Weekend THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2019 DRF HARNESS HOME DRF.COM/HARNESS DRF BETS HARNESS PPS DIGITAL HARNESS EYE ENTRIES NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE 300% DEPOSIT MATCH BONUS JOIN NOW Top Links & What s Inside Get New date for Harness Handicapping Championship READ MORE Lachance anxiously awaiting a March return, Page 4 Gisser: Charity, Merriman and Foiled Again, Page 5 Gingras gets win No. 7,000 at Yonkers Raceway, Page 5 Marcus Miller seeks Preferred sweep at Meadowlands, Page 7 Dan Noble captures Miami Valley Drivers Challenge, Page 7 On The Backstretch: Profile of owner/breeder Adam Bowden, Page 8 Handicapping: Best bets at Mohawk, Meadowlands & Yonkers, Page 9 Upcoming stakes schedule, video Attention: Late change on your program Driver changes are a regular occurence at every track across the country. Why is it so hard to disseminate that information? EDITOR S EYE By Derick Giwner @DRFHarness Once in a while something happens in harness racing which really boggles the mind. On Friday January 4 at The Meadowlands in the first race, one such incident occurred. Owner Peter Kleinhans, a very capable amateur driver, was listed to drive his Tech Titan in all simulcast books and the official track program. On the night of the races, a very common occurrence took place when it was announced than Kleinhans wouldn t be driving and instead Yannick Gingras, perennially the leading driver in North America, would be taking the reins behind Tech Titan. I could argue and have many times in the past, that driver changes need to be comparable. You should not be able to remove the 100th best driver in the country for the best. It simply isn t fair to all of the people who were supplied information which is no longer valid. Isn t the job of the Judges to ensure the betting public has a fair shake? How is it fair that some poor schlub is at the track, in a simulcast facility or sitting at home thinking that Kleinhans is driving when it is really Gingras? But I digress from the more serious issue at hand. How is it possible in 2019 that I went to six different ADWs and only ONE of the sixpack listed Yannick Gingras as the driver of Tech Titan? We can bet a race from the middle of nowhere, get news and weather virtually as it occurs, and can even have live video conversations with people from all over the world with a click of a button, yet we can t properly communicate a driver change to the betting public. Don t get me wrong, this isn t on The Meadowlands. They announced the change and it appeared on the changes crawl at the bottom of the screen. Since we can always do things better, maybe tracks should have an overlaid on-screen graphic during each race with the driver changes always listed so everyone has a fair shot, but the fault here lies with the ADWs. Clearly the information was disseminated because one of the six bet-takers had it correct. One has to wonder why the other five couldn t post the information? Are their systems unable to process the information? Is the information considered irrelevant by the ADW? analysis, Page 10 CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 2019 Ohio Sires Stakes schedule & nomination forms are available at www.racingohio.net Contact OSDF Administrator Kimberly Rinker at kim.rinker@racing.ohio.gov or at 614-779-0269 for information on the 2019 Ohio Sires Stakes 2019 Daily Racing Form, LLC - 708 3rd Ave, 12th Floor, NY, NY 10017
ROSE RUN ULYSSES p,2, 1:52h - 18 ($86,547) Dam: Alcyon Semalu by Good News Scooter Multiple Ohio Sires Stakes winner. WESTERN VINTAGE FIRST CROP TWO-YEAR-OLDS A SUCCESS Nigel Soult Photo Conrad Photo Conrad Photo Conrad Photo Conrad Photo BOMBAY HANOVER p,2, 1:51.3-18 ($21,060) Dam: Best Not Tell by Cambest Late Closer winner the The Red Mile on Sept 30 in a life best. DOO WOP WEST p,2, 1:53.2f- 18 ($33,974) Dam: Allamerican Raquel by Life Sign Ohio Sires Stakes winner in a life best. AUTHENTIC HANOVER p,2, 1:53.3f- 18 ($59,178) Dam: Armbro Amoretto by Artsplace Multiple Ohio Sires Stakes winner. IMPRESSIVE YEARLINGS HIP 634 CHANGING COLORS bay filly Sold at the 2018 Lexington Select Sale for $80,000. Dam: Douknowwhereurgoin by Somebeachsomewhere OHIO VINTAGE p,2, 1:53.4h- 18 ($24,866) Dam: Little Betty by Cam s Card Shark Multiple stakes winner. STANDING AT ABBY STABLES IN OHIO - STUD FEE $3500 Perry Soderberg Marvin Katz www.abbystables.com (330) 852-0789 info@abbystables.com
CONTINUED from page 1 There is simply no reason why an ADW can t display the correct information in real-time. If I can deposit money and bet in seconds through your site, there is no reason you can t provide the correct information. Twenty years ago when I hung out in NYC OTB, even they were able to find a marker and write the driver change on the entry sheet. Surely, this should be an easy problem to correct, no? By now I m sure you can guess that Tech Titan won easily while paying a robust $6.60 to the in-the-know folks who were paying attention to the changes. It s impossible to know for sure, but had Gingras been listed on the program, Tech Titan likely would ve been odds-on and paid in the $3.60 range. Personally, I was paying attention and benefitted from the misfortune of others. But, I m still outraged that situations like this are allowed to occur. In a time when 80-95% of the total handle comes from off-site locations, it is vital