1996 Breeders Crown

The mile oval at the Meadowlands Racetrack has been trotted over by some of the greatest standardbreds of the past decades. As home to the Hambletonian and millions of dollars in stakes races, Meadowlands patrons could be forgiven for being hard to be impress.

Still, the 11 trotters entered for the inaugural $500,000 Breeders Crown Trot were a conspicuous group. With combined earnings just shy of $10 million, the Open field included four former Breeders Crown champions, a Hambletonian victor and a foreign trotter who had captured the premier events of France and Sweden, the Prix d’Amerique and the Elitlopp. The Hambletonian Society, desirous of attracting the top trotters in the world to these shores to compete in the Breeders Crown, extended invitations to nominate to the winners of the aforementioned events as well as the Lotteria and the World Cup point leader. The initial foray became a huge success when Coktail Jet won two of the four European races and was owned by connections skilled in the Trans-Atlantic transition.

Daniel Wildenstein, a Parisian native, is one of the world’s most exclusive art dealers and a respected art historian. The Wildenstein family is also involved in international banking. Their stables have numbered as many as 500 thoroughbreds and 300 trotters, with farms in Europe, Scandinavia and the United States. The family has owned three Breeders’ Cup champions and were seeking a unique double with Coktail Jet, a six-yearold son of French stallion Quouky Williams and Armbro Glamour, an exported American daughter of Super Bowl.

Wildenstein has won the Arc de Triomphe three times, but called Coktail Jet’s win in the Prix D’Amerique his greatest thrill. He purchased 50% of Coktail Jet from Jean-Etienne Dubois, and before the Prix d’Amerique the stallion was syndicated for $3.2 million. Coktail Jet commenced to breed a full book of mares after his Prix d’Amerique win, but an easy victory in the Elitlopp convinced Wildenstein and 26-year-old trainer/driver Jean-Etienne Dubois to accept the challenge of racing in the Breeders Crown. Though he had won his last three starts, many felt it was a formidable task to ask a horse to race, breed 160 mares, travel overseas, endure quarantine and adapt to the one-mile all-out American style of racing.

Two other trotting stallions in the field also worked their racing careers around stud duty. 1993 Two-Year-Old Crown Trot champion Wesgate Crown and 1995 sophomore Crown champion Abundance bred 60 and 17 mares respectively. Wesgate Crown had also raced in France early in the year, and had shown form reminiscent of his championship season in his recent efforts. Abundance, from the rough and tumble Ducharme stable, had raced just seven times in 1996, and was facing a pack of trotters in peak form. Eager Seelster, the 1992 Crown freshman champ, frightened onlookers with a monstrous 1:53.2 effort on Hambletonian day, and was respected, especially from the rail position. Deliberate Speed, successfully raced by Norwegian Per Henriksen overseas, suffered from allergies, and his connections were hoping for an August night with some moisture to it to give their trotter some relief.

Tagliabue was the first Hambletonian winner to resume a racing career in the U.S. since Mack Lobell in 1988. Usually they are hustled immediately off to the stud barn, or in some cases race overseas. Despite two winning efforts in June, the son of Super Bowl had galloped in next two starts and was coming into the Breeders Crown from the qualifying races, certainly no trainers choice of an approach to an event of this magnitude. Still, driver John Campbell has been known to author a miracle or two, so Tagliabue was neither the shortest or longest price on the board, but comfortably in the middle.

Stalwarts Impeccable Image, Goodtimes, Golly Too, Oaklea Count were all Breeders Crown alumni and of enormous profit to their owners, racing year round and racking up purse money with commendable regularity. Oaklea Count’s world record 1:52.1 Nat Ray victory was overshadowed in the Hambletonian Day glory surrounding Continentalvictory. The father and son combination of Ron Waples pere et fils had won this event twice before -- with No Sex Please, the first Ontario-bred horse to earn $1 million.

The eagerly awaited return to the races of 1995 Horse of the Year CR Kay Suzie was pushed further back on the calendar as the balmy spring days lengthened to hot summer ones. In mid-July she qualified in 1:53.4, a blistering mile for a trotter who hadn’t raced since November of the previous year. But CR Kay Suzie is no ordinary horse, and her connections had grown used to extraordinary effort from her slender presence.

