While certainly not as prestigious as the Trainer of the Year Award that she received unanimously, Nancy Takter can add another accomplishment to the litany of hers from this year, and that is that her horses were front and center in many of the best races of 2020. To start things off, one of, if not the most significant races of 2020 was simply when horses returned to the Meadowlands after the COVID-19 shutdown on June 5, and one of the stars of the Takter barn, Manchego, won the event, a $22,500 Preferred Trot, in a dazzling 1:50 3/5. It may not have been a tooth-and-nail, all-out drive to the wire between horses, but getting to witness a return to action at harness racing's most important venue was certainly a welcome sight. "Manchego was the first horse to step on the track (that night). She was in the first race and was #1 in it," Takter said. "She was the first one I warmed up, and she started off a pretty good stakes season for the stable." The first significant stakes tête-à-tête involved Manchego as well, and it was on June 19 in a division of the Miss Versatility Series at the Meadowlands when she met up with long-time rival Atlanta. Manchego brushed to the lead around Atlanta after the half, then held her off in a thrilling stretch duel to score by a nostril in 1:50. Those two would face off many more times through the season, but that stood out as a race to remember. "It was two great horses battling to the wire. I actually remember watching the race in the last turn and thinking how differently gaited these two great mares are," remarked Takter. "Honestly, when Manchego is as good as she was that day, there isn't a more flawless gait on a trotter." Takter-trained Tall Dark Stranger probably could have had most of a "best races of the year" article by himself, since his racing style of waiting on someone to challenge him, repelling that foe, and going on to win, lent itself to intriguing contests. One of these races was the Meadowlands Pace on July 18, as he battled back after being passed by a first-over Papi Rob Hanover in the lane and won by a neck in 1:47 2/5. Unfortunately, that was the only stakes final that we got to see Tall Dark Stranger and Papi Rob Hanover face off in this year as Papi Rob Hanover was injured in his next start and didn't compete again. "The Meadowlands Pace was an epic race! Stranger came back and fought for the win," said Takter. "It was my first Meadowlands Pace win, and the walk to the winner's circle is one of my favorite moments in harness racing." "I think his best race and coming out party was the Pace," added Tall Dark Stranger's driver Yannick Gingras. "He fought back and showed his true grit that night." Maybe the wildest race of the year also resulted in a Takter victory, though it was via placing. That came in the She's A Great Lady final for 2-year-old pacing fillies up at Woodbine Mohawk Park as her Caviart Audrey inherited the win after unofficial victor Scarlett Hanover was placed for causing interference while trying to get off the inside in the stretch. The top five fillies in the race were separated by just a neck. "The She's A Great Lady was a crazy race. My filly had a little bit of a tough trip and wasn't as sharp as I would've hoped, so I was a little disappointed," stated Takter. "It was nice to be placed first, and the DQ was obvious, but as happy as I was to win my second She's A Great Lady, I was a little disappointed because I would've liked to win without a DQ." The 3-year-old filly trotting division witnessed a number of horses pick up significant wins during the season, and a Bluegrass split at The Red Mile on October 4 saw Hambletonian Oaks champion Sorella, Buckette winner Spoiled Princess, and Kentucky Sires Stakes and New York Sire Stakes champion Hypnotic AM throw down in a rousing three-horse battle to the finish line. In the end, Takter finished first and second, with Sorella downing Spoiled Princess by a nostril, and Hypnotic AM another nose back in the third position. "That was an exciting race, with Sorella fighting to the wire, and Spoiled Princess was great in her first start for me," said Takter. "It was great with those three fillies right on the line. I don't think anyone really knew who won till the judges posted it." Switching back to Tall Dark Stranger again . . . if the She's A Great Lady didn't see the fiercest and craziest stretch drive of the year, then the Breeders Crown 3-Year-Old Colt Pace final on Halloween Night at Harrah's Hoosier Park certainly fits the bill. Tall Dark Stranger had another race like this one in his North America Cup elimination where he incredibly withstood a phalanx of challengers to win, and it looked like he would somehow do it again at Hoosier. However, Sandbetweenmytoes was able to rally out widest, where Tall Dark Stranger