that people are kept informed. Another driver issue Miami Valley Raceway held a driver challenge from Sunday to Tuesday. While I generally like the idea and typically these races are hotly contested, it is hard to accept using races where one of the drivers in the contest is competing against a horse he trains in the same races. In race 9, Dan Noble was driving 4-5 favorite Mgsperkg Bluegrass and Drew Monti handled the Noble-trained 6-1 shot Cool Like That. Noble sat third with the favorite as Cool Like That set the fractions and went wire to wire for the win. I m in no way implying that anything improper occurred during the race. It s not like Noble s horse appeared loaded with pace when clear in the stretch, but it does not look good when situations like this occur. We don t want to give anyone a reason to complain about how a race is contested if it can be avoided. Track officials must make sure to exclude races where any conflicts of interest could arise. Ironically, Dan Noble won the driving challenge. Congratulations! One final note on the Driver Challenge. I checked the same six ADWs to see if they updated the driver information and of the four that accepted wagers on the track, only two had the proper drivers listed. The other two left the driver fields blank. How sad! Reader comments In recent weeks, I ve received a few suggestions/comments from readers and this seemed like the perfect time to address them. Paul MacInnis wrote: I watch races on TVG and find it sad when the only people in the winner s circle after a race is the driver and groom. It got me thinking. Why not allow people who show a winning ticket to get in the picture too? If it s known before the race that no owner is present, make an announcement that the first X number of people who show a Win ticket can get their picture taken. I know I d like that. And I d buy the picture too. I love this idea and I don t think it matters whether the winning owner is even present. Anyone with a correct WIN bet can come to the winner s circle and the first five get to take a picture. If the owner is present and wants a picture without the crowd they can get theirs taken first and then the winning fans can go. Paul s idea is a no-brainer. It gets people more excited about being at the track in person and also gives the track photographer a chance to earn more money. Walt Majowicz wrote: My idea is to do a column on the daily behind the scenes activities of media personalities at the Meadowlands, Dave Brower, Dave Little, Hollywood Heyden, others and perhaps Frank Drucker at Yonkers in an attempt to provide information behind the voice. It s free publicity for the tracks. You could also include interviews with the judges at these tracks unless you consider it to be too politically sensitive. Generally there are many individual tasks and responsibilities in putting together a live performance at the racetrack which the fans may know little about. Maybe I can expand the On The Backstretch Q&A feature to include these personalities. Are you interested in finding out more about media personalities and Judges? If so, email me at Dgiwner@drf.com. DRF Harness Weekend 3 January 10, 2019
Downbytheseaside, Huntsville and Fear The Derick Giwner Pat Lachance anxiously waiting for a March return to the bike jaywalking By Jay Bergman BergmanJay When the 3-year-old pacer Ali went from pacing a 25 and change final quarter to suddenly going to his knees at Woodbine Mohawk Park on September 1 in an Ontario Sire Stakes catapulting driver Pat Lachance in the process, the visuals suggested the horse and not the driver would be out of action for a long time. Some four months later, Ali has been on his four feet with regularity and actually racing while Lachance only recently was able to remove himself from imposed use of crutches and commence his path to a future return. He grabbed a front shoe and tripped, said Lachance, currently on the mend. It catapulted me and the moment I landed I knew I had fractured my tibia. Lachance more than fractured a bone in his left leg. It was a mess, broken in five places. I had 12 screws put in and a plate, Lachance said about the operation that would sideline him for nearly four months. There was no way to avoid it, Lachance said. Ironically the New York-based conditioner had gone to Ontario on a dual mission. Lachance had been racing Ali, a homebred son of Dali, for his cousin Luc Ouellette in the States before suggesting a return to Ontario. There was a conflict and a lot of the good ones were out of town, so I thought why not try him in the Ontario Sire Stakes and make it a family reunion seeing my cousin and brother, Lachance said. It was a big mistake. Even so, the reunion did in fact take place if not exactly in the precise location Patrick would have liked. I was in the hospital for six days after the accident, Lachance said. The family came to visit me every day. Fortunately for Lachance, though he s had to spend the last four months out of the sulky, he s kept his spirits high and his outlook positive. Even though I was on crutches until December 28, Lachance said, I was in the gym every day working out. I m the same weight today as I was before the accident and I feel great. Of course doctors had ordered him to stay off his feet and let his bones heal and there is still more healing to go. It s still going to take more time and physical therapy, said