Harness racing is a numbers game. When you train two sophomore pacers that each earn seven figures in a single season, you get noticed. Such is the case for trainer Brian Brown who in 2017 had the good fortune to have not one but two standout sophomore pacers in the now-retired Downbytheseaside and Fear The Dragon. Brown wintered in Florida in 2016-17 with 88 head in his stable including all aged groups. This year the stable has 113 with a majority of juveniles training for their first season on the track. “We’re training a lot more,” said Brown from Spring Garden Ranch. “Honestly things are going very smoothly. We haven’t missed any time. I’ve divided the horses in groups of 12-14 per trainer.” Brown says that his help shows up on time and he shuffles between groups every three days. “I can’t sit behind all of them every week but with the rotation I can over a few weeks,” Brown said. Repeating the feats of 2017 may be difficult if not impossible this year or perhaps any year in the future. Top 3-year-olds don’t come along that often, let alone two in one particular year. Nevertheless, Brown certainly hopes that there is at least one diamond in the group this year. “Done Well has trained back in 2:09,” said Brown of the undefeated 3-year-old son of Well Said, injured last year after winning his first four starts in impressive fashion. “Before he got hurt I thought that he had started his career as good or better than ‘Seaside’ or ‘Dragon’. But they did it over an entire year and then again last year. He still has a lot to prove. “I think Always Bet De Grey has a chance,” said Brown of the 3-year-old homebred son of Always A Virgin. The Indiana-bred captured the rich Super Final against horses that were more than competitive in the Breeders Crown. With four wins in seven starts exclusively in Indiana, Always Bet De Grey took a 1:50 3/5 mark. “There are so many opportunities in Indiana for a young horse that you really don’t have to stake them that much,” said Brown. “He’s eligible to the North America Cup and a few others including the Jug.” Always Bet De Grey is the third foal and first colt from the Bettor’s Delight-sired mare Life Of Delight, owned by Bruce Trogdon’s Emerald Highland Farms. While Done Well showed initial promise in baby races at Brown’s home track – the Delaware County Fairgrounds – there were others that graced the famed half-mile oval that also showed some impressive early talent. Larrys Petrock, a gelding from the first crop of Pet Rock, debuted for Brown in a qualifier last June at Delaware with a handy 1:58 score and a 27-flat final quarter. Finishing fourth in that race was Done Well. “I only had him for two weeks,” said Brown of Larrys Petrock. “He chipped a sesamoid bone in his second start.” Larrys Petrock is a homebred of Gerrie Tucker’s and the third foal from the mare that has already produced the 1:49 1/5 Ontario Sire Stakes winner Gerries Sport. With little racing experience as a juvenile, Tucker wanted to give the gelding a chance to get some racing this winter. Larrys Petrock has gone two impressive performances this winter at Woodbine and Brown is well aware of what’s in store. “We’ve got him eligible to the North America Cup,” said Brown, who will reunite with Larrys Petrock when his stable ships north in the spring. While it is still very early in the 3-year-old season, it’s hard not to be impressed with Larrys Petrock’s debut, a 1:54 mile where he stormed home from some 15 lengths back at the half mile mark, including a 26 2/5 final quarter. “He’s eligible to the Hackett at Miami Valley in April,” said Brown of Larrys Petrock. Another possible sleeper is Whatstroublnurocky, an Arden Downs stakes division winner at 2 that had an OCD removed after an abbreviated juvenile campaign. The son of A Rocknroll Dance is training back well and is expected to be ready for qualifiers in the third and fourth weeks of March at Spring Garden Ranch. With 75 2-year-olds in training, Brown is hopeful that he’ll have a host of top quality colts and fillies come this spring to baby race. “Less than 15 of them are struggling in one way or another,” said Brown with hope. While the stable is heavily weighted towards younger horses, Brown sounded quite hopeful that he would have a place in some of this year’s aged events. Blazin Britches, a winner in 11 of 15 starts as a sophomore with earnings above $500K in 2017, is on schedule for her 4-year-old return in a few months. Brown seems excited about the 2018 return to the racetrack for Muscle Network. The now 7-year-old son of Muscle Hill has spent the last two years as a stallion, but the trainer says that was by design. “He’s had some knee problems,” said Brown. “The owners (Frank Bellino & Sons) made the decision to give him a few years off and then try to bring him back.” Muscle Network stood in Ohio in 2016 and 2017 and is well on his way back to the races. “He’s a beautiful looking horse. I’ve been in 2:15 with him,” said Brown. Muscle Network will be put in four or five major stakes races including the Breeders Crown according to Brown. “We’re going to keep him off the half-mile track,” Brown said, obviously concerned about the horse’s prior soundness issues. For Brian Brown it’s impossible to replace two horses that graced his stable and winner’s circles throughout North America over the last two years. However, with an expanded stable and a large and diverse population of juveniles, the stable could make an even greater impact in 2018. “I like what I have right now,” said Brown. “But they’re going to have to prove it on the racetrack.” Spoken like a true trainer.