Last year, a few weeks prior to the Mohawk Million, trainer Nancy Takter was asked whether her budding superstar Karl would leave Lexington and join the others north of the border for the seven-figure contest. Takter was doubtful at the time and inevitably made the decision to stay in Kentucky with Karl, ultimately depriving those at Woodbine Mohawk Park a first chance to see T C I and Karl meet face-to-face. "It just didn't make any sense for us to go," said Takter on Tuesday (2/6), reflecting on her decision. "Without a spot it's hard to plan a season around this race. We got calls from placeholders that were interested in a deal. The deals have been sharing half the purse. Given that the Kentucky Sire Stakes final was $400,000 and the Breeders Crown would be $600,000, there was plenty of money for Karl to race for. When you look at the Million, and the deal you must make to get in, where you have to share the purse 50-50, it comes down to a $350,000 race." Takter's math is spot-on and perhaps because of the resistance last year those making decisions up north elected in 2024 to change some of the numbers in hopes to create a more perfect Mohawk Million in the future. Gone from the past is the $100,000 spot buy-in, replaced this year by 10 spots with a $50,000 price tag. The reduced entry fee caught the attention of members of the Takter camp. "One of my owners put in for a slot," said Takter, not sure whether the owner would be successful given the increased interest from the lower initial payment. While Takter was happy to see the changes made for the Mohawk Million, she was far from convinced it would make a significant difference to her plans if a similar decision was required in 2024. "It's really not a race you can plan for," Takter said. The reference here is that no actual horses are nominated to the race and thus for traditionalists, the schedule revolves around races the horses are pre-determined to via stakes payments, such as Sire Stakes event. "With the Kentucky Sire Stakes offering a $400,000 final and $80,000 eliminations it's hard to pass up," said Takter. "And this year with sons of Gimpanzee and Crazy Wow [sired in Kentucky] the money is even greater." What separates the Mohawk Million from the rest is that during its infancy it has really been more about deal-making than getting the best horses assembled to race for a significant purse. That concept of purchasing individual slots has in some ways worked in reverse, as the purchasers have not had the power from their own stables and thus have had to market slots to help fill the race. What has been the result in large part are horses that lack high-level stakes talent filling spots to complete the field but not helping to make the field uniformly strong. The 2023 edition proved that point quite well, not because T C I was the winner, but because T C I, the best horse in the race, was able to break stride and go to the rear of the pack and then triumph with little resistance. "T C I's a great horse," said Takter. "But if horses like Karl were in the field there was no way he could have made a break like that and come back to win the race." ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter The real question with this year's $50,000 spot buy-in, as well as the adjustment to the conditions that no longer allows free entry for the Wellwood Memorial winner, is whether the deal-making will work out better for both seller and buyer of spots. With only $50,000 up front and the track putting up $500,000 (half the purse) in added money, it's conceivable that sellers may take a 25-33 percent bite of the purse, giving those owners without spots more options and a higher return. Takter was more than complimentary that adjustments were made with the hope of advancing the Mohawk Million this year and in future years, but she was guarded as to how it may play out. "I'm just not certain with all of the races 2-year-olds we have on the schedule that there's a need for it," Takter said of the Million, while pointing to the lucrative Sire Stakes races in Kentucky and New Jersey, not to mention Pennsylvania. Dual eligibility has more than increased the options for horse owners and while a $1 million purse, whether in Canadian or US funds, is a significant amount of money to race for, the dynamics for entry have not been conducive to attracting the best horses. The revamping of the Mohawk Million conditions may have solved some of the issues surrounding the race when it comes to accessibility, but without individual horses being nominated, it will always be a guessing game of the names of the entrants until the final days leading up to declaration. It's kind of difficult given that part of the equation to promote a seven-figure race in the same manner you can a North America Cup where there are clear nominees as well as elimination races in advance. Speaking of Karl, Takter reports he looks fantastic as he's now back in full training. "We never stopped with him," said Takter. "He was jogging twice a week and then we went to jogging him three times a week." As for her potential schedule, Takter suggested the New Jersey Sire Stakes would likely be Karl's entry point as a 3-year-old. To the surprise of no one given the enormous success of Tactical Approach, the 2023 Hambletonian champion/divisional winner, and Dan Patch champion Karl, Takter's stable is flooded with freshman sons and daughters of Tactical Landing. "Yes, we've got about seven or eight of them and they are a very nice group," Takter said. "I really like the colt out of Solveig [Uncle Bjorn]. The mare is getting on in years and it would be nice if she could have a top horse." Solveig is the dam of the $2.7 million winner Shake It Cerry and this is her 13th foal. As for Shake It Cerry, Takter was very high on her Father Patrick-sired filly Cheval Rapide early in 2023, but the wheels kind of came off afterward. "I liked her a lot and still do," said Takter. "She was sick when we raced her from the 10 hole [Kindergarten leg August 4 at the Meadowlands] and she never recovered from that." Takter is also training a well-bred group from the first crop of her champion Tall Dark Stranger and while she didn't want to single any out, the trainer is quite happy with their attitudes and intelligence on the racetrack.