Lachance, but I m hopeful to be back at full strength in March. Lachance expects to be back in the sulky on a more regular basis in the days and weeks to come as he conditions his stable back to the races. I have 22 right now and only one is racing, said Lachance. The mare Penpal has been a Friday night regular at The Meadowlands and will continue to race this winter while Lachance preps the remainder of his stable. I m looking to have a lot of them qualified by March and that s my target for getting back on the racetrack, Lachance said. Lachance, the son of Hall of Famer Michel, has kept his focus on young horses over the years and his stable again is comprised primarily of 2 and 3-year-olds. I ve got nine 2-year-olds, said Lachance. I ve got three by Captaintreacherous (two colts and one filly) and one by Sweet Lou (colt). So far I m happy with all of them. Lachance has proven himself over time to be an astute horseman who looks towards developing horses for the long run. Perhaps his most recognized horse is Image Of Dawn, an iron horse that started as a 2-year-old in 2001 racing lightly for Lachance. The son of Life Sign would race for 13 consecutive years and earn a shade under $1.25 million for his career. The lessons of Image Of Dawn have not been lost on the trainer as he has repeatedly gone back to the same bloodstream, trying to find a successor with the talent and soundness to go on. Penpal, a daughter of American Ideal from a sister to Image Of Dawn, has banked $462K to date for the stable and only became a 6-year-old a few weeks back. Lachance showed some enthusiasm for another close relative to Penpal and Image Of Dawn named Shim. The 3-year-old is also by American Ideal out of Feel Life, a full sister to Image Of Dawn. We raced him in the Excelsior A last year, said Lachance of the colt that won two of his seven starts including a 1:56 2/5 performance at Yonkers. Shim was raced as nearly all of the Lachance stable has been known to over the years, and that means from behind. In the Yonkers victory he paced a back half in 55 3/5 coming from well off the pace. Clearly there is talent here and Lachance more than likely was trying to educate and produce a horse that improves with age. Another New York bred sophomore is returning for Lachance and his name alone could attract significant attention. Make America Great showed some talent last year and I m looking forward to racing him this year, said Lachance. The son of So Surreal made his racing debut in November at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono USTA Photo Penpal, who races Friday at The Meadowlands, has been a steady earner for Lachance. and won in 1:55 2/5 racing from off the pace, naturally. The Lomangino Standardbreds-homebred is out of a half-sister to the $584K winner I Like Dreamin, a horse Lachance campaigned for six years including back-to-back $100K campaigns in 2013-14. Unlike Lachance, Ali was able to recover quickly from his incident and was back qualifying for action within two months. A 1:50 3/5 winner in Pennsylvania for Lachance last August, the now 4-year-old Ali finished fourth in a non winners of 3 event at Woodbine Mohawk Park on January 7. Though he s been slower to mend, the bet from this side of the fence is that Patrick Lachance has been energized by his incident and absence. He seems more than focused on a healthy and solid return. Likely to join him upon his racing debut in 2019 will be recent millionaire The Real One, who has been the proverbial cash cow since arriving in his stable in 2014. The Filion s are training him back and when he s ready to race they ll send him down to me, said Lachance of the now 9-year-old that shows no signs of slowing down. The two have a lot in common. Advertise your stallion with THURSDAY, JUNE 8, 2017 Weekend DRF HARNESS HOME DRF BETS HARNESS PPS DIGITAL HARNESS EYE ENTRIES NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE Meadowlands (FRI) Mohawk (FRI) Hawthorne (SAT) Meadowlands (SAT) Mohawk (SAT) Scioto (SAT) Featured Tracks Get FREE PPS Sophomores gather for North America Cup Huntsville, Downbytheseaside & Fear The Dragon lead elims By Derick Giwner The fastest and richest 3-year-old pacers of 2017 will all gather at Mohawk Racetrack on Saturday (6/10) night to vie for one of 10 spots on the starting gate in the C$1,000,000 North America Cup Final the following week. Three C$50,000 eliminations led by Multiple placement discounts For more information or to place an ad, contact Derick Giwner at dgiwner@drf.com or 212-366-7709 Get Top Links & What s Inside Antonacci excited about his Goodtimes prospects READ MORE Dan Patch Awards heading back to Orlando in 2018 READ MORE Jay Bergman: Final times need perspective, Page 4 Darin Zoccali: Brower & Prewitt appeal to bettors, Page 5 Obrigado makes his 2017 debut in Scioto s $200K Charlie Hill, Page 5 Ducharme trio looks to make noise in Vernon s EBC eliminations, Page 6 Ryan Macedonio: Harness Racing needs FUN!, Page 6 Hambletonian trail heats up + Tioga hosts Graduate, Page 7 Weekend stakes schedule Dragon featuring a total of 25 horses should provide some early season clarity in the race for supremacy among the sophomore elite. While the point can be argued, the road to the winner s circle in the Final still goes through Huntsville. The Dan Patch 2-yearold champion from 2016 drew post two in the second elimination (race 