In speaking with Chris Ryder regarding the potential stakes schedule for Twin B Joe Fresh, the trainer was asked about putting the likely 2024 Horse of the Year in with male opposition in the coming year. A few years back, Ryder's Party Girl Hill pulled off a rare accomplishment when she beat the boys in the Tattersalls Pace at The Red Mile. Twin B Joe Fresh may not show the flash that Party Girl Hill displayed throughout her brief career but over time has shown the endurance and willpower to dominate those in her division. "I might look for a spot here or there like the Potomac," Ryder said at the time, referring to the late-season invitational at Rosecroft as a possibility. Ryder's answer said a lot about the challenges facing pacing mares in current times, but in some way reveals a bigger issue that seems hard to quantify. Why is it that few fillies/mares on the pacing side have competed favorably with male competition over the last 50 years, while on the trotting side fillies have been able to defeat colts in classic races such as the Hambletonian? Standardbreds are Standardbreds and fillies are fillies, yet it seems that the same good fortune when a battle of the sexes ensues between trotters doesn't hold with pacers. History is also history and it's awfully hard to unearth evidence as to why pacing fillies have not attempted to battle male competition and why just in the last decade countless fillies have met the boys in the Hambletonian, with two of the last seven champions – Atlanta and Ramona Hill – accomplishing the feat. Atlanta even did so when eliminations and finals were held on the same day. You must journey back nearly 50 years to recall a pacing mare that competed on a regular basis against males and was good enough to win consistently. Tarport Hap was that mare, and she captured the U.S. Pacing Championship as an older mare during an era when the best Free-For-Allers raced weekly. Tarport Hap also competed against a great filly in Silk Stockings, who defeated male competition as a 3-year-old in the Monticello-OTB Classic, but to be fair beat only New York Sire Stakes competition at the time. Hoping to find some clarity, I looked to Hall of Fame trainer Jimmy Takter, who during his brilliant and more active career had developed some of the greatest trotters the world has seen. Takter had his share of great pacing fillies as well, so the thought was if anyone could understand why pacing fillies lagged trotting fillies in open company he would. "That's a good question," Takter said when asked to explain the disparity. "I really don't know." "Fillies mature faster," Takter said. While that may indeed be a solid theory, the premise should include pacing fillies maturing faster as well. Takter continued, perhaps shedding some light. "I think the trotting filly understands what to do earlier and can handle their gait, while sometimes it takes longer for the colts to put it all together." So theoretically if filly trotters are easier to teach and don't make mistakes, they could have an edge over male trotters that are still putting all the pieces together physically and mentally. Takter trained Manchego, who he chose to keep out of the Hambletonian and tackle the girls, winning the Hambletonian Oaks in 2018 when her rival Atlanta beat the boys in the Hambletonian. "I thought if I raced her in the Hambletonian she wouldn't have gotten embarrassed," said Takter. That Manchego trotted in 1:50 on that first Saturday in August and would later in her career go on to routinely defeat male competition is fitting evidence. Trainer Nifty Norman has had enormous success with trotting fillies that could cross over and defeat male competition. In 2015 the 5-year-old Bee A Magician beat the men in the Maple Leaf Trot, as well as the Arthur Cutler Memorial. More recently Norman's protégé Bella Bellini showed her enormous talent, defeating males in the Hambletonian Maturity in 2022. As normal as the achievements of Bee A Magician and Bella Bellini have become over the years, the victory of Venerable in the inaugural Mohawk Million in 2021 opened the door on a new era of filly power on the trotting side. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter "I wasn't that surprised," said Norman, talking about Venerable's Mohawk Million success. "She had already shown that she could race over that surface and to be honest the field wasn't that great." A daughter of Walner, Venerable came to her speed rather quickly, and, due to the way the Mohawk Million was structured, had an opportunity to race for a lot of money that wasn't worth passing up just because she would be in against colts. Norman too had a hard time coming up with any conclusive theory as to why the trotting filly/mare has excelled versus the colts, but he had an interesting perspective. "I think it may have something to do with their gait," said Norman. "I think with trotters it's not just about strength. A horse with a great gait can compete against one that's stronger." Norman essentially believes that those great fillies that were able to defeat male competition did so not because they out-muscled their rivals but in fact had such a flawless gait that their efficiency made up for the lack of size or power. Yet perhaps Ryder initially had hit upon some of the reasons we hardly see pacing fillies or mares tackle male competition. In the days of Tarport Hap, or the champion Handle With Care that preceded her, there just were no races carved out on the schedule that were exclusive to pacing fillies or mares. If an owner wanted to race an aged pacing mare at the highest level, there was only one realistic choice and that was Open company. Over the years, invitationals and stakes events have been added to the racing calendar and in doing so owners and trainers of both pacing fillies and mares saw no great advantage to face rivals of the opposite sex. In the case of Twin B Joe Fresh, the math just doesn't make sense since co-owner Ryder must also pay nomination and sustaining payments to become eligible to "Open" events. Why spend the money when there is an easier path to profit racing exclusively with her own sex? Races like the Hambletonian don't force owners to double-stake for a filly to become eligible to the Open division, and the fact that the Hambo goes for twice as much as the Oaks is all the inspiration connections need to cross over. When it comes to aged events, trotting mares have some races exclusively for them, but the bigger money events on the stakes calendar are generally for males. Last year Jiggy Jog S added her name to the growing list of trotting mares with the capacity to compete on the largest stage when she captured the $1 million MGM International Trot at Yonkers. While some of her male competition from abroad had difficulty navigating the half-mile track, the daughter of Walner exhibited her usual picture-perfect stride in a dominant performance. Regardless of the theories mentioned here, I'm certain there are countless more potential explanations for the limited number of pacing filly or mare success stories over the last 50 years when competing against males. It is only wishful thinking that Twin B Joe Fresh may attempt to erase some of that history in 2025.