CR Kay Suzie is named for Rod and Dawn Allen’s daughter Kaylie. Originally, the filly’s earnings were to be set aside for Kaylie’s college education. After those earnings passed the $1 million mark, Kaylie was teased about buying the college, the Florida State University in Tallahassee. A winner of seven of nine races as a two-year-old, resulting 1994 divisional champion CR Kay Suzie set world records on every size track and in each case, shattered not just the filly mark, but any two-year-old trotting mark. Her world record of 1:55.1 for a freshman still stands today.

So dominant was CR Kay Suzie at three that the Hambletonian was more or less conceded to the fleet filly before it was actually raced. When she stepped offstride in her elimination, the reaction was seismic. Though the Allen family has produced a heady roster of equine notables, it is for the grace and poise they displayed under the pressure of CR Kay Suzie’s sophomore campaign that the Allen family may well be remembered. The season was repaired almost immediately when she won the World Trotting Derby in record fashion. Horse of the Year honors were earned after the Allens supplemented CR Kay Suzie to the Breeders Crown Open Mare Trot at Delaware, which she won easily.

Now four, the scene was all too familiar as CR Kay Suzie, headstrong from the ease in which she could assume the lead, refused to give in to driver Rod Allen’s attempts to settle her down in the Nat Ray, the last hope for an appropriate prep race for the Breeders Crown. She broke stride behind the gate and all hope was lost. The only recourse left for Rod was to ship to Pocono Downs and qualify, then hope and pray the months of swimming and jogging had laid enough of a foundation to carry her through the Breeders Crown mile.

With a large contingent of foreign press drawn by CR Kay Suzie and Coktail Jet presence, tension grew as the evening wore on. Coktail Jet was made the favorite for an impressive set of performances on several continents. As the gate left, Allen eased CR Kay Suzie out safely and the crowd expelled a collective breath. At the quarter, Oaklea Count had the front but gave it up immediately when CR Kay Suzie appeared beside him.

Now in control of the lead, CR Kay Suzie set a fast pace of :56.2 to the half with a comfortable but not overwhelming margin on the remainder of the field. Dubois had sent Coktail Jet wide around the first turn and then settled toward the back of the pack waiting to see what would unfold. The outer tier of trotters did not advance on CR Kay Suzie, and DuBois soon found himself hopelessly out of contention, with far too much ground to make up.

Meanwhile, CR Kay Suzie continued to do the unthinkable, striding out by four lengths at the three-quarter pole and looking strong at the head of the stretch. Trotters trailed in her wake, although Jack Moiseyev had freed Deliberate Speed from behind cover and was making a decent attempt to lessen the distance between the front-runner and the wire.

CR Kay Suzie and Rod Allen maintained a healthy two-length margin as they crossed the wire, in a jaw-dropping 1:52.3 effort, a stakes record and the second fastest trotting mile ever recorded in her division. Allen’s quote was truly telling: “I was worried it might be asking too much,” he said, “but she always surprises and always impresses me.”

Coktail Jet could never engage the field, and DuBois bitterly blamed himself for exposing his trotter to a task beyond his immediate capability. Travel and quarantine time along with shorter distance of a mile did not sit well with the European trotter. Deliberate Speed trotted smartly for second and was retired soon after to stallion duties in New Jersey. Goodtimes finished third under an impressive steer from Ron Pierce.

Rod Allen took CR Kay Suzie to Italy in the fall of the year, as a part-ownership in her had been sold to an Italian concern. That foray was not successful, but on the strength of her singularly brilliant Crown performance CR Kay Suzie was again named divisional champion for the third straight year. Now a double Crown winner, CR Kay Suzie is also the progeny of 1989 freshman trot winner Royal Troubador.