8) with regular driver Tim Tetrick slated to drive. Trained by Ray Schnittker, Huntsville opened up his year with a 10 length Pennsylvania Sire Stakes win at The Meadows in the slop that opened some eyes, but was soundly defeated in his next PASS start at Pocono by Fear The Dragon. That loss had some secondguessing the possible dominance of the son of Somebeachsomewhere-Wild West Show for a brief moment. All doubters were put back in line in his third start of 2017 when he left hard from post seven at Harrah s Philadelphia and marched down the road despite hot fractions (26 3/5, 54 2/5 & 1:21 4/5) to demolish his PASS foes on that afternoon by more than seven lengths in a career best-equaling 1:49. He was very good the other night, said Schnittker on th Huntsville was the 2016 Dan Patch award winner as top 2-year-old pacing colt. you for speed, but I thought he looked really good. While the trainer feels his horse is ready for the test at hand, he stopped short of making any bold predictions. I think he is ready to peak. He s had three starts now, but I guess we ll find out for sure up in Canada, said Schnittker. Huntsville is joined in his elimination by newcomer to the Grand Circuit scene Beckhams Z Tam, an Indiana bred who has won each of his four s DRF Harness Weekend 4 January 10, 2019
CONFESSIONS By Keith Gisser Charity, Merriman & Foiled Again A few thoughts on this and that to start the year... I am not sure how tax reform affected your charitable giving, but the charity that I run saw a huge negative impact. If you did not give to an equine-based charity in 2018, please consider doing it in 2019. I have (in the past) tried to donate 10% of my gambling profits to an equine charity. I have not always succeeded, but that has always been the goal. Harness racing has provided a number of pleasures and benefits to me throughout my life -- as a trainer, an owner, a publicist and even now as a free-lancer (we will leave amateur driving out of the equation for now) and I have always tried to give back. There are so many great organizations out there Harness Horse Youth Foundation, Standardbred Retirement Fund, The Harness Racing Museum, New Vocations to name just a few that I am sure you can find someone to donate to this year. Make it a goal and help our sport! What a thrill it was to see Aaron Merriman named Driver of the Year. I have written about the Hardest Working Man in Harness Racing, in this space previously, but his remarkable numbers, especially over the past two years, winning over 1,000 races in each, are hard to comprehend. As I write this he is just 19 wins shy of the 11,000 career mark, which means that by the time you read this, he will probably have exceeded that plateau. As a Midwesterner, I was especially pleased to see a guy who has not necessarily broken through at the major stakes level get credit for simply being very, very good, day in and day out for a long period of time, rather than picking based on a few major wins or a permanent move out East. Aaron has proven he can compete with the best in limited opportunity in the major stakes, but he has chosen to keep up his breakneck pace in Ohio and Western Pennsylvania. In the past, when injured, Merriman has worked special event Northfield broadcasts, providing analysis that neither Dave Bianconi nor I could provide. He did not have to. He just did. Now that he is 40, maybe he will slow down and focus on winning fewer big races. No. I don t think he will. But still, what remarkable numbers from a guy who simply aspired to be a postman when he was younger. Speaking of the voting, while I did not have every category winner on my ballot, I think the USHWA voters generally got it right this year. You can maybe quibble here or there, but it is the first time in a long time where I looked at the entire list of winners and did not say Huh? to at least one of them. If the great Alan Kirschenbaum was still with us, the Foiled Again story would already have been optioned to a major studio. I hope somebody has the chutzpah to put it together and get this story sold. Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters, Stripes, Draft Day) would be the perfect director for this project. He could capture the humanity (equinity?) of the story, while telling it with humor. Vince Vaughn would be a perfect Ronnie Burke (or if there are budget constraints, perhaps John Corbett?). If we really focused on his 14-year-old celebration season, we might be able to get his actual drivers to play themselves, although a cameo by Jack Black as a driver would be fun. Leo DiCaprio could play co-owner Mark Weaver, with Roger Huston as himself. Foiled Again would be played by a series of horses as he grew up, but if he does not play his 14-year-old self, well, that would be a deal-breaker. It s fun to speculate, but the Foiled Again story may well be one of the greatest ever in harness racing history and it needs to be told. If Rambling Willie is the Horse That God Loved and Bret Hanover was Big Bum, certainly this story is compelling. And all the credit goes to his connections for this triumphant tour. Foiled Again earned $77,110 in 2018 while racing at 18 tracks in 28 starts. Those 18 tracks were located in numerous states, including a few trips to Ontario. My guess is that the Burkes, the Kourys and Weaver Bruscemi LLC (am I the only one who thinks that sounds like the name of a law