For most trainers in this sport, every year is a bit different. No matter how much one aspires for consistency, it always helps if there are one or two quality horses in the stable to support those that don't meet expectations. For years Ray Schnittker has managed to blend a racehorse stable with a stakes stable. In the best years - as 2022 proved to be - horses like King Of The North come along to dominate at year's end and provide the earning power, along with marketability, necessary for any good business. For Schnittker's group in 2023, King Of The North is gone but a new group hopes to pick up the pieces with the trainer leaning heavily towards a horse that may have been shy of the spotlight in 2022 but could be a major player in the Open pacing ranks this year. "We've staked Billy Clyde pretty heavily," Schnittker said on Tuesday (3/28) when asked about the upcoming season. While Billy Clyde did show plenty of speed at the Meadowlands and Harrah's Hoosier Park last year, he wasn't among the elite horses chasing Bulldog Hanover on a regular basis, and that may prove to his advantage as the players change, with the 2022 Horse of the Year now completely retired from racing and a full-time stallion. Schnittker always had high aspirations for Billy Clyde from the time he unveiled him in 2020 at the Meadowlands in baby races. Nonetheless, the Always B Miki-sired horse has had his share of problems that have limited his starts. "He had a bad foot, super-infected, that was just a mess," said Schnittker about Billy Clyde's 2-year-old season. "He was never 100 percent all year." Despite such limitations, Billy Clyde still made five starts as a freshman and knocked heads at The Red Mile with the best in the sport, including Perfect Sting. "He was timed in 50 3/5," said Schnittker of the juvenile speed Billy Clyde showed even though not 100 percent. "At 3 he got beat a nose in 1:47 4/5 and then cracked a pastern behind that ended his season." The stats weren't terrible at 3, with Billy Clyde finishing second behind Lou's Pearlman in the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes Championship and ending the season prematurely with $145K banked in just 15 starts. Last year Billy Clyde had a full season injury-free, and Schnittker did his best to manage the horse and work the classes as opposed to taking on the best aged horses. Just a 4-year-old with some stakes experience, Schnittker recognized there wasn't much of a point staking him heavily, and he raced primarily at the Meadowlands where he won six of his 11 starts, and Harrah's Hoosier Park where he was victorious three more times. Just once did he face the best veteran horses in an Invitational at Pocono where he was fourth behind Allywag Hanover on Sun Stakes Day. What was interesting about that effort is how gritty he was in the homestretch. "He's just a tough horse," said Schnittker with admiration for the demeanor and effort he sees in Billy Clyde on the racetrack. "The Always B Miki's can take air and keep trying." So, while there are those with wisdom who might suggest Billy Clyde may not be ready for the big leagues as yet, a look at the consistent miles he put in last year in the 1:47-1:48 range suggests that there's ample speed if Billy Clyde just improves a little this year. From a pedigree perspective Billy Clyde is the third foal out of the quality Ontario-sired Jan It Jackson. Her first foal happens to be the recent millionaire Semi Tough, a horse that has been solid every year for the Burke team and is currently campaigning in the MGM Borgata Pacing Series at Yonkers. What's interesting is that Semi Tough earned nearly $500K in his first two years of racing and had 37 starts during that period with a 4-8-5 win, place and show score. Compare those figures to Billy Clyde's first 37 starts, which are the sum of his first three years on the track, and Billy Clyde's 14-6-5 stacks up well. Of course, Billy Clyde didn't face as much stakes company as his older brother, yet given the trips in 1:48 he appears to have gone faster with more regularity. As for Schnittker's current plans for Billy Clyde, well, they have changed - with good reason. "I actually had him ready to go a few weeks ago," said Schnittker, suggesting the horse has been in 2:10. "I just backed off with him since most of the big stakes don't happen until June. So I'll have him ready to qualify then." ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter While Billy Clyde's debut is still months away, Schnittker is more than pleased with the start his stable has had as of the first week of spring. "I've got 10 wins already and I usually don't have that many until June," said Schnittker of his fast start. Much of that has to do with the quality mix of veteran performers like Splash Brother at Yonkers and 3-year-olds getting their feet wet at Pocono and Yonkers. Schnittker expects to see a pair of his sophomore pacers in action in the coming Weiss Series at Pocono; the gelding Congressional is eligible to the series that commences on April 8 and Haileys Sister, a filly, is being pointed towards that division with an April 10 first leg. Both are offspring of Always B Miki, like Billy Clyde, with Hailey's Sister, a filly with a pedigree most dear to Schnittker and partners. Hailey's Sister is, in fact, a half-sister to the top New York sire Huntsville. She's the 10th foal out of the dam Wild West Show, who has five offspring in 1:50 1/5 or better thus far. Always a staple on the New York Sire Stakes scene, Schnittker is hopeful that Kid From The Bronx will return this year, not just as a player on that lucrative circuit but perhaps in Grand Circuit competition. Kid From The Bronx showed high speed as a juvenile and was good enough to qualify for the New York Sire Stakes final, but his lone victory came afterwards in a non-winners of one race at Pocono in September. "He was a little goofy last year and I had to cut him," said Schnittker, who really likes the way the Huntsville-sired now gelding has been training back. "In the past I would probably have put him in the Weiss too. I find now that it's just asking too much of these horses to be good in April and October." As for his 2-year-olds, Schnittker likes what he sees in some nicely-bred trotters, with High Life, a colt and $65,000 purchase at the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale, among the most talented thus far. High Life is the fifth foal out of the 100 percent producer Superstar Hanover, she a winner of more than $500K on the racetrack. Victor Laszlo, a $110K purchase, is a three-quarter brother by Chapter Seven to Frank The Elder, who has done everything right thus far. On the filly front, Schnittker mentioned Tactical Magic, a $55k yearling purchased also at Lexington. Her dam is a full sister to $2.3 million winner Wishing Stone, as well as the Schnittker-trained $947K winner Make It Happen, a horse that was third behind stablemate Deweycheatumnhowe in the 2008 Hambletonian.