Okay, don’t blame me. I’m not responsible.
When I wrote a blog item a week about the “calm before the storm” at the Delaware County Fairgrounds in Ohio, I was using the expression only in a figurative sense.
I certainly had no premonition that a stepchild of Hurricane Ike would blow through Ohio on Sunday taking limbs and power lines with it. In the process the Delaware fairgrounds was left without power and many residents in the area still don’t have electric service.
But they’re racing in Delaware now and that’s what we came to see.
I’m sitting in the Delaware press box as I write these lines and you couldn’t ask for a nice day than we’re enjoying now. And they promise that tomorrow - Jug Day - will be even nicer.
It was dark when I arrived at the fairgrounds this morning because the traditional Mayor’s Breakfast begins at 7 a.m. This year’s honoree was Dr. J. Glen Brown, the longtime head honcho at the powerful Armstrong breeding operation in Ontario. The Armstrong family was there in force to pay tribute to Dr. Brown, including Charlie Armstrong, a previous Mayor’s Breakfast honoree himself.
I just watched a dandy battle among 10 freshman trotting fillies. Trond Smedshammer entered five fillies and they went to the post as 1, 1A, 1B, 1C, and 1D. The winner was Sugarcane Yankee, a filly from the first crop by Windsong’s Legacy out of the dam of Strong Yankee. John Campbell gave her a nice trip and she did the rest in the 2:01 mile.
The favourite among tomorrow’s Juggers is Art Official and I had a nice chat today with his trainer Joe Seekman. He told me that the colt is feeling super and eating great.
He blew him out a trip around 2:25 yesterday and he said that the colt handled the turns without a hitch. Needless to say, Seekman was thrilled that Art Official got the rail in his elimination.
Art Official was 0-for-15 last year and Seekman writes that off by saying the colt was immature and not into the game mentally at times.
“He wasn’t real good-gaited at times last year,” says Seekman. “He was struggling. I could tell when he trained back early this year that he was going to have a good year, so we kept him in the North America Cup and Meadowlands Pace.”
Art Official supplemented to the Cane Pace at Freehold, which he won, and that got him a ticket to the Jug.
Seekman dismisses any talk that a Jug win would be tainted since Somebeachsomewhere skipped the Delaware classic.
“I’ve still got 17 horses to beat,” he said. “The owners of those horses didn’t pay $6,000 just to go around the track and have fun. They’ve all got a shot of winning. Some of them probably wish they’d drawn better, but that’s racing.”
And it should be a great day of racing tomorrow.
Winback Mile for aged pacers
Winback Mile for aged pacers held on Jug Day is not a real big race money wise but we race Mister Big there and think it is an important race for a number of reasons. There are few days when everyone in the sport is watching. Hambletonian Day and Jug day are the two biggest. Mister Big doesn't wear blinders or ear plugs. He sees and hears everything and really loves big loud crowds. The crowd noise down the stretch when Mister Big and Artistic Fella went at it in the Haughton and United States Pacing Championship at The Meadowlands and the Canadian Pacing Derby and Breeders Crown at Mohawk were the loudest I ever heard. Mister Big doesn't care how much the race pays, he just wants to get out there and show the harness world what a dominating racehorse he is in front of the biggest crowd of the year.
Our objective this year was to win four races: the Haughton and United States Pacing Championship, Canadian Pacing Derby and Breeders Crown. These are the four biggest races of the year for open pacers. Last year Mister Big won the first two and was second to Lis Mara in the Canadian Pacing derby and second to Artistic Fella in the Breeders Crown. Of the eight biggest races for aged pacers in 2007 and 2008, Mister Big has won six with two seconds. I don't think any horse had ever won all four in the same year, not in the last ten years anyway.
After Mister Big's dominating effort at Delaware he is off to Kentucky. If there is no elimination for the Allerage this week he may just take a shot at the mile time trial record. We have been having a hard time getting races. We didn't have eliminations for the United States Pacing Championship, Canadian Pacing Derby and Breeders Crown. Few horses have reached this level where not many want to race you. We begged Mohawk to let us race in the Open so we could get a third race in Canada to qualify for the O'Brien Awards but were told if Mister Big is entered the race will never fill. Mister Big has a Canadian Sire, Grinnfromeartoear and is a product of the Ontario Grassroots Sire stakes. I know they have a rule that you have to race three races in Canada to qualify for the O'Brien, but how do you get three races when you are so dominating that nobody wants to race you ? We offered to race five times in Canada but only two races filled. Congratulations to Zooka or Slient Swing on your 2008 O'Brien award. It means nothing.
After the races at Lexington it's off to Chicago. Then six weeks of rest at Springhaven Farm in Ohio, a very nice farm where Somebeachsomewhere was born. On Jan 2 Mister big will start training for his attempt at a third strait Dan Patch Award given to the best aged pacer in North America. Thank you to all the fans who have supported Mister Big this year.
Joseph Glenn Muscara [email protected]
In reply to Winback Mile for aged pacers by mister big
It's indeed good news for
It's indeed good news for harness racing that Mister Big will be back at the races next year. Mr.Muscara likes to see his horses race and in the case of Mister Big it's a scenario in which all racing fans benefit from his decision. I think Mister Big is the eighth richest pacer of all time and another season will surely see him leapfrog a few more top pacers. Back-to-back million dollars seasons are pretty special for an older pacer.
In reply to Winback Mile for aged pacers by mister big
Wow, I can't believe the
Wow,
I can't believe the horseman at Ontario tracks don't want to race alongside Mister Big. It would be fantastic for harness racing in Ontario and Canada for that matter given he is an Ontario sired horse! Mr. Muscara you should connect with the people in Windsor to see if they would be interested in staging a special 'invitational' race for MB the Windsor oval in October. The Big fella would be a great patron draw as you'd have people coming from Southwestern Ontario and Detroit. I know many haven't had the opportunity to see this amazing horse race! I know my dad would be there in a heartbeat and I'd make the drive from Toronto to see him race!
It's great that you want an O'Brien Award for Mister Big! He shouldn't be overlooked because no one wants race against him! Come on Ontario... horses like Mister Big and SBSW only come along so often! To the staff at Windsor Raceway make this happen!