Harness: Great memories help carry us through times of crisis

Between the words Coronavirus and Indictment, the Harness Racing community has had its fair share of negative news in recent weeks. With that in mind, I thought it best to reflect on better times and hope that some good vibes will flow in the process.

Recently a reader asked if I could run-down the best races of the last decade. To me that is so subjective, so instead to get everyone’s mind off the ‘breaking news’ repetitive rigmarole, I present the Top 5 races I’ve seen live in the last decade (listed in chronological order).

2013 - Pet Rock wins Winbak Pace at Delaware County Fair

It is no surprise that a race from the Delaware County Fairgrounds appears on this list. I’m lucky enough to be either sitting on a bench located ON THE TRACK just past the finish line or standing in the infield just feet from the horses as they cross the wire. It’s an invigorating feeling even during a $3,000 claimer, no less in a stakes race watching some of the best horses in the country.

The crowd was already at a fever pitch even before the Winbak Pace. We had just witnessed the great mare Maven win by 7 ¼ lengths in 1:51 4/5, still the fastest race-timed North American clocking over a half-mile track by a trotter.

Pet Rock went directly to the lead but was immediately met with a challenge from A Rocknroll Dance who took the lead past the 26-second opening quarter. Very little of note happened during the middle half except for the sizzling fractions – 53 3/5 and 1:21- that set the stage for the fastest mile ever paced over a half-mile track.

A Rocknroll Dance took the field into the stretch as Pet Rock began to rev up out of the pocket with dead aim. The two current stallions each had every right to the world record victory, but it was Pet Rock, driven by David Miller, who got his nose up on the wire in 1:48 1/5.

I can still feel the goosebumps as I was literally kneeling right at the wire taking pictures. Check out the picture on this page. Those are my jeans between the perfectly striding legs of Pet Rock (3) and A Rocknroll Dance.

Virgil Morgan Jr. trained Pet Rock for owner Frank J. Bellino.

An interesting side note: I was also at the second fastest mile on a half when Dancin Yankee paced in 1:48 4/5 at Saratoga Raceway in the 2014 Gerrity Memorial.

2013 – Foiled Again wins the Breeders Crown at Pocono

The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono has been the backdrop for many thrilling races over the last decade. They have hosted multiple Breeders Crowns, Sun Stakes nights, Sire Stakes finals, and much more. There were certainly many memorable moments, like the 2010 Breeders Crown when I got a call from my due-in-two-plus-weeks wife halfway through the Crown races that she was headed to the hospital and I dropped everything to rush home (I made it in plenty of time since she didn’t deliver my second daughter for 16 more days). Then there was the 2018 James Lynch Memorial when Kissin In The Sand was parked every step of the mile from post nine and still bested Youaremycandygirl by a neck.

While the moments above have a firm imprint in my memory banks, nothing stands out quite as much as Foiled Again winning the 2013 Breeders Crown Aged Pace. The race had everything – movement, great horses, and a thrilling finish – packed into 109 2/5 thrilling seconds.

Three horses gunned off the gate, with one of them, Pet Rock, ducking in third before brushing to the front in the scintillating 25 3/5 opening quarter. That is when Foiled Again came to call with a second-quarter brush that saw him make the top at the half in 53 4/5. Then came the pressure!

Modern Legend was thoroughly engaged with Foiled Again while first over at three quarters in 1:21 4/5 as the then co-fastest pacer in history Warrawee Needy swung three-wide on the final turn to join the battle and Pet Rock loomed a dangerous presence in the pocket. Foiled Again was on thin ice!

They all looked him in the eye but none of them was able to go on by. Displaying his guts and determination over the sloppy Pocono surface, Foiled Again gave driver Yannick Gingras everything he had and it was a whisker more than Pet Rock.

I vividly recall standing a few feet from Gingras and Foiled Again after the race as the muddied driver poured affection on the all-time leader in terms of earnings. It was no doubt a heartfelt moment, not just for the pair, but the crowd and entire viewing audience worldwide.

The win was made even more special for the Ron Burke trainee, who was co-owned by the trainer along with Weaver Bruscemi and JJK Stables, because Foiled Again had been knocking on the door for years in an effort to win a Breeders Crown. In 2010 and 2011, he was second. In 2012, he was third. In 2013, he was on top of the world!

