I feel sorry for anyone who is not at The Red Mile today. This is the very best of harness racing for me. The sun is shining, the sky (not the grass) is blue, and the racing program is one to die for. All conducted at the sport’s most historic track.
The old track looks great and so many of the sport’s headliners are in action. The real headliner is Muscle Hill, of course, in his quest to add the Kentucky Futurity to his list of laurels.
It’s questionable if he will try to set any speed records today with a brisk wind blowing and the need to save something in the tank for the second heat. I’m sure two heats won’t bother Muscle Hill---or any of the other horses.
I remember that owner Barry Goldstein told me that the two heats his trotter Arch Madness trotted two years ago chasing Donato Hanover resulted in a vast improvement in the gelding’s performance. In fact, Arch Madness improved so much after the Kentucky Futurity that by Breeders Crown time he was beating Donato, not chasing him.
If the wind dies down later and there is an honest pace in the second heat, then Brian Sears may go after a sub-1:50 mile with Muscle Hill. After all, it was in the second heat of the Kentucky Futurity in 2007 that Donato Hanover trotted in 1:50.1.
Sadly, the crowd at the track today doesn’t do justice to the quality of the racing program. There is a home University of Kentucky football game against Alabama, but attendance at the races has been light all week. My friends in central Kentucky tell me that The Red Mile is the best kept secret in the Bluegrass.
But those who are here today are in for a real treat and I simply can’t wait to see the events of the day unfold. If you’ve never been to The Red Mile for the Grand Circuit meet, you’ve missed the best of harness racing.