A two-year-old’s first trip to the racetrack for a training session is somewhat similar to high school orientation: It’s an opportunity to learn their way around and get comfortable in a new environment before the real work begins.
“The first time, I don’t care how they go, really,” said trainer Ray Schnittker, who brought a small group of horses to the Meadowlands Racetrack last week for the first of several training days at the track this month for two-year-olds. “I just want them to experience going on the trailer. I just want them to see everything here; go by tractors – because they’ve never seen this many water trucks or tractors – be in the paddock, get used to a new setting.
“A lot of guys don’t do it, but I think it does help. Usually the first time I’m disappointed in how they train here. The second time they’re a lot better. They figure it out.”
The training days at the Meadowlands for two-year-olds – a cooperative effort between the ‘Big M’ and the Standardbred Breeders & Owners Association of New Jersey – are offered from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. each Thursday in May. The costs for the sessions are covered by the SBOANJ. The organization and Backstretch Community Assistance Program (BCAP) also sponsor breakfast for grooms and trainers at JoJo’s Paddock Café.
Schnittker’s horses making the trip to the Meadowlands included Branquinho (Somebeachsomewhere-Wild West Show), who is a homebred full brother to Dan Patch Award-winning pacer Huntsville, and Cloudbreak (Somebeachsomewhere-Must See), a half-brother to 2009 Pacer of the Year Well Said.
They were joined by Check Out Trixie, a daughter of 2014 Hambletonian winner Trixton out of Schnittker’s two-time Dan Patch Award-winning trotter Check Me Out, filly trotter Jezzys Legacy (Donato Hanover-Jezzy) and colt pacer Captain Malicious (Captaintreacherous-Silky), who is a half-brother to stakes-winner Malicious.
Schnittker, who has a total of 15 two-year-olds in training, plans to bring a different group to the Meadowlands this week. The horses will train multiple times at the Big M before heading to qualifiers.
“It’s a pretty good group,” Schnittker said. “No disappointments yet. We’ll see what happens.”
Check Out Trixie (L) and Greenshoe (R) (Images courtesy Ken Weingartner / USTA)
Among the other trainers at the Meadowlands last week was Marcus Melander, who brought nine horses.
“We only have a half-mile track to train on at home, so I don’t go that fast with them,” Melander said. “We will try them with a little more speed here, push them a little the last quarter, but mostly this first time they’re just here to learn. I’ve got another group for next week and this group will come back in two weeks. They should be ready to qualify at the beginning of June.”
Melander’s horses included colt trotter Greenshoe (Father Patrick-Designed To Be), who sold for $330,000 under the name Rifleman at last year’s Lexington Selected Sale.
Other colt trotters with Melander were Gimpanzee (Chapter Seven-Steamy Windows), who sold for $170,000 under the name Army Of Monkeys at the Standardbred Horse Sale, Kredit Karma (Credit Winner-No Pain No Gain; sold as The Fat Cobra), Great Explorer (Muscle Mass-Mayflower Volo; sold as Massive Volo), Swedish-bred Green Manalishi (Muscle Hill-Naga Morich) and Olympic Goal (Donato Hanover-Bewitching Beauty).
He also had three filly trotters: Isolde (Cantab Hall-Tosca), Shee La (Cantab Hall-Victory Bouquet) and Tangent (Cantab Hall-Fraction).
“They’re very nice,” Melander said. “I can’t say one bad thing about any of them right now. Hopefully they continue that way.”
Overall, Melander is training 28 two-year-olds.
“It’s a good group,” he said. “There are a couple that are a little bit behind, but we’re happy with most of them.”
(USTA)