- Harness Racing Breeders Crown 2018 Results
- Harness Racing Breeders Crown 2019
- Harness Racing Breeders Crown 2018 Schedule
- 2018 Harness Racing Breeders Crown
On October 27, 2018 Scott Zeron drove Captain Crunch to a definitive three-length win in the $600,000 Breeders Crown 2-Year-Old Colt Pace Final at The Downs at Mohegan Pocono on Saturday. The time for the mile on the track rated 'sloppy' was 1:51.3. The Breeders Crown UK & Ireland welcomes all harness racing enthusiasts in 2019! Our aims are to promote the sport of harness racing, encourage positive media & marketing whilst striving to improve harness horse breeding in the UK & Ireland. The Breeders Crown, harness racing’s annual $6 million year-end series of 12 championship events, returns to longtime partner track The Meadowlands, in East Rutherford, New Jersey, for 2021. Bringing the championship series back to New Jersey was made possible through the efforts of the Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association of New Jersey and New Meadowlands managing owner and CEO. Breeders Crown 2018 - Punters Paradise Race 1 - WOODLANDS STUD BREEDERS CROWN SERIES 20 (3YO TROTTING COLTS & GELDINGS) FINAL (GROUP 1) Race 2 - ALDEBARAN PARK BREEDERS CROWN SERIES 21 (2YO TROTTING FILLIES) FINAL (GROUP 1) Race 3 - YABBY DAM RACING BREEDERS CROWN SERIES 20 (3YO TROTTING FILLIES) FINAL (GROUP 1). Since 2016, the Breeders Crown series enjoyed record-breaking runs at Harrah’s Hoosier Park (2017 & 2020), The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono (2018) and Woodbine Mohawk Park (2019.) “The Hambletonian Society has partnered with The Meadowlands to present many extraordinary races over the last 40 years,” said John Campbell, president and CEO of the Hambletonian Society, which owns.
Yannick Gingras has won numerous Grand Circuit stakes, including 23 Breeders Crown finals, in his career. That can only be done with some great horses.
Thus, it’s an impressive declaration when Gingras says of Tall Dark Stranger, “He’s the most complete horse I’ve ever driven.”
“For pure blazing speed, maybe I’ve driven horses that are a bit quicker than him; not a lot, but a bit quicker,” he added. “But for a horse that can absolutely do it all, I don’t really think I’ve driven one like that and I don’t think many other people have, either.”
Gingras will have perhaps his final chance to drive harness racing’s No. 1-ranked horse Saturday in the $500,000 Breeders Crown final for 3-year-old male pacers at Harrah’s Hoosier Park. In September, Hanover Shoe Farms announced that Tall Dark Stranger will join its stallion roster for the 2021 breeding season.
Tall Dark Stranger will start the Breeders Crown final from post one and is the 3-5 favorite on the morning line. A Breeders Crown winner at age 2, Tall Dark Stranger is looking to become the first male pacer to add a trophy at 3 since Artiscape in 1997-98.
“I don’t mind the pressure,” Gingras said. “If I did, I’d be in the wrong business and maybe being a driver wouldn’t be the right thing to do in my life. This week, he’s the horse to beat and everybody knows that.
“I think that’s what makes it fun. I’d rather have the pressure of having the best horse than not having any pressure.”
Owned by Crawford Farms Racing, Marvin Katz, Caviart Farms, and Howard Taylor, Tall Dark Stranger is trained by Nancy Takter and has been driven by Gingras in every lifetime start but one. He enters the race with 11 wins in 12 starts and $1.19 million in earnings this year; and 19 wins and one second in 21 career starts with $1.90 million in earnings.
Sired by Bettor’s Delight out of Precocious Beauty, Tall Dark Stranger is the only horse to ever win the Metro Pace and Breeders Crown as a 2-year-old and the Meadowlands Pace and North America Cup as a 3-year-old. He was the Dan Patch 2-Year-Old Colt Pacer of the Year in the U.S. and earned the same honor in Canada.
Harness Racing Breeders Crown 2018 Results
“He’s the total package,” Gingras said. “It would be hard to pick just one thing I liked. He’s big, he’s strong, he’s fast, he’s got heart. He can do it all, there’s really no flaws in his armor.”
Those qualities were not completely apparent as a baby, but Takter and Gingras have cultivated all the potential over two years.
“I really loved him from the start but to say he was the most complete horse, I’d be lying if I was saying that at the beginning,” Gingras said. “I think he’s developed to be that. When I baby raced him I absolutely loved him. He showed then he had tremendous speed and he had a great gait to him.