2014 – Mission Brief 1:50 3/5 World Record at Red Mile

Lexington is a special place. For me, the track itself provides a great mix of serenity and excitement. In the morning hours, you can hear the birds chirping and enjoy nature as a horse jogs over the red clay. Then the racing begins and the loyal fans roar as champions stride through the stretch elegantly. One such champion was in action on October 2, 2014.

We travel to Lexington for the yearling sale, the great racing, perhaps the food, but certainly to test the speed of the best horses in training. When Mission Brief stepped on the track for the International Stallion Stake, we knew she was fast and talented. No one in the crowd, maybe with the exception of trainer Ron Burke, expected her to win by 16 lengths in a still-standing North American record for 2-year-olds of 1:50 3/5.

The race hardly unfolded as if a record mile was on the way. Mission Brief and driver Yannick Gingras put up just a pokey 28-second opening quarter. Surely a record was untouchable? But then the daughter of Muscle Hill-Southwind Serena went to work. She posted a stellar 27 1/5 second quarter and followed it up with a 27 4/5 third quarter. Even then, did anyone really expect a 27 3/5 final kicker? Well, it happened. I still recall watching in mid-stretch as Gingras looked over his shoulder for the competition and they were nowhere to be found. Mission Brief picked up her game on that afternoon, as she did many times in her career.

Ron Burke trained Mission Brief for owners Burke Racing Stables, Our Horse Cents Stables, J&T Silva Stables and Weaver Bruscemi.

2015 – Wiggle It Jiggleit wins Little Brown Jug at Delaware County Fair

For many this will rank as the best race they ever saw. It had everything you’d want in a race: top horses; high speed; a thrilling backstretch duel; and a photo finish.

Wiggle It Jiggleit actually made a bobble on the first turn, though I didn’t see it from my usual infield spot. After the 27-second opening quarter set by Lost For Words, driver Montrell Teague sent him to the rim and as soon as track announcer Roger Huston said “Here comes Wiggle It Jiggleit” the crowd immediately jumped to the edge of their seats.

Wiggle It Jiggleit would get a nose in front of at the half in 54 1/5, backed off slightly as usual on the turn before getting another nose up at three quarters in 1:21 1/5. Lost For Words and Wiggle It Jiggleit battled stride for stride in sync around the final turn before the former opened up a length at the head of the short stretch. The race was over! Except nobody told crowd favorite Wiggle It Jiggleit, who dug down deep and found more to just edge out his rival at the wire in 1:49 3/5.

For Wiggle It Jiggleit to go parked three-eighths of the mile through those fractions and win was astonishing. It was literally an honor to just be a member of the crowd watching. I felt genuine joy knowing that the team of Montrell, father and co-owner George Teague Jr, and trainer Clyde Francis had won. At the same time there was sadness knowing that Lost For Words’ trainer Brian Brown, who has his home base at the Delaware County Fairgrounds, just had the one victory he’s always wanted ripped away from him at the wire.

It was an emotional day for everyone involved. One I’ll never forget.

2016 – Always B Miki sets 1:46 World Record at Red Mile

Whereas Mission Brief’s record mile in 2014 was a bit of a shock, everyone expected Always B Miki to break the 1:46 4/5 all-time pacing record when he showed up at the Red Mile in 2016. He had already equaled a world record when winning the Ben Franklin elimination and final in 1:47 over the five-eighths strip at The Downs at Pocono. He did it again in the Ewart Memorial at Scioto Downs a few months later. So we were all expecting to see something special . . . just not 1:46 special.

Shamballa helped set the stage in the historic mile with a solid 26 1/5 opening quarter before driver David Miller “let the big horse roll” according to track announcer Sam McKee. Always B Miki would reach the top well before the 52 2/5 half and keep the pace at the necessary credence with a 27 2/5 third quarter.

There was a quarter-mile between Always B Miki and history. At that point everyone knew there was a good chance of him at least equaling the 1:46 4/5 mark since he only needed a 27-second final quarter to accomplish the feat. Yet instead of simply a special moment, the Jimmy Takter-trained Always B Miki provided greatness, stopping the clock in 1:46. I still get chills watching the replay.

Of course, Lather Up would again equal the 1:46 mark in the 2019 Graduate at The Meadowlands and it was certainly unexpected, but you never forget the first time. In addition, the record had stood since Holborn Hanover set it in 2006 (equaled by Somebeachsomewhere in 2008), so it was standing the test of time.

Campaigned by Bluewood Stable, Roll The Dice Stable and Christina Takter, Always B Miki, who stands at Diamond Creek Farm, will see his first crop hit the track in 2020.