There was electricity in the air that August night at The Meadowlands. Tthe world’s premier harness track was hosting its first Breeders Crown events since 1988. Normally the championship events are contested in the late fall, but this year the Hambletonian Society awarded the nation’s showplace of racing the three open events, to be raced the closing weekend of the 1996 harness racing session. And with a star-studded cast of eight pacers leading the way in the Open Pace, it promised to be a very special night, indeed.

Jenna’s Beach Boy, one of only four pacers to win back-to-back Breeders Crowns, was attempting to put his mark in the history books. If successful in this year’s Breeders Crown venture, Jenna’s Beach Boy would become the fourth horse and the only pacer to capture three or more championships. Peace Corps has her name etched forever on the list as the only equine to have made it to the Breeders Crown winners circle four times, while Grades Singing and Mack Lobell had done it three times each.

Jenna’s Beach Boy was actually trying to duplicate the feat of Mack Lobell, who is the only horse to have won Breeders Crown events at the age of two, three and four. But what distinguished Jenna’s try for the Crown trifecta, is that he would become the first pacer to do so, with his illustrious counterparts all being diagonally gaited.

For owners Lee and Linda DeVisser, a Breeders Crown victory would put them over the top after an up and down ride with a horse they named after their grandaughter. Lightly raced his freshman campaign, Jenna’s Beach Boy produced a strong second half of the season that included a Crown victory and earned him divisional honors. In 1995, withJenna’s Beach Boy in the midst of an astounding season, and the likelihood of annexing the two richest events for sophomore pacers, the DeVissers were suddenly brought to earth. An earlier minor injury suddenly flared up again while Jenna was warming up for the $1 million North America Cup, forcing trainer Joe Holloway to scratch his star. Holloway also had to reluctantly withdraw Jenna from the $1 million Meadowlands Pace a few weeks later. A fall comeback saw the DeVisser’s and Holloway breathe a sigh of relief, as Jenna became the fastest racing three-year-old of all time with a 1:48.4 score at The Red Mile, and an impressive Breeders Crown winning effort at Mohawk Raceway.

The DeVisser’s startled the harness racing world when they announced they would bring their homebred son of 1990 Horse of the Year and Breeders Crown champ Beach Towel back to the racetrack in 1996. Overjoyed with his performance to date, they were looking forward to one more thrilling season.

After a pair of victories and a second in his first three starts of the season, Jenna hit a bumpy road. The horse inexplicably broke stride in the Graduate Final, finishing ninth, and then one week later, a sizzling 1:20.1 three-quarters duel with arch-rival Riyadh in a Meadowlands Invitational resulted in a third place check. In order to get Jenna’s confidence back, Holloway put the horse through the paces in a winning qualifying effort, and what followed soon after was indeed remarkable. After exacting a measure of revenge on Riyadh in the Driscoll Pace Elim, Jenna’s Beach Boy’s effort in the Final was one for the ages. Wearing down Riyadh down the stretch, Jenna’s Beach Boy crossed the wire in a breath taking 1:47.3, the fastest race mile of all time.

Going on to a track record performance at Hoosier Park in the Dan Patch Open, Jenna then bobbled in the American-National at Sportsman’s Park, finishing eighth, and some in the harness racing world were beginning to wonder about the sport’s brightest star. The resilient performer bounced back once again, with another sub-1:50 mile in the U. S. Pacing Championship, setting the stage for his Breeders Crown try for history.

It wouldn’t be easy, however, as seven strong rivals stood in his way. Of course Riyadh was there. The richest of the field, with over $2 million in lifetime earnings, was sporting impressive credentials of his own, having earlier won the Battle of Lake Erie, the U. S. Pacing Championship and two divisions of the Levy Series. Trainer Monte Gelrod was also sending out a stablemate of Riyadh, Stand Forever, who was coming off of two 1:49 and change victories of his own at The Meadowlands, and would be handled by John Campbell, the most accomplished driver in both the Crown series and the sport.

Also entered were a trio of millionaires: Ball and Chain, who upset Jenna’s Beach Boy in the Graduate Final, and a pair of rugged mainstays on the Ontario Jockey Club circuit, Historic, who was third in the 1995 Breeders Crown Open Pace, and Village Connection, fourth in the 1994 Two-Year-Old Colt Pace and runnerup to Jenna’s Beach Boy in last year’s sophomore Crown event. Misfit, who won the Levy Series Final, and Hi Ho Silverheel’s, with a Pres Jenuine Pace victory to his credit, rounded out the elite field of eight.

