant that harness racing has always been a big part of Ricky’s life. Ricky spends much of his “spare time” farming a property at Methven.

Ricky May commenced as a junior driver in the 1976/77 season with his first win coming on Ruling River (trained by father Terry) at Orari in November 1976. He had reasonable early success culminating in finishing fourth (14 winning drives) to Tony Herlihy in his final season as a junior driver in the 1980/81 season.

A brief outline of Ricky’s achievements to October 2013 follows:

Ricky May is known for his coolness under pressure often producing a gem of a drive to obtain victory. He is known for always presenting trainers with a racehorse each time they get back from racing, Ricky May has had successful partnerships with a number of trainers over the years including but not limited to -

Warren Stapleton - Highwood; October Pride; Cedar Fella
Brian Saunders - Inky Lord; Field Commander; Happy Sunrise; October Atom
Laurence Harahan - New Age Man; The Tough Nut; Marika; Highwood (part owner)
John Lischner - Tartan Clansman; Biddy BB; Eastburn Grant; Soft As Silk
Brian O’Meara - Christian Cullen, Cigar
Robert Cameron - Iraklis; Erotas; Lavros Voodoo; Drachma
Robert Dunn - Mainland Banner; Pankys Pacer
Brendon Hill - Monkey King,; Carabella; Harley Earl; Tennis Ball; Ellmer Hanover
Stephen Reid - Baileys Dream; Monkey King
Graham Court - Terror To Love

plus numerous wins on horses trained by his father Terry (Some Legacy, Balonne, Frangelico, Marfix, Pure Adrenalin, Spring A lot etc).

More specifically, he has driven numerous group and listed race winners in NZ plus in Australia. There are few major races he has not captured during his career, notably NZ Derby and an Interdominion although he has been placed on a number of occasions. He did drive current ID Champion pacer (Im) Themightyquinn to victory four times as a 3yo for Peter Bagrie. The more prominent among his many victories (a number multiple feature wins) are set out below (to October 2013) :

Ricky is also currently a Vice President of the Methven Trotting Club.

Compiled as at 1 November 2013.