Harness: Completing a virtual 3-year-old pacing championship

Standardbred racetracks are dark in North America. There are no tellers punching win tickets. There are no track announcers getting excited about a stretch battle. There are no bettors standing on the track apron against the fence harassing their favorite drivers.

It has been more than two weeks since there was a harness race in North America and we are realistically at least two weeks, and probably closer to four, away from any semblance of a return to racing. I would like to believe that the majority of Grand Circuit stakes will go off as scheduled, but at this point that is unknown, which led me to contact my friends at The Farm to see if they could provide a simulation to get the blood flowing during this extended lull in the schedule.

The DRF Harness 3-year-old Pacing Challenge presented by The Farm and the Breeders Crown will run for the next two-plus weeks and provide a hypothetical and statistical look at a portion of the 3-year-old pacing colt season. The schedule of races, to be contested in Catch Driver, an app that allows users to virtually drive horses in races, is as follows:

North America Cup - April 17 (Mohawk)

Max Hempt - April 18 (Pocono)

Meadowlands Pace - April 19 (Meadowlands)

Cane Pace - April 24 (Meadowlands)

MGM Messenger - April 25 (Yonkers)

Tattersalls - April 26 (Red Mile)

Breeders Crown - May 1 (Hoosier)

The action starts this weekend with the North America Cup, Max Hempt and Meadowlands Pace. In most cases, the fields only include horses which are actually eligible to the race (eligibles for the Hempt and Tattersalls were not available prior to this project's start). The horses for each race were selected based on 2-year-old accomplishments and expected potential. Of course, with only 8-to-10 horses in each race, some potentially top horses may not have made the cut, but the majority of the most likely performers, including the undefeated Elver Hanover, Champion Tall Dark Stranger and Governor’s Cup winner Papi Rob Hanover, will all be competing in some of the stakes.

Each horse was assigned values for speed, stamina, gate speed and heart. These main attributes of the game combine with each drivers skill to determine the outcome of the races.

Players will enter to compete in the Catch Driver app. Each person enters the stakes event and will be assigned to drive one of the horses. Post-positions for each race are random, as are the driver assignments. Virtual drivers are competing for the game’s currency - horseshoes - and the person who wins the most races for each stake will get a DRF Harness hat. Each race lasts for 24 hours and players can enter as many times as they want.

Throughout the virtual schedule, I will review the results and preview the upcoming weekend of stakes action. Expect to see statistics on which horses won the most times, information on the fastest win times, and more cool information. Also, the most-prolific winners in the first six stakes will get a spot on the gate in the virtual Breeders Crown final.

It all kicks off on Friday, April 17 at 10 A.M. with the North America Cup from Woodbine Mohawk Park. In alphabetical order, the field, along with their accomplishments, is as follows:

NORTH AMERICA CUP

Capt Midnight (10-6-0-1 - $299,038 - 1:49 4/5) - Third in the Metro and placed fourth in the Breeders crown, his major wins came in the International Stallion Stake at Red Mile and Nassagaweya at Mohawk. Tony Alagna trains the son of Captaintreacherous.

Captain Barbossa (14-3-5-2 - $127,488 - 1:51 2/5) - His biggest win came in the Bluegrass series at the Red Mile when he set his lifetime mark. Another Tony Alagna-trained son of Captaintreacherous.

Captain Nemo (5-0-5-0 - $60,119) - The third Tony Alagna trainee in the field, Captain Nemo never won in 2019, but he never finished worse than second, either. His combined five losses were by just two lengths.

Catch The Fire (12-4-3-2 - $258,547 - 1:49 4/5) - He rolled to a career-best 1:49 4/5 victory in the Kentucky Sire Stakes final and was only a few lengths behind the best of his 2-year-old class in some other stakes for trainer John Ackley.

Cattlewash (13-4-3-4 - $311,791 - 1:50 3/5) - Consistency was the calling card in 2019 for this Ron Burke-trained son of Somebeachsomewhere. He only missed the board twice and picked up a Bluegrass win along the way.

Elver Hanover (9-9-0-0 - $363,450 - 1:48 3/5) - He was the best 2-year-old in Ohio and continued that perfect run in the Grand Circuit with wins in the Bluegrass and International Stallion Stake. The Ron Burke trainee also became the fastest 2-year-old in history with his 1:48 3/5 score at the Red Mile.

Freedom Warrior (13-5-1-3 - $148,697 - 1:49 4/5) - He did some good things on the New York Sire Stakes circuit and wowed with a couple of big miles in late closers at the Red Mile. The Kevin Lare trainee never got involved in the Breeders Crown from outside posts and now gets his chance to step up in 2020.

Odds On Osiris (10-7-1-1- $343,895 - 1:50 3/5) - Trained by Melanie Wrenn, the King of Indiana gets his first shot outside of the State after winning most of his Sire Stakes events and minor stakes in the Madison County and Fox Stake.

Papi Rob Hanover (12-6-4-2 - $754,774 - 1:50) - The Brett Pelling trainee accumulated more money than any of his rivals in 2019 while winning the Governor’s Cup, Matron and Pennsylvania Sire Stakes championship.

Tall Dark Stranger (9-8-1-0 - $717,514 - 1:49 1/5) - The Bettor's Delight colt tasted his only defeat in the Breeders Crown elimination. He was placed first in the final and also won the rich Metro back in September 2019. Nancy Takter trains the colt.

MAX HEMPT MEMORIAL

The field changes slightly for the Hempt as we add some new shooters to the mix and remove others. Odds On Osiris, Cattlewash, Captain Nemo and Captain Barbossa leave the group, while Father Nuno, Major Betts and Force N Fury join what will be a 9-horse field. Outlined below are the new shooters:

Father Nuno (12-3-1-3 - $205,472 - 1:52 4/5) - Trained by Tom Cancelliere, the Somebeachsomewhere colt put in a solid season as a 2-year-old and charged home to be second behind Papi Rob Hanover in the Governor’s Cup to close out his year.

Force N Fury (13-2-5-1 - $100,808 - 1:50 2/5) - The Tony Alagna charge was kept away from the elite of the division in his rookie year and closed things out nicely with a win in the Kindergarten Classic final. He seems like a viable player with some winter advancement.

Major Betts (11-4-1-2 - $134,274 - 1:49 1/5) - The Art Major-sired colt put up one of the fastest miles of 2019 for 2-year-olds when he won the International Stallion Stake in 1:49 1/5. He showed his insane speed in the Kindergarten Classic when he went the half in 53 4/5 and three quarters in 1:21 3/5 before tiring to third. Can trainer Mark Harder get the most out of him in 2020?

MEADOWLANDS PACE

Elver Hanover and Freedom Warrior exit the Grand Circuit for this leg as we bring in one complete newcomer in Manticore. The field swells back up to 10 horses on the mile track.

Manticore (11-3-4-3 - $174,965 - 1:52 2/5) - He made a bunch of money finishing second in the PASS championship behind Papi Rob Hanover and competed against some of the best in his division all year. Veteran trainer Bruce Saunders conditions the Western Ideal-sired colt.

The Meadowlands Pace field includes:

Capt Midnight, Captain Nemo, Captain Barbossa, Catch The Fire, Cattlewash, Father Nuno, Force N Fury, Manticore, Papi Rob Hanover and Tall Dark Stranger.

Who will be crowned the virtual champion of the races above and earn a spot in the Breeders Crown at the end of the virtual season? Stay Tuned!