Harness: Garden State's landscape continues to grow with Six Pack addition

When the elected officials of New Jersey decided to invest in the racing industry earlier this year with a potential five-year $100 million purse subsidy, it marked the first ray of light for the Garden State’s Standardbred industry in years. Just nine months removed from Governor Phil Murphy approving the legislation, we are seeing meaningful impact in the way of one of the fastest trotters in history choosing New Jersey and specifically Deo Volente Farms as his permanent residence for stallion duty.

Six Pack, an 18-time career winner in 34 starts with earnings of $1,768,104, will make his way to the Flemington, New Jersey farm after his final career start in the TVG final at The Meadowlands on November 23.

“We are extremely excited, especially since we are seeing the fruits of our labors with respect to making New Jersey again the preeminent place to race and breed in the entire country and perhaps North America,” said Deo Volente CEO Michael Gulotta.

Through three years of racing, Six Pack has set a multitude of records. His 1:49 1/5 win in the Kentucky Futurity in 2018 at the Red Mile stands as the fastest mile by a trotting colt in North American history and by far the fastest-ever clocking by a 3-year-old trotter. He also owns the world record for 4-year-old horses at 1:49 2/5, set in the Allerage over the same surface in 2019.

Despite already displaying such extreme speed, co-owner and driver/trainer Ake Svanstedt is certain the son of Muscle Mass could have gone even faster. “Sebastian K was 7 years old when he went 1:49. I think if Six Pack would race a couple of more years, he would go faster. He’s a stronger and faster horse,” said Svanstedt, who still has mixed feelings about the pending retirement.

“Of course it is more fun for me to race him, but it is a lot of money for the stallion deal. He can’t make that money on the race track,” said Svanstedt, who is hoping Six Pack will eclipse the accomplishments of former trainees Sebastian K and Resolve in the breeding shed. “I also have a couple in Sweden but none of them have ever produced any good stallions yet. I hope Six Pack can be a good stallion.”

Six Pack’s accolades far exceed his ability to trot fast on a mile track. He also owns the all-age track record at Yonkers Raceway over that half-mile oval with a 1:53 1/5 clocking shared with his stablemate Plunge Blue Chip.

Six Pack will join the already prominent Trixton to form a powerful duo on the trotting side of the ledger for Deo Volente. With just under two years of stakes racing complete by his progeny, Trixton has already seen Evident Beauty win over $750K and more than a dozen others eclipse six-figure territory. His 2-year-old band already includes the co-fastest trotter for that age group in Violet Stride (1:52).

With a multi-continental ownership group that includes Svanstedt, Jeff Gural’s Little E LLC, Knutsson Trotting, Stall Kalmar and L Berg Inc., the syndication is sure to be a worldwide affair according to Gulotta.

“Mares will come both from Europe and North America. We are selling 120 shares, 30 in Europe and 90 in the U.S. and Canada,” said Gulotta, who added that about 20 would actually be available in Europe. “It is a worldwide syndicate in that any shareholder can breed anywhere. If you are a shareholder in Europe, you are entitled to frozen semen or you can breed a mare in the U.S. or Canada. If you are a shareholder in the United States, you can use your breeding for that purpose, but you have to declare in advance.

“The share price is $37,500 if paid up front. You can also elect to pay it over a three-year period. In that case, you pay $13,500 in January 2020, January 2021 and January 2022. That entitles you to one breeding or three doses of frozen semen if you are going to use it in Europe.”

Six Pack’s presence in New Jersey is a direct result of not only the purse appropriation from the government but also a 10-year deal between New Jersey horsemen and The Meadowlands where the racing side will benefit from sports wagering in the state.

“That deal provides a revenue stream to the racing industry in New Jersey,” said Gulotta. “While New Jersey has already eclipsed Nevada, sports betting is only going to grow. With that growth there will be even greater growth that is allocated to the racing industry.

“Without providing details, I can tell you we are going to be even better off in the future. What has already happened in New Jersey and what will happen in the future is only going to make it much more attractive for people to own shares and to breed to horses like Lazarus, Trixton and Six Pack. I’m extremely thankful to our legislature and our Governor for having the wisdom and executing that vision to make New Jersey the preeminent place to race and breed in the U.S. if not the world.”

In the immediate future, Six Pack will look to finish out his career on the track with one final victory at The Meadowlands. From there it will be in the hands of people like Joe Savare and the rest of the Deo Volente team to make sure he succeeds in his second career.

“We appreciate the fact that the ownership team has put a tremendous amount of confidence in us with Six Pack, and we don’t take that responsibility lightly,” said Savare. “We look forward to the challenges and plan to work very hard to promote the stallion and make him as successful as we can.”