While visiting Fredericton, N.B., recently, Stephen Mahar was asked if he wanted to drive some horses at the raceway. He politely declined, even though he was just two wins from 5,000 career victories.

A New Brunswick native, Mahar's driving success in the Maritimes is the stuff of legend. Fellow Maritime native and leading Maine driver Drew Campbell repeats a local saying that invokes Mahar's nickname: “In the big races, when the chips were down, Stevie Wonder is around!”

But when it came time to secure his 5,000th win, Mahar wanted to be with the people who've meant so much to him. So it was that Mahar captured the career-defining win on July 17 at Bangor Raceway, driving MG Girl for owner and trainer Doug Beckwith, who's been a big part of Mahar's Maine success in recent years.

"Doug's the guy who got me down [to Maine], and I appreciate that," Mahar says. "He's treated me good over the years and given me good horses to drive. That means a lot."

Mahar became a regular on the Bangor and fair circuit in the 1980s after Beckwith, a fellow Maritime horseman, asked Mahar to come down to Bangor and drive for his stable. "I’d drive in the Maritimes during the week and come down here on the weekends," he recalls.

Since then, if there's ever a Beckwith-trained horse in a Maine race, Mahar will likely be the driver. Even when he's listed on better horses in a race, Mahar will choose to drive for Beckwith. "A lot of drivers will pick the favorite. I’ll pick for the people that I drive for most of the time. And I always pick Doug's horses over anyone else's."

Loyalty and being fair and friendly are central to the Mahar method. “You need to have good owners and people, and you have to try to be nice to everybody," he says.

Mahar wasn’t raised in a racing family. The father of a childhood friend, Don Queen, ran a racing stable, and Mahar recalls “cleaning stalls, washing harnesses, cooling out horses — all the dirty stuff.” Don and Mahar both received their driver’s license at the same time. Steve’s first win was in 1969 at Exhibition Park Raceway in St. John.

Mahar went on to record victories in some of the most prestigious Maritime races. In 1981 he won the Gold Cup and Saucer, Canada’s Little Brown Jug, with Henry Butler. “The nicest race you’d ever want to win — better than the Little Brown Jug!” He has won the Walter Dale Invitational six times, the Alexander Memorial twice, the Barrieau McIsaac Memorial Stake twice and holds numerous track records and driving titles.

Mahar's been ranked high in the driver standings ever since coming to Maine. He won driving titles at various fairs and has been ranked in the top five at Bangor Raceway for many years. He’s also had success at Foxboro Raceway and Monticello Raceway. He's had more than 25 years with 100-plus wins.

“I’ve never had a bad year, but I’ve had a lot of bad days,” Mahar jokes.

He and his wife of 41 years, Twila,  enjoy spending time with his two daughters and three grand-daughters. They winter in Pinehurst, N.C., where he tries to improve his golf game.

The future doesn’t hold many changes. “I hope to continue to be healthy and do what I’m doing now,” he says.