Harness Racing Breeders Crown 2019
“But until you really test them once or twice you don’t know what the heart is. You could have an idea whether they’re going to be game or not. Two-year-olds, they’re a little dumb in a way. They do things sometimes that they physically can’t, but their brains are not telling them not to do it. That’s why you have to be careful not to ask a 2-year-old to do too much really early.
“We took it easy a little bit on him in the beginning, but when it was time to put the money on the line we raced him and he showed up every single time. He’s proved to be a tremendous, tremendous horse.”
Coming off his Dan Patch-winning year, expectations were obviously high for Tall Dark Stranger. But not so great that he couldn’t go even higher.
“It would be hard to say he didn’t surpass expectations,” Gingras said. “Of course I was super confident in the horse, I thought he could win it all and he hasn’t lost a race of any major importance. Every big race Nancy put him in the box, he’s won them all. It would be hard to say he could do anything more than he’s done so far. Now the Breeders Crown is the last little check mark.”
Gingras feels the colt’s breakout race was last year’s Metro Pace, when he got out in front and held off a late challenge from Papi Rob Hanover.
“He just exploded,” Gingras said. “Up until that point we really hadn’t raced him too hard. We didn’t have to dig until then, and that’s when I actually raced him pretty hard. That’s when I knew he was better than just a very good horse, he was a great horse, and he hasn’t disappointed me since.”
As for Tall Dark Stranger’s best race, Gingras opted for the Meadowlands Pace, when the horse overcame an off day.
“He wasn’t maybe at his best, there were other races where he’s been a little sharper than that,” the driver said. “That day he really had to dig deep. Papi Rob took it to him. That day he just showed all the grit I knew he had, and he showed the world how tough of a horse he was.”
In fact, it is emblematic of how Tall Dark Stranger likes to race. He can get out in front or come from behind, but seems content to always make it a battle.
“He likes to fight,” Gingras said. “He’s not a horse that’s going to come home at :25 flat like some of the others. He likes to race, he likes the fractions to be fair. I don’t think he’s quite the sprinter that many others can be.
“Other than that, this week if they mix it up fast the first three-eighths, I could definitely come first up, second over or I could be in the front, and have no worries. I’m not looking to be too far back, so he’s going to be put in play one way or the other.”
In looking at the field, Gingras feels that Cattlewash, Warrawee Vital and Captain Barbossa are among the horses that can give Tall Dark Stranger a challenge. Cattlewash, trained by Ron Burke, won the other Breeders Crown elimination in a track-record 1:47.2 and has a world-record-equaling 1:46.4 mile to his credit.
“It’s definitely not a one- or two-horse race,” he said. “It’s a complete field of horses and it goes to show how great of a horse he is because he’s beaten them every time.”
And he will look for one more victory to cap a memorable career.
“It actually got into my head about two starts ago, once I got to Lexington. I thought, you know what, there’s not much left,” he said. “Realistically this weekend could be his last lifetime start. There’s a chance he goes to TVG, but it’s not official, it depends on how this weekend goes and how he comes out of the race.
“I’ve enjoyed the run, but I think he would be a tremendous aged horse. He’s the kind of horse that keeps getting better and tougher. If he came back at 4 and 5, I think he would dominate. Selfishly, I’d love to have him for a couple more years and I think the fans would love to have him. But I understand the breeding part of the business. I totally get it. I know the horse is worth a fortune as a sire.” (Rich Fisher/USTA)
By John Furgele
It’s time for the Breeders Crown, a two-day celebration where the best of the best in harness racing will go at it and try to establish or enhance their legacies. The Breeders Crown, though, is much different than thoroughbred’s Breeders’ Cup.
First of all, standardbreds race much more frequently, and Breeders Crown races are usually not all-or-nothing affairs, when the winner usually ends up a divisional champion. Should a heavy favorite lose or run poorly, chances are the horse may be racing again the next week.
There are 12 races over two days at Woodbine Mohawk Park this weekend. Friday is for the freshmen with finals being contested for 2-year old pacers and trotters, colts/geldings and fillies. Saturday’s card features eight races — four for 3-year olds, two opens and two for fillies and mares.
I could go through each race and break it down, but truth-be-told that’s not my strong suit and predicting the outcomes of the 2-year old races for me is an exercise in futility. With 12 races, what should you look for and look at? For me, days like the Breeders Crown are about one thing – stars. You look for them and afterwards, you label them.
The Saturday card is full of stars. We’ll start with the Open Mare pace featuring Shartin N. The N means she is from New Zealand and this “Wonder from Down Under” has been dominant all year; in fact, she may be the one pacing mare who could hold her own against the boys. That won’t happen here, but this is a gal who’s paced a mile in 1:47 and change and glides over the track with great ease.
