Whenever he returned to his native Maine, he made it a point of stopping at the Cumberland Fairgrounds and visiting with Donna Fenderson, who has worked as a groom with the Donald Richards’ stable for over 30 years. Even if it was 3 o’clock in the morning, it was that important to Ruel "Dude" Goodblood Jr. to stay connected to his Maine racing past.

Last fall, Goodblood, was again headed back to Maine from his home in Vernon, N.Y., to visit his parents in Burnham. As always, he stopped and visited Donna and her husband John. In their conversation, Donna brought up the subject of Goodblood's racing future. How about coming home for good? Dude said he’d think about it.

Later, when the dean of Cumberland's horsemen, Donald Richards, also spoke with Goodblood about coming home and working for the Richards stable, his answer was more definite: “When do you need me up there?”

Goodblood, one of the most successful trainer-drivers to emerge from the Maine racing scene, is now back with his blue, black and white silks. Besides bringing his expert skill to Richards' colt-focused operation, Goodblood is also looking forward to catch driving at Scarborough Downs, Bangor Raceway and the fairs, adding to his 4,000-plus career driving victories.

Richards is especially pleased that his protégé has returned to work with him. “Dude’s skills are a perfect fit for us now with all the colts that we have” said Richards. Mark Athearn, Richards’ other second trainer, will still drive for the Richards Stable although his own stable has grown. “There will be some conflicts with Mark’s horses, so Dude will have plenty of opportunities to get dirt on his silks.”

Goodblood got his start in harness racing when his father, Ruel Sr., worked for Freeman Parker in the early 1970s. After graduating from high school, he followed Parker to Foxboro Raceway. He also worked for Linc Keene and Bud Cianchette.

He was at Foxboro during the Blizzard of '78. When the storm was over, he called Cianchette and said he’d had enough of Foxboro. Cianchette sent a crew down to Foxboro to help Goodblood pack up and move to Cumberland Fairgrounds. There, he would meet the most influential person in his life as a horseman.

One night at the races, Goodblood got hung on the outside tier. His temper quickly got the best of him. "I got after the horse," he recalls. "I was trying to get to the front, trying to run down [the leader] as a young driver would do.”

After the races that night, Richards approached Goodblood. "He pulled me by my sleeve and said, 'Come here, let’s take a walk. I want to tell you something." Richards didn't mince words: "Don’t do that," he told Goodblood.

Thus began the Richards-Goodblood mentoring relationship. "After that, anytime I did anything on the racetrack that wasn’t right, he was the first man to come to me," Goodblood says. "He taught me how to train a horse and how to drive a horse" — Goodblood would hone a first-over driving style, similar to Richards'. "He taught me to take pride in my work and be patient with a horse and myself. I owe all of my success to him.”

In the 1980s, Goodblood emerged as one of Maine's consummate horsemen.

He captured driving and training titles at Bangor Raceway and various Maine fairs, and focused his attention on the spring and fall meets at Lewiston Raceway. In 1989, he held the Maine track record for a week, catch-driving Shipps Fella to a 1:56.2 score on May 7 at Lewiston Raceway, a record that fell on May 14 when Kevin Switzer drove Out To Score to a 1:55.2 win.

When Lewiston Raceway closed, Dude took his 2,900 career wins back to Foxboro. This time the trip was more successful as he captured the driving title at the Massachusetts track. He then went on to have successful meets at Pocono Downs and Vernon Downs, and even tried Cal-Expo for one winter.

During his out-of-state years, Goodblood's reputation with young horses, which started years ago with the Maine stakes program, has only gotten greater. He is proud that some of the best stables in the country call him to drive their youngsters.

His home base has been Vernon for the last few years. Currently, his wife Whitney is still there, training a couple of horses and settling their affairs so she can join her husband of eleven years in Maine.

His work-ethic is still strong, a trait he learned from his father and Richards. The horses he takes care of always look healthy. The equipment and barn area is always clean. He makes a point of having clean driving silks, helmet and boots when he walks into the paddock. The evidence of that work ethic was apparent, as when he was discussing his past and future last Saturday and a truck with 375 bales of hay rolled into the stable area, the first person to start unloading the trailer was Goodblood, leaving the interview for another time.