The Canadian Sportsman
September 10, 2009
Dynamic duo redux: We're blessed to have Muscle Hill and Well Said
A glut of riches: Muscle Hill and Well Said give us a second year of dynamic duos
Last year, harness racing was blessed to have pacer Somebeachsomewhere and trotter Deweycheatumnhowe competing in a weekly game of “anything you can do, I can do better.”
This year the sport is blessed again to have two sophomore stars — trotter Muscle Hill (above right, Dave Landry photo) and pacer Well Said. Both colts are on Saturday’s card at Mohawk.
Click “Guelph Mercury” to read the column in its entirety.
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September 09, 2009
New owner vows never to buy another thoroughbred.
Craig Henderson’s pulse was racing as he raised both fists in triumph to the harvest moon looming over the Mohawk winner’s circle. It’s too bad stories like his come along only once in a blue moon.
After years of owning a handful of thoroughbreds, the first standardbred Henderson (above right) bought is undefeated freshman pacing filly Put On A Show, the winner of the $810,300 Shes A Great Lady on Sept. 5 at Mohawk.
That victory alone was enough for him to forget about the runners.
“I’ll never invest in a thoroughbred horse again, ever. This is the most surreal day of my life. I’m totally blown away,” he said emphatically.
Such is the glory of a major stakes victory and the magic of beginner’s luck.
It was veteran owner Richard Young (above left) of Florida — the man who has named such horses as Sing Fat Lady, Elephants Can Fly, Geckos Can Talk — who convinced Henderson to give standardbred ownership a try.
“I said that harness racing was more fun. They race more often and it doesn’t cost as much to get in. They cost as much to keep,” Young said.
That’s the practical side of the argument, of course. But just how powerful an elixir is winning a stakes race with your first horse? Henderson is adamant he’s going to reinvest every penny he’s made back into the game, with Young as his partner. To date Put On A Show has earned just shy of $500,000 in only five starts.
“The good news is, we’re going to be partners for a long time because I’m going to put all my money back into other horses,” Henderson said.
Which truly is good news for racing in a time when the sour economy has weakened both some owners’ resolve and wherewithal to reload.
How I wish we could bottle it.
September 03, 2009
Drivers who disregard new whipping rule do so at their peril
Drivers who disregard new whipping rule do so at their peril
The latest installment from my weekly Guelph Mercury column…
The first significant test of new rules aimed at curbing the use of the whip in horse racing will come this Saturday at Mohawk Racetrack in Campbellville.
On a rich card featuring the $1 million Metro Pace for two-year-old pacers, the $685,000 Canadian Pacing Derby for older pacers and the $810,300 Shes A Great Lady for freshman filly pacers, the obvious question is: will drivers purposely flaunt the strict new rules when the big money is on the line and simply risk paying a fine?
But look at the fine print of the new province-wide rules regarding the urging of horses, which came into effect Tuesday, and you’ll see drivers would be wise to abide by the new edict.
The primary change requires drivers to keep a hand in each handhold for the entire mile in an attempt to end the practice of taking both reins in one hand and using the other to aggressively — some say maliciously — whip their horse.
The fines for not keeping a line in each hand, among other whipping-related violations, start at a mere $200 for a first offense. But, it should be noted judges are required to place a horse last if its driver “has driven with both lines in one hand and struck the horse with the whip.” And, remember, in harness racing, only the top five finishers get paid. Drivers only get paid if a horse gets money.
While the great unknown is how vigorously the judges will enforce the rules, it would appear taking the lines in one hand in the hope that whipping with the other will help a horse earn more money is not worth the risk.
Which, thankfully, means the end of cowboy drivers pounding on their horses, especially since the reinsmen are also forbidden from bringing their whips back further than a 90 -degree to the track.
The good news is there are very few cowboys still racing at Mohawk, so they should adapt easily to the new standards. The transition might not be as easy for drivers coming in to Mohawk from the United States for Saturday’s card, especially those based in states with lax rules on the use of the whip. Let’s hope risking losing all money and the embarrassment of being set back to last will be enough of a deterrent, because, for sure, the new rules are long overdue to ensure the welfare of the horse.
The Ontario Racing Commission, though it dragged its feet longer than necessary, should be commended on implementing the new rules.
As for Saturday’s card, it begins at 7:30 p.m., with the Metro Pace race seven (9:40 p.m.), the Shes A Great Lady race eight (10 p.m.) and the Canadian Pacing Derby race 10 (10:45 p.m.).
In the Metro, look for elimination winners Malicious, driven by Guelph’s Paul MacDonell, and Sportswriter, trained by Casie Coleman and driven by Mark MacDonald, both of Cambridge, to battle it out from posts one and three, respectively.
The Canadian Pacing Derby offers one of the final chances to see the richest Canadian-bred horse in history, Mister Big, race locally. The six-year-old winner of $3.9 million lifetime (the second most by a pacer ever) is being retired to stallion duty at Tara Hills Stud Farm in Port Perry, Ont. at the end of this year.
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