She did get beat by the very game Caviart Ally her last time out and while “Ally” is a fine mare, Shartin N is on a different level. This is her race to stamp herself as an all-timer and if she wins and wins impressively, she should be Horse of the Year; not Mare of the Year, or Older Horse of the Year, but Horse of the Year. That’s how good she’s been. If you can’t tell, I’m a big fan of small but speedy mare pacers.
The next star-maker race is for 3-year filly pacers and the one looking to establish that status is Warrawee Ubeaut. At 4-5, she’s the clear favorite and while any Breeders Crown field is star-laden, she will be looking to put on a show and make herself one to remember. This is her to race to win and no one would be shocked to see 4-5 become 2-5 before the post.
The sixth race — the $500,000 Breeders Crown Open Pace — is my favorite because there isn’t one horse that hasn’t done something of significance. These are the veterans, the old warhorses, the ones that have been around, racing and winning on a regular basis. Anytime a big purse is dangled, these horses show up and put on a good show.
The field is led by the reigning Horse of the Year, McWicked. The now 8-year old got off to somewhat of a slow start with some saying that perhaps he was over raced in 2018. But things took a turn for the good when he rallied in late stretch to win the Joe Gerrity Memorial at Saratoga Casino Hotel on July 20. Soon after the wins started coming and he enters the open 5-2 on the morning line.
He will be tested by all the others. Jimmy Freight, This Is The Plan, Dorsoduro Hanover, Courtly Choice and American History are all more than capable of prevailing. The only drawback is the absence of Lather Up, who paced the fastest mile in harness history when he stopped the clock in 1:46 at the Meadowlands in July. That tied the mark set by Always B Miki in 2016 at The Red Mile in Lexington. The 4-year old suffered an injury in October and has been retired. He’ll be at the Breeders Crown, where he will be feted with an official retirement ceremony.
The 3-year old Trot for colts and geldings is what I’m labeling the cementer. This is the one division that the fans know about because of the Hambletonian, which is the most well-known of all harness races. Back on that August Saturday at The Meadowlands, Forbidden Trade, at 15-1, pulled off the upset. He is entered, but the oddsmakers have him at 10-1.
The one horse who was supposed to win the Hambo is Greenshoe and he is the 3-5 morning line favorite. He did not pout after his loss and comes to the Breeders Crown as the deserving favorite. There are two others in Gimpanzee and Green Manalishi that are certainly capable of winning and Don’t Letem, at 4-1 is far from a slouch.
Harness Racing Breeders Crown 2018 Schedule
This race will be the most bet for many reasons. Trotters always command attention and because these are the 3-year olds, and more or less a rematch of the Hambo, the eyes will be honed in come 9:44 p.m. ET. In reality, this is to standardbred racing what the Breeders’ Cup Classic is to thoroughbred racing. And, of all the races, it offers the deepest and most competitive field.
McWicked (photo via harnesslink.com).
There is one race that offers mystery, aura and some international intrigue and that’s the Open Trot because it features the French-owned, 45-time winner named Bold Eagle, who is racing outside of Europe for the first time. He’s won many of the big races in Europe and now tries to introduce himself to harness racing fans on this side of the Atlantic. He will be driven by Hall of Famer Brian Sears, who has 30 Breeders Crown victories.
And, like the 3-year old trot, the field is deep and talented. Lindy The Great is 3-1; 2018 Hambletonian champ Atlanta, the filly, is looking to rebound from a disappointing finish at the Yonkers International Trot; 2016 Trotting Triple Crown winner and Canadian bred Marion Marauder who will always fight to the finish; and Guardian Angel As, another capable trotter. All have a shot at the $250,000 winner’s check in this $500,000 race.
Bold Eagle will garner the attention and those watching are eager to see just how good the Flying Frenchman is. He’ll likely leave early where he is sure to be challenged by the Ake Svanstedt trained and driven Six Pack.
Woodbine Mohawk Park has hosted before and the 7/8-mile track will provide a fast, fair and solid surface. Last year’s edition was contested at Pocono Downs, a 5/8-mile surface and while that track did a good job, most who enjoy harness racing prefer the 7/8-mile tracks that are Hoosier and Woodbine Mohawk Parks, and the mile oval at The Meadowlands.
2018 Harness Racing Breeders Crown
Post time for both days is 7 p.m. ET, and both cards have 12 races. If you like both versions of horse racing, these next two weeks are what you’ve been waiting for.