Everyone at The Meadowlands expected an early tug-of-war between Riyadh and Jenna’s Beach Boy. When the two big guns drew the inside posts it was guaranteed. And when the wings of the started gate folded, there wasn’t a disappointed person at the New Jersey oval.

Jack Moiseyev, driving Riyadh, protected his pole position, rocketed to a :26 first quarter, equaling the quickest opening panel in Breeders Crown history, set by Jenna’s Beach Boy in 1995. Bill Fahy, the driving force behind Jenna’s Beach Boy, dropped right into the pocket, but moving down the backside, pulled and brushed by Riyadh to take command.

Paul MacDonell, caught on the outside with Village Connection from the outset, put pressure on the leading Jenna’s Beach Boy, but a :53.1 half and 1:21 three-quarters took its toll and they faded out of it. At the top of the stretch, Fahy asked Jenna’s Beach Boy for just a little more, and the bay horse responded. Late surges down the stretch by Stand Forever and Hi Ho Silverheel’s fell just short, and they settled for place and show money, respectively. Riyadh hung in there until the top of the lane, but ran out of gas and faded to sixth, clearly no match for the winner this time around. Jenna’s Beach Boy’s winning time of 1:48.4 was the fastest Breeders Crown contest in the 13-year history of the series, and earned him a lofty spot in the record books as the first back-to-back-to-back pacing champ ever.

That win really capped off a special night for the DeVisser’s and Holloway. Earlier in the night they swept the top two positions in the Open Mare Pace. Their four-year-old pacing mare She’s A Great Lady atoned for a disappointing eighth-place finish in the 1995 Three-Year-Old Filly Pace with a sparkling 1:50.4 win, while stablemate Armbro Nest followed right behind.

The two victories gave Holloway the distinction of being one in a handful of trainers that captured two Breeders Crown Championships on the same night. Winning the Open Horse Pace with Jenna’s Beach Boy also made him the first non-Canadian trainer to win the event since Clint Galbraith scored in 1988 with Call For Rain.

When the 1996 racing season was put to bed, Jenna’s Beach Boy showed nine wins, seven in 1:49 or better (giving him a record eight for his career), and lifetime earnings just short of the two million dollar mark. His accolades include being honored as the Aged Pacer of the Year, and Pacer of the Year, though he couldn’t beat out the sensational sophomore trotting filly Continentalvictory for Horse of the Year.

Jenna’s Beach Boy and She’s A Great Lady both scored impressive victories on this banner evening. And the two will hook up once again in 1997, though not on the racetrack. Jenna’s Beach Boy, now standing stud at Carter Duer’s Peninsula Farm in Kentucky, will be bred to She’s A Great Lady in 1997

For more than 40 years scenic Vernon Downs has been a cornerstone of the New York State harness racing industry. It has produced famous horses and legendary horsemen, and has alway been popular as a summer training destination due to a charming rural setting and a unique three-quarter mile track, with the horses starting on the straightaway and foregoing a standard first-turn.

As a first-time host for the Breeders Crown series, Vernon drew the sophomore trotting divisions, a pair of superior races in 1996. Though the fillies outshone the colts, the colts came on in two distinct sets, early season sensations and those who came to their peak later in the fall.

Mr. Vic, an early darling, did not make the Hambletonian or the Breeders Crown. Lindy Lane, valiant runner-up to the phenomenal filly Continentalvictory in the Hambletonian, raced in the Breeders Crown elimination, but was withdrawn from the final for failing to show at top form.

