Harness: Bell 'Betting' on a fresh stallion with a pair of rookie colts

Harness Racing is a business that requires an edge to succeed. Whether you are training horses, betting on horses, or breeding horses, knowing something others don’t is an advantage. For Myron Bell, who started his career in this business on the Grandstand side, to be where he is today is extremely unlikely. Bell watched and wagered on the races first, but it is that part of his résumé that likely sets him apart from many of his contemporaries in the breeding business.

"I think a lot of breeders just know the statistics and aren't aware of what kind of horses are in maternal families," Bell said from his Florida residence. "I can remember watching some of these horses that go back five and six generations. You don't just know their records, you know what type of racehorses they were."

Indeed, that special ability to recall specific horses from generations has given Bell a different kind of edge when it comes to tracking families and then digging for quality purchases at the yearling sales each year. The soon-to-be 80-year-old Bell is in his words "living the life", in that following the success of Captaintreacherous on the track and now as a stallion, he’s been able to breed a select few each year and enjoy the best of all worlds.

"There’s a lot of luck in coming up with a great horse," said Bell. But at the same time in order to get lucky you have to have the knowledge necessary to make wise investments.

In Captaintreacherous, Bell found a horse from his favorite maternal family that dated back to the great Romeo Hanover, a champion during Bell's youth. To select Captaintreacherous as a yearling and enjoy the ride to racehorse champion and now standout stallion, one would think Bell has nothing to prove, but with each year and each yearling sale, he is constantly looking for the next horse with a new pedigree and a chance at greatness.

With that in mind, Bell spoke briefly about a pair of colts he purchased last fall by first-crop sire Betting Line. While many focused their attention on the fastest horse of all time Always B Miki’s first crop, Bell saw an opportunity to focus in on the offspring of Betting Line, arguably his sire Bettor's Delight’s best colt.

"I really didn’t follow the Bettor's Delights that much and most of his top horses turned out to be geldings," said Bell. Yet in Betting Line, Bell found a pair that may have slipped under the radar to some but had pedigree and conformation that stood out, at least to someone of Bell’s background.

The colt Winner Is Coming (yet another Game of Thrones references) was one horse that Bell thought came reasonably priced at a $60,000 tag. "He was at Kentuckiana Farms and I think a lot of people who look at yearlings there focus on trotters, so maybe he was a bit overlooked," said Bell. Winner Is Coming is the third foal from Injeanous Style, a daughter of Western Ideal from the rich maternal line of Delinquent Account. "I remember when I was trying to convince George Segal (Brittany Farms) to buy Delinquent Account," said Bell. "He wasn't that interested but she was from the same family as Sir Dalrae and he was one of the best horses of his time."

Delinquent Account would become a foundation mare and produce Artiscape and a host of mares that have produced countless champions, including millionaire brothers Western Terror and If I Can Dream. More recently, Bell has enjoyed tremendous success with Tall Drink Hanover, a now 4-year-old mare by Captaintreacherous from this family, who is ready for racing action for trainer Tony Alagna.

The $120,000 Betting Line colt, by the name of Catalyst Hanover, sold at Harrisburg to Bell and his associates, and has trained down well as well. "He had a brother (Keystone Concrete) that was a top 2-year-old in Ontario and beat Bettor's Wish in the Gold Final," said Bell.

While that may have impressed others, Bell went deep to track down the pedigree here that may have been foreign to others but was right on point for him. "This family goes back to Its Fritz, who was as fast as a horse could be," said Bell. "There was also Mr Sandman, who was a top horse in New York for many years." What Bell loved about the maternal side of his family is how well the mares have done when mated with less than spectacular sires.

While Alagna put both Betting Line colts in his Top 10 list heading north, Bell, while staking both extensively, will reserve judgment for a time. "They’ve both been in 2:02," Bell said. "We'll see how they do after their second baby race."

It is Bell's belief that then and only then can you really tell the caliber of a young horse.