was unable to get a glimpse of him, and surged by to win in the biggest upset in Breeders Crown history. Despite the loss, Tall Dark Stranger perhaps got even more respect from the harness racing industry out of the gallant defeat than he had for many of his wins, harkening back to Somebeachsomewhere and his second-place finish in the Meadowlands Pace. "He raced tremendously as usual, fought as hard as he could and beat the ones he could see," said Gingras. "Not taking anything away from the winner in any way, but I truly believe had he seen him, he would have beat him. Unfortunately, we will never know. It really stinks, in my opinion, for him to end his career with a defeat because he's a winner and knew the difference. "Many horses have speed, but the difference between good horses, great horses, and generational horses is their will to fight and dig deep when needed. He sure had that." Moving on to some of the other great races of 2020, one that immediately comes to the front of the line is Ramona Hill and her incredible victory in her Hambletonian elimination on August 1 at the Meadowlands. Stacked up on excess cover in a non-advancing flow and with a charted 8 1/2 lengths to make up with a quarter of a mile left, Ramona Hill rallied with a dazzling 25 4/5 final panel to chase down leader Back Of The Neck and win by half a length in 1:51 2/5. Ramona Hill carried that into the Hambletonian final, which she would also win. Probably the most thrilling race out of the big stakes on the Hambletonian Day program this year came in the Sam McKee Memorial for open pacers as Bettor's Wish battled with Dancin Lou through wicked middle-half panels of 52 1/5 and 1:19 4/5, and then held off a late rally of Backstreet Shadow to win in a career-best clocking of 1:47 3/5. A week after the Hambletonian, a well-matched group of 3-year-old male pacers competed in the Carl Milstein Memorial at Northfield Park. Ocean Rock got a heads-up drive from Dan Noble and was able to get to the lead from post eight, then put the pedal down in the third quarter to put away a first-over try from Adios winner Catch The Fire. On the far turn, pocket-sitter Odds On Osiris came out two-wide and second-over Stanford Court went three-wide, and they raced that way around the final bend and through the lane. Ocean Rock dug in very gamely and looked like he might hold on, but Odds On Osiris wore him down in the closing strides to score in 1:50 1/5. The inaugural Mohawk Million for 2-year-old trotters was held on the same night as the She's A Great Lady, and the $1 million event lived up to the advanced billing, with a different leader at the quarter, half, and three-quarters, and Venerate charging by filly Donna Soprano in the lane to win in 1:53 2/5 for trainer Julie Miller and driver Andrew McCarthy, who scored his second win in a $1 million race in 2020 after having won the Hambletonian with Ramona Hill. On closing day of the Grand Circuit Meet at The Red Mile, we got a treat as owner Tom Hill and trainer Chris Ryder elected to race the then-undefeated sophomore pacing filly Party Girl Hill against the boys in a division of the Tattersalls. She didn't disappoint, with Dexter Dunn guiding her to the point in the second quarter and keeping in front from there, winning in a life's-best 1:47 2/5 over a field that included Pennsylvania Sire Stakes champion No Lou Zing and eventual Breeders Crown winner Sandbetweenmytoes. One night prior to the biggest upset in Breeders Crown history, we had the first dead-heat in a Breeders Crown final, as Perfect Sting was able to finish out his 2-year-old season with a 10-for-10 record, sharing top honors with Summa Cum Laude in a 1:50 2/5 mile. Perfect Sting overtook Southwind Gendry for the lead at the half, then held that rival off tenaciously in the lane as Summa Cum Laude angled out through the stretch after an inside trip and closed in. They hit the wire together, and the photo finish camera could not separate them, meaning two sets of connections had reason to celebrate. Closing out the remembrances for 2020 is how four great champions in Manchego, Plunge Blue Chip, Kissin In The Sand, and Bettor's Wish finished out their respective careers with victories in each of the four TVG finals on November 21. All of them were scintillating in their last miles, and while we'll miss seeing them on the track, hopefully we see some of their offspring in the years ahead. In closing, I would personally like to thank all the horsepeople, breeders, and everyone else in harness racing for their assistance with articles and recaps throughout 2020, and express my appreciation to all the horses out there that provided us with thrills during this most trying of years. May everyone have a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a prosperous 2021.