firm, not a horse owner? Sued by an enemy? Call Weaver Bruscemi) spent as much, if not more than that on the horse. They deserve all the credit in the world for creating a great publicity situation for harness racing, indeed one that may never be equaled. My hat is off to them. That s it for this month. While we can no longer go cash, on Foiled Again, I hope you cash far more winners in 2019 than you did in 2018. Paul Kelley Twitter Newly retired trainer Jimmy Takter (right), pictured with trainer Paul Kelley, seems to be keeping busy at Sunshine Meadows Equestrian Village in Florida. Takter s daughter Nancy Johansson later tweeted, Feel free to keep him busy Paul. Gingras gets win No. 7,000 Yannick Gingras was so giddy Yonkers Raceway began its 2019 season Monday night (Jan. 7), he popped in and reached a driving milestone. Career win No.7,000. It took until the finale and odds-on fave Prologue ($2.90) lasting on the lead to get Monsieur Gingras to the Promised Land, doing so by a diminishing nose in 1:53 2/5. Gingras, who began the dozen-race dossier needing three wins to reach the plateau, made short work of the $7.50 early daily double, escorting romping public choices Roll with Jeff ($4.80) in the $13,000 first-race pace (1:56 1/5) and ABC Muscles Boy ($2.80) in the $10,000 second-race trot (1:58). He then forced the rank and file to wait around until last call before receiving his gold star. I m not a numbers guys in that regard. I had no idea that the (7,000) number was upcoming until right before Christmas when someone mentioned it to me, said Gingras. The 39-year-old Gingras, a native of Greenfield Center, PQ, has career earnings in excess of $169 million and more big-money wins than can be easily listed. To have it happen it here (Yonkers) where it all started for me coming down from Canada makes it special, Gingras said. Gingras counts his win with Foiled Again in the 2009 final of the George Morton Levy Memorial Pacing Series here as one of his personal highlights. I don t know what else to say about him. He would get ready to begin his year in the Levy every season... just made for the half-mile (oval). In the last few years, I ve been concentrating more on the stakes races, Gingras said. I had less drives (1,705) and had less wins (330) in 2018 than in about 15 years. This season, I m committing to overnight racing, Yonkers Mondays and Thursdays, Meadowlands Fridays and Saturdays. Winning never gets tiresome. As Cat Manzi said to me, You re only one win away from happiness. -edited release (Frank Drucker for Yonkers) DRF Harness Weekend 5 January 10, 2019
Harness Racing s Biggest Night of the Year! make plans now to attend The 2019 Dan Patch Awards Night of Champions Banquet Sunday, February 24, 2019 Rosen Shingle Creek Resort Orlando, Florida Honoring the 2018 Dan Patch Champions E. Roland Harriman Horse of the Year Trotter of the Year Pacer of the Year Hall of Fame Inductees Communicator Hall of Fame Inductees Hervey & Smallsreed Winners Grand Circuit Award Winners USHWA Awards 2019 Night of Champions Orlando Dan Patch Awards For tickets Judy Davis-Wilson at Zoe8874@aol.com For sponsorship information Shawn Wiles at swiles@empireresorts.com To place an ad in the Dan Patch Awards Journal Kimberly Rinker at Trotrink@aol.com President Shawn Wiles Vice President Kimberly Rinker Treasurer Barry Lefkowitz Secretary Gerry Connors Chairman of the Board Tim Bojarski www.ushwa.org
Marcus Miller seeks weekend Preferred sweep at Meadowlands By Jay Bergman Driver Marcus Miller has some interesting assignments this weekend at The Meadowlands. Refreshed from a holiday vacation, Miller hopes to energize a pair at the top level on the trotting and pacing side this Friday and Saturday night. On the trotting side, Trolley is on the comeback trail for the second time in a career that has been sidetracked on two occasions but now appears on the right track. He broke a coffin bone twice, said Miller of the now 6-year-old son of Donato Hanover who landed post six in Friday s second race, a $21,000 Preferred Handicap trot. I thought he was in the top tier of sophomores, said Miller of Trolley, who was a part of the class of 2016 that included Southwind Frank. Trolley started but five times during the abbreviated season but made his presence known with a solid second to Southwind Frank in the Earl Beal Memorial. I thought he was the best in the Zweig, said Miller of Trolley, who was a 4-1 proposition in the $300,000 event but made a break in stride that ended his chances and his season. I like to say he s the best trotter that I ve ever driven that no one has ever heard of, said Miller, half-joking and half-serious. Trolley completed his second comeback season making five starts last year winning on three occasions while moving up the class ladder at The Meadowlands. He scoped badly after his last race, said Miller of the third-place finish on December 21 that closed out the season. I trained him this morning (Wednesday) and he felt really good. Trolley is a different horse today than he was at age 3, bigger and more mature, and Miller is hoping that the world will get to see what he s been talking about. I think he can become an Open horse that we can travel with over the summer, said Miller. Trolley faces a solid field of six rivals including the likely favorite Muscle Diamond (post 7) to his outside and Dover Downs-invader Fraser