For veteran horseman Rod Allen, who announced his retirement from the sport last month, the season gave him the opportunity to look back on a career while at the same time look forward to great years ahead. "I'll miss the competition," Allen said from his Florida home. "I'll miss the people in Delaware that I got close to." The 65-year-old made a quiet exit from the sport after years of part-time activity primarily with Delaware-sired homebreds that managed to capture numerous finals and keep Allen going while not having to travel very far or often. "It was great for a while," Allen said. "With the 2-year-olds the stakes wouldn't start until September so I could stay in Florida longer and prepare the horses. Then they would have the 3-year-old events in March of the next year." The schedule changed over the last few years but before that it allowed Allen to bring sons and daughters of C R Commando from his Ocala farm to Delaware and dominate with under a handful of prospects. Notably there was one broodmare that kept on clicking, that being C R Penny Lane. "There was something about the way that mare crossed perfectly with C R Commando," said Allen of C R Penny Lane, a daughter of Lindy Lane. "I'm not a pedigree guru but I really think the presence of Rosemary on both halves of the pedigree is what made it work so well." Rosemary was the dam of champion Royal Prestige as well as an expensive yearling the Allens trained named Spellcaster. Our Last Penny, the last foal from C R Penny Lane, was Allen's last drive on November 23 at Dover Downs and the 2-year-old filly finished second in the $100,000 final just as she had earlier in the year in a final at Harrington. Our Last Penny is significant in that her pedigree goes back to the beginning of the Allen family's involvement in the sport - more specifically from a broodmare that was an original to the family. Ramagada Z was a yearling purchased by Rod in 1979 and named using his initials along with his wife Dawn's, brother Marty and Marty's wife Grace. Ramagada Z would go unraced but would remain a constant in the family bloodline tree finally making her mark five generations later. It was that kind of grit and determination that got the Allens started with Rod's father Carl bursting on the national scene in the early 80's and making his mark in North America with both top trotters and top pacers. While Rod and his brothers Michael and Marty played different parts in the early years Rod would stick by his dad's side forming a powerful partnership that led to champions such as 1995 Horse of the Year C R Kay Suzie along with Meadowlands Pace winner Carlsbad Cam, both driven by Rod during their glory years. Unlike his dad Rod doesn't wax poetic about leaving any goals behind as he leaves the sport for good. "I'm not like my dad," Allen said. "He wanted to win the Hambletonian and get into the Hall of Fame. For me those things never mattered." For Carl Allen, who passed in 2004, and then reached the Hall of Fame, one of his two goals was eventually reached. For Rod Allen the loss of his father in 2004 left him as the surviving partner on many horses and the keeper of the farm and family name in the business. Much like any breeding and racing operation the Allens had amassed a decent broodmare band as well as family-raced stallions to breed to. "It's just something you keep doing," said Rod. "It's a cycle and you breed and raise horses and train them to race." The cycle continued with much of the weight centered on holding on to the family's Ocala Farm and paying the bills. Boarding outside horses helped supplement with much-needed revenue but over time it became apparent that something had to change. "It was my brother Marty that finally convinced me," said Allen, "He said 'you have to have a plan'. At the time I had a five-year plan that was already eight years old." Inevitably Rod began to sell off many of his broodmares and their foals and reduced his racehorse holdings. The final piece to the puzzle was put into place this year when the Golden Cross Farm in Ocala was sold. "We bought a nice property by one of the biggest lakes in Florida," said Allen of the decision to move from Ocala and build a retirement home. "It's a lake that you can still water ski on and fish on too." "The last few years have been fulfilling for me but not so much for my wife," said Allen. "I loved working hands-on with all my horses and doing everything myself. I had the fun part, but Dawn just had the work part." With retirement at hand Allen hopes to spend time with his wife traveling to places neither has been. "You have to do these things while you're healthy," Allen said. Determination has been at the core of the Allen success story over time. Originally with Carl, who was as hands-on as any trainer-driver at the time and worked tirelessly at seeing every horse reached its potential. The elder Allen was also dedicated and devoted to seeing his children succeed and that wasn't always an easy thing to do when you had to satisfy owners as well. "I remember before the Meadowlands Pace Walt (Houston, owner of Carlsbad Cam) didn't want me to drive," said Allen of his mount in the 1992 $1 million classic. "Dad told him that I knew what I was doing out there. Then after we won the race there's this winner's circle picture that Monica Thors took of Walt lifting me up in the air like I was an 8-year-old kid." The irony of the Allens winning The Meadowlands Pace with a horse sired by Cam Fella may be lost on those who weren't around in 1983. It was that year where the Allens became front-page news in the sport with the 4-year-old Its Fritz, who essentially rose from obscurity to world-record status. The son of Keystone Ore would go on to have memorable, if not winning battles against champion Cam Fella in a rivalry that got a little ugly at times. "I was in the background at the time," said Allen, recalling that his brother Marty, who drove Its Fritz, and his dad were the prime movers and shakers in the stable. "A lot of it was hyped in the press but there were some bad feelings that went on for a long time." It was Rod who inevitably would convince his dad that they had to put personal feelings aside. "We had a few Albatross-sired mares that crossed perfectly with Cam Fella," said Allen, who broke the stalemate with Carlsbad Cam and C R Daniella (1994's top NJ 2-year-old filly) eventually producing from the decision. While C R Kay Suzie sticks out as likely the best horse Allen ever drove, he had a softer spot for her younger brother C R Renegade, who captured the sophomore Breeders Crown in 1999 at Mohawk. "With C R Kay Suzie you had to do what she wanted to do. She would fight you all the time. With Renegade he did what you wanted him to do and would just keep fighting to the end," said Allen. While Rod Allen's retirement closes the book on the Allen family involvement in the sport, it seems clear his daughters have chosen a direction he believes is worth celebrating. "It's just amazing what they have been through,” Allen said. "One of my daughters was a nurse helping deliver babies through Covid and the other is a teacher having to get children through these difficult times." Though neither daughter went into the standardbred business Rod’s 16-year-old granddaughter Maddie has been involved with jumpers for the last five years. "I gave her one of C R Penny Lane's offspring as a gift," Allen said. The gift horse is now transitioning into a jumper, keeping the bloodlines going to the next generation and a most happy ending to the Allen standardbred saga. Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter