Harness: Alexander is banged up but still looking to fire in 2025

Trainer Travis Alexander's stable had a breakout year in 2024 with 264 wins and $6.58 million in earnings, both career- bests for the conditioner. With an expansive stable preparing in Florida and a Northeast base racing in overnights, Alexander's barn is hitting on all cylinders except one. The trainer was recently involved in a spill that will keep him off the track for approximately 10 weeks, but did little to slow down progress towards a major 2025 campaign.

"I probably should have let go," Alexander said in hindsight of the incident that catapulted him from the bike and led to fractures serious enough to keep him out of action but fortunately not enough to require surgery. "They say eight to 10 weeks and I'm going to be very cautious not to push it. The last thing that I want is to come back too early and then need surgery in the middle of the racing season."

Summing up the man vs. horse scenario, Alexander said, "We think we have them buffaloed that we're in charge. These are 1200-pound animals and they're in charge.

Frustrated a bit that the incident will keep him confined to Florida for the coming weeks, Alexander is hopeful that the New York-based contingent will round into form soon while his more-than-capable staff in Florida puts the finishing touches on a solid group of aged performers and some sophomores that are ready to have solid seasons after minimal success as freshmen.

Primary on that list is Desperate Man; the now 7-year-old son of Shadow Play, along with three others from Alexander's band, is getting ready for the MGM Borgata Pacing Series. "He looks great," said Alexander. "He's put on some extra muscle."

Desperate Man, the 2021 North America Cup winner, won 11 of his 16 starts in his first full season for Alexander, and though there were some disappointments, (losing the 2024 Borgata final) there were far more success stories.

"We're going to stake him a little more than last year," said Alexander, pointing to the William Haughton Memorial as an example. However, Desperate Man will not race in all the big ones. "The owners want to maximize his chances and not over-race him," said Alexander. The strategy paid handsomely in 2024, with Desperate Man earning $486K with just 16 starts.

The Borgata is a tough enough series to wear out many horses, but Alexander is confident that he can have Desperate Man ready for action when the series kicks off in last March. "I doubt we'll race him before the first leg of the series," said Alexander, who is hopeful he'll be able to join the horses in New York by then.

Desperate Man appeared on his way to capturing four preliminary legs of the Borgata and sweeping the final in 2024 but found himself in a head-to-head duel with Linedrive Hanover through torrid fractions, setting the race up perfectly for Hellabalou. Desperate Man settled for third and Alexander, while disappointed defended his driver.

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"You know a lot of people criticized Matt (Kakaley) for the drive," Alexander said reflecting on the race last April. "But there was nothing he could do once Desperate Man got going like that; you have to just let him go."

The racing attitude of Desperate Man was on full display in the 2024 Borgata final, and the fact that he won the battle with Linedrive Hanover after the two duked it out through a 1:21 1/5 three-quarters says much about his desire to win, no matter the adversity. Desperate Man came back later in the year to win the $250,000 Aria at Yonkers on International Trot Day and score in the Kane at Batavia, a path Alexander hopes to repeat this year.

"We'll have him eligible to the Breeders Crown and hopefully the MGM Grand Prix at Yonkers at the end of the year," said Alexander.

Likely to join Desperate Man in the Borgata are Racing Rampage, Why Not Now and Pleaseletmeknow. "I may give Racing Rampage and Why Not Now a start or two before the Borgata," said Alexander, who expects the other two to be qualified and ready to race in the first leg of the series that starts on March 31.

Alexander is hopeful that a trio of sophomore pacers will emerge this year and reach greater heights after promising juvenile seasons. War No More, a son of Papi Rob Hanover that Alexander acquired late last August, was first on that list.

"We bought him off of Jake Leamon and he wasn't staked much after the Sire Stakes, so we stopped with him," said Alexander. "We've paid him into some stakes this year."

War No More had a win and a few placings in Pennsylvania Stallion Series action as a freshman and is bred very much like a pair of solid sophomores with a recent history of success, namely 2020 Little Brown Jug winner Captain Barbossa and 2021 North America Cup third-place finisher Whichwaytothebeach.

Odds On No Limit, a son of Sweet Lou, will also return this year as a sophomore after campaigning for Alexander in the Pennsylvania Stallion series in 2024. "He grew so much from last year," said Alexander with expectations raised for the coming season. Odds On No Limit was a 1:52 2/5 winner in 2024.

Lochlan Hanover, a son of Captaintreacherous, is another sophomore coming off the Pennsuylvanis "B" circuit as a 2-year-old that has trained back well for the coming season. Lochlan Hanover's pedigree is closely-aligned with one of last year's top performers from the Alexander stable in Howlenthehills. Howlenthehills earned $558K last year as a sophomore for the stable after going winless as a 2-year-old. Howlenthehills's dam Arielle Lynn is a half-sister to the dam of Lochlan Hanover.

All three have been nominated for the Bobby Weiss Series at Pocono that will commence on March 29.

With 37 2-year-olds in training in Florida, there is still plenty of work to be done before realizing expectations. While way too early to make any lofty predictions, Alexander put things in perspective. "I'd say collectively this is the best group of 2-year-olds I have trained," Alexander said without naming names.