Ridge (post 5) to his inside. Miller will return on Saturday night on the outside again in the Preferred Handicap with Geez Joe, starting from post seven in the $21,000 event carded as race seven. He was a horse that just had bad luck pretty much all year until he got to the Meadowlands late in the year, said Miller. He was either jumping over a shadow or getting run into. The fortunes for the now 5-year-old gelded son of Roll With Joe changed dramatically when he arrived in East Rutherford in the fall. I knew he was a pretty nice horse but I didn t expect him to win in (1):48 and change three times, said Miller. Nevertheless, Miller will keep things in perspective and hope that Geez Joe can develop a bit more and perhaps move on to more elite company. Though he s a big horse, Miller claims that Geez Joe can actually get around a half-mile track pretty well. He paced in 1:51 3/5 at Saratoga last year, said Miller. That said, the jury is still out on whether Geez Joe will be tried in the Levy series at Yonkers in March. The $532K winner Ideal Jimmy is another from the Erv Miller collection returning from a long absence from none other than a coffin injury, but the one-time open pacer seems to be heading in the right direction. Andy (Miller) drove him last week so I can t tell you how he was but when I drove him (December 22) I think he could have won the race if I had gotten out, Miller said. Ideal Jimmy was an impressive third after missing a full year of racing action. He s just such a fun horse to be around, said Miller affectionately about a horse he has driven since his 2015 freshman campaign when he captured the $350,000 Pennsylvania Sire Stakes championship in 1:51 flat despite starting from post seven and navigating through a field that included four from trainer Ron Burke. Ideal Jimmy landed post four in the eighth race on Saturday, a conditioned event for non-winners of $11,500 in last five starts. The Meadowlands offers 14 races on both its Friday and Saturday evening cards with a first post at 7:15 p.m. DRF Harness Weekend 7 January 10, 2019 Noble wins driving challenge Former North American dash champion Dan Noble, who won that title in 2011 with 773 victories, accumulated 112 points over his eight drives on Tuesday afternoon (Jan. 8) to capture the 2019 edition of Miami Valley Raceway s annual $25,000 North America Drivers Championship. He follows in the footsteps of Doug McNair and Trace Tetrick, who won the $10,000 first prize in the initial two competitions. Noble trailed Brett Miller by eight points with just one race remaining. The 36-year-old native of nearby Xenia, Ohio, managed a second-place finish with Rockin Hot Lady to earn 20 valuable points. Miller, unfortunately, finished last in the final event and ended with 100 points good for second in the final standings and $5,000 in prize money. Drew Monti, the leading driver on the Buffalo/ Batavia circuit, finished a strong third (95 points) to win a $3,000 bonus payday. Travis Henry (87) from Ontario won $2,000 for his fourth-place finish, followed by Randy Tharps (86, $1,500), 2015 World Drivers Championship winner Dexter Dunn (85, $1,250), Jeremy Smith (76, $1,000), Joe Bonjiorno (67, $750), Aaron Merriman (53, $500) and Anthony Napolitano (39). Noble is the first local reinsman to win the NADC at Miami Valley. The son of the late, great Ohio Hall of Famer Chip Noble grew up about 25 miles from Miami Valley and is the fourth generation Noble to occupy the same barn at the Xenia Fairgrounds over the years. A winner of 5,465 races, Noble lists a 1:47 4/5 career fastest mile behind Pet Rock, winning the Brad Conrad Dan Noble raises the trophy after winning the Miami Valley Drivers Challenge on Tuesday. prestigious Kaltenbach Award as the leading Ohio Sires Stakes driver of the year, and his national dash championship as his most memorable highlights. Winning this championship, especially so close to home, ranks right up there with those other highlight moments though, exclaimed a jubilant Noble on his way back from the winner s circle presentation to the paddock. Noble s 112 points came on the strength of one win, one place finish, two show finishes, two fourths, a sixth and a seventh-place finish over the eight races with 10-horse fields. The eight winners during the Championship Round were: The Optimist (Brett Miller, $6.20), Desires Lady (Dan Noble, $18.40), Twin B Honour (Joe Bonjiorno, $3.60), Cool Like That (Drew Monti, $14.80), One Sweet Woman (Randy Tharps, $12.80), E R Hilary (Travis Henry, $10.40), Colonys Best (Dexter Dunn, $28.80) and Northernflightlady (Tharps, $11.00). Following the winner s circle presentation, Noble was rushed back to the paddock where he had to literally run inside to get a whip and run to jump on the sulky as the horses entered the track for his final mount of the day in a $4,000 overnight event. In typical Noble fashion, he won again with Crombie A, returning $6.80 to his faithful at the windows. -edited release (Gregg Keidel for Miami Valley)
Did you ever want to know more than just the statistics of your favorite trainers and drivers? Derick Giwner took to the backstretch to ask them some more unorthodox questions. owner/breeder adam bowden What kind of car do you drive? White Ford F150 Favorite dinner meal? Snack? Salmon with brown rice and asparagus, Popcorn What is your favorite track to visit? Usually the one I won at. I do well in Canada, so I like Mohawk. I have good luck there. Most people think I m from Canada anyway, they think Maine is part of Canada. Your main business is breeding, but do you spend a lot of time thinking about racing? Every day. We ll have 30 horses racing this year. I watch racing probably every day unless my wife tells me I m not allowed to, whether I have a horse racing or not. I m just a fan. What is the longest time you ve sat in traffic trying to get to or come home from a track? Usually when I m going to Yonkers because I have to cross the bridges. It doesn t happen very often. I d say maybe two hours of traffic. Who is your best friend on the backstretch? My father (Chris). What is your favorite thing to do outside of racing? Run, bike, swim. What is your favorite sport? Team? I have a least favorite sport. I ll watch any sport except hockey, which I m sure will make a lot of drivers unhappy. I d rather watch darts than hockey. What is one thing about you most fans/bettors don t know? That I used to be a farrier. What is one word that describes harness racing for you? My life, past, present and future. If you weren t a breeder, what would you be doing? Probably a farrier. Something to do with horses. What is the best advice you ve ever gotten about harness racing? Luck is when hard work meets opportunity. Derick Giwner Adam Bowden (right) gazes at Pure Country after her Breeders Crown win at Hoosier Park in 2017. What was your best moment in harness racing? When Creatine won the Breeders Crown at Woodbine. It was the second one we won that night as an owner and third that we won as a breeder. And I got to share it with my parents who flew in for the races that night. What is the one race would you d most like to win? What are your prospects to win it in 2019? Probably the Hambletonian. I have no 3-year-olds this year so it will have to be in 2020 at least. Which is the best horse you ve ever owned? Why? Pure Country. First, she was a homebred. Second, we knew from when she was young that she was different than some of the other horses we had. Finally, she could win any way, on the lead or from behind. Any mixed emotions about Pure Country retiring? No. I m ready for the next step (broodmare) and she is as well. If you had the power to change one thing in the sport, what would it be? Figure out a way to get young people to the track. It is boring between races. I m a massive fan of the sport and even I ll flip off the races if I m watching at home because nothing goes on. And my wife refuses to go to the track because of that. It s boring between races. For two minutes it s fine, and if you win it s great, but if you are just sitting there as a fan, It s boring. I can only imagine what it is like for someone that doesn t care about the sport at all. In recent years it seems you have made a conscious decision to focus on the best stallions available. Do you feel that is the case? That s the goal, to take over the stallion world. It takes a little bit of time to acquire all of the stallions. You have to be aggressive CONTINUED ON PAGE 9 DRF Harness Weekend 8 January 10, 2019
CONTINUED from page 8 and you have to be flexible so you can purchase them when they are available. And you have to have balls, because you are going to guess wrong. We have guessed wrong and we will guess wrong, but we ve been able to guess right more than we ve been wrong. Do you see your stallion band continuing to grow or are you happy at the eight you have now? I ll never be happy until I m number one. Yes, it will continue to grow. Did Sweet Lou s first crop meet or exceed your expectations? It met my expectations, but I have high expectations for everything. So it wasn t a bad thing. I was pleased. At DRF Harness we strive to provide the best handicapping information in the sport. Each week we ll use this space to bring you some of our handicappers best bets, value plays and horses to watch. Use this information as one of your tools when wagering or simply click on the link above and head to DRF Bets to wager now. Happy Handicapping! RACE 1 (4) ARNOLDTHEPAPER- BOY was very impressive in the slop at Flamboro on New Year s Eve and off that mile I give him top call here. -Garnet Barnsdale Thursday, january 10 Friday, january 11 Derick Giwner Warrawee Ubeaut was the top earning 2-year-old from stallion Sweet Lou. Is Diamond Creek Farm where you thought it would be when you started it in 2005? It s not where I thought it would be in 2016. We are always changing and ever-evolving. As I look to the future, I m not sure where it is going to be in two years, but I love it. How do you view the future of harness racing? It is bright for what I want to do. I hate all of the negative Nancys. They ve been saying that the sport is dying for 50 years, and it may be decreasing or shrinking to a more reasonable level, but as long as people want to breed horses, there is always going to be standardbred racing. RACE 12 (6) PHOTO KING has rolled against this kind in consecutive starts and there is no reason to believe the string will end. -Derick Giwner RACE 5 (3) MELADY S MONET is as classy as they come and has come back sharp from vacation; trotter will likely have his way with these. -Matt Rose RACE 12 (5) OCEAN COLONY looked to be in a good spot and came up just short last time. The competition tonight is much softer. Be happy if you can get 3-5. -Giwner Meadowlands (FRI) Saturday, january 12 full card analysis / past performances Meadowlands (SAT) Mohawk Park (FRI) Mohawk Park (SAT) Yonkers (FRI) Yonkers (SAT) DHP PPs harness eye PPs trackmaster PPs FREE PPS Want full-card analysis? Visit DRF.com/harness DRF Harness Weekend 9 January 10, 2019
John Polvinale to get President s award from USHWA John Polvinale, who started the Facebook website Harness Racing History to share his extensive collection of memorabilia and has curated it to grow into one of harness racing s most popular sites in the new technology, has been named the winner of a President s Award by U.S. Harness Writers Association head Shawn Wiles for its contribution to the knowledge and enjoyment of the sport by people both inside and outside of the sport. Polvinale first went to the races at Roosevelt Raceway when the track s age was still in single digits, then furthered his knowledge on the backstretch of Freehold Raceway, where trainer Big Mike Petito urged him to purchase a horse named Steady New Yorker in 1979. In his first start for me, he went off at double digits, but he still won by eight lengths, with Jack Moiseyev driving. I thought this sport was going to be a piece of cake which, of course, has not turned out to be the case. But the inevitable ups and downs of racing did nothing to deter Polvinale s enthusiasm for the game, with his love of history also leading him to assemble a large collection of harness-related materials, books, trophies you name it. I had started to watch race replays on the Internet and social media, and with the encouragement of friends who wanted me to share my collection, I decided to use these emerging media to start Harness Racing History. Polvinale soon found that his new site had struck resonantly with many harness racing fans and also with people with only a passing or little knowledge of the sport. It started with people that I knew, John remembered, but then those people talked to people in their own circles, including those not in racing, and a ripple effect was soon evident, with those outside the sulky community finding items and people that interested them. Harness Racing History just broke the 30,000 member plateau, and in a given month will have 100,000 engagements (posts, comments, likes, views). The site s viewership is 60-40 male-female, and 60% fall within the desired 25-54 age range demographic. It was Polvinale who started the Facebook page, doing most of the early postings, and he still checks the site about once during most of my waking hours, watching for any signs of commercialism or incivility, both of which are quickly eradicated. However, he is very proud that now it s mostly the members, the visitors to the site who have determined its shape, and are the drivers of what appears on the website. We know of certain trends, say people who want to see the replays of certain races at certain times, but it s really our audience who are the content shapers with their postings and comments. One of the things that gives me the greatest satisfaction is that the site has become a place where family reunites people who haven t heard from another party for 20 or 30 years will see some experience they had in common and make a comment, and old friendships are reborn. Polvinale s catchwords for operating the site are pure and simple, and those feelings resonate so much that when USHWA president Wiles told John of his winning the award, Shawn used those very words in congratulating Polvinale and it was evident he had captured the spirit of the site exactly. John Polvinale will be honored at USHWA s annual Dan Patch Awards Banquet, celebrating the best and brightest of harness racing in the past year. The banquet honoring the champions of 2018 will be held on Sunday, February 24, 2019 at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort in Orlando FL, the climax of a weekend that also finds USHWA holding its annual national meetings. Tickets for the Dan Patch Awards Banquet are $175, with a filet mignon dinner featured; post times on February 24 are cocktails at 6 p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m. Tickets, and other Banquet-related information, can be obtained through Dinner Planning Committee Chair Judy Davis-Wilson, at zoe8874@aol.com or 302 359 3630. Hotel reservations for those attending can be made through USHWA s website, www.ushwa.org; a link to the hotel s computer is on the front page of the website. Those who would like to take out congratulatory ads for awardwinners in the always-popular Dan Patch Awards Journal can do so by contacting Kim Rinker at trotrink@aol.com (the 2018 journal is online at the writers website). -edited release (USHWA) Derick Giwner & Matt Rose discuss races from Yonkers and The Meadowlands on Friday. UPCOMING STAKES SCHEDULE mohawk park - February C$30,000 Blizzard Final C$30,000 Snowshoe Final Yonkers - March $50,000 Levy Memorial Legs 1-3 $40,000 Blue Chip Matchmaker Legs 1-3 $50,000 Petticoat Final $50,000 Sagamore Hill Final Miami Valley - March $25,000 Ray Paver Sr. Memorial Final $25,000 Herb Coven Jr. Memorial Final $25,000 George Williams Memorial Final the meadows - March $17,500 Donna Dunn Memorial Final $17,500 Mary Wohlmuth Memorial Final $17,500 Ken Weaver Memorial Final Dover - April $100,000 DSBF Finals 3YO C&F Trot $100,000 DSBF Finals 3YO C&F Pace DRF Harness Weekend 10 January 10, 2019