That left the spotlight solely to Running Sea. When Jorgen Jahre bred his $200,000 earner to the fastest trotter of 1988, he was hoping to capture the best traits of Wish For Speed and Supergill, and add an extra twist of trotting talent. Though it was not evident at first that he had succeeded, the offspring of the two had already begun a march to the races. Relatively unnoticed at two, Running Sea logged on the scene as a solid performer, banking $88,000 under the steady tutelage of trainer Eddie Howard for owners Howard Guggenheim, David French and Don Johnson, who make up the DDH Racing Stable. Abe “Colt-Man” Stoltzfus, with an unerring eye for inexpensive champions, selected Running Sea as a yearling for $8,000. The son of Supergill showed definite promise as a freshman, yet it took until September of 1995 before he posed in the winner’s circle. It would be ten long months before his picture was taken again. At the close of his two-year-old season, Running Sea finished in the money behind Lindy Lane, the late season sensation and eventual divisional champion of 1995, in the Valley Victory. His owners, pleased that he had finished his freshman campaign strongly, entertained winter-long thoughts of having a top colt in 1996. They could never have imagined that by the same time next year, Running Sea would be the headliner, as Lindy Lane slowly faded from the scene.

In the beginning of 1996, Running Sea displayed perfect form -- in qualifying races, that is. In the betting contests, which came with purse money attached, he galloped. That’s pretty much the way April and May, the cruelest months for the DDH Racing Stable, unfolded. Running Sea qualified well, then ran. Qualified well again, then ran. Finally in June, in the Colonial at Woodbine, Running Sea showed a glint of his ability, finishing fourth and trotting in 1:55.4. Unfortunately, with just one flat mile behind him, it was time for Running Sea to head south and hit the Hambletonian trail. Despite a skip behind the gate, Running Sea finished third in a prep race for the Yonkers Trot, the first leg of the trotting Triple Crown. But, for all the marbles the following week, he went offstride and finished sixth, 24 lengths behind the astounding winner. Not that anyone beyond Guggenheim, French and Johnson noticed. All eyes were on the filly, Continentalvictory, amazingly called the third best horse in a trio of juggernauts that included Lindy Lane and Mr. Vic. All were offspring of Valley Victory, and were more or less conceded all the money, all the accolades and all the acclaim for the rest of the year.

Of course, that’s why they call it horse racing.

The owners of Running Sea were not new to the vagaries of racing. Guggenheim is a vice president of Smith Barney, a brokerage firm in his hometown of Boca Raton, Florida. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, he has three children who still live in the horse-saturated Buckeye state, which is where, in the late ‘60s, Guggenheim first became interested in the horse business. Seeking a diversion from the long hours at work, he bought some yearlings to race the county fair circuit, perfect outing opportunities for the family. As the years went by, Guggenheim found himself with a healthy number of horses, his stable usually numbering around a dozen. About three years ago, Guggenheim made a pitch to two of his friends, Johnson, a client of Guggenheim’s investment firm, and French, an attorney in Boca Raton, to invest in a package of race horses. French is the bookkeeper for the stable. Though standardbreds may rate as “high risk” as investment prospects, the partners did well.

Guggenheim wanted more. He wanted a “big” horse, one that would be talked about, written about and feared the way Lindy Lane or Continentalvictory was. And French believed they had one in Running Sea. Time was slipping away.

The owners decided to make a change. Running Sea had the potential to become that “big” horse, and it was their responsibility to give him every opportunity to do so. After that frustrating gallop in the Yonkers Trot, time was running out for Running Sea.

The Hambletonian was less than a month away and they were sure they had a trotter capable of giving a good showing. They approached Chuck Sylvester about taking the colt. Sylvester has long since proved his worth in this business, and has been adamant about keeping the size of his stable scaled down. He doesn’t take horses he doesn’t want or owners just for the sake of a training bill. When Abe Stoltzfus convinced Sylvester that both Running Sea and his owners were first class material, the trotter was moved to the Chuck Sylvester Stable.

Well, Sylvester didn’t win the Hambletonian with Running Sea. But D(avid), D(on) and H(oward), as the DDH stable, were dancing a jig over Running Sea’s third place finish. Their instincts to go with Sylvester were justified. And Sylvester, who needed a driver since Campbell was committed to Act Of Grace in the Hambo final, went with his instincts, and grabbed Wally Hennessey, straight from the winner circle of the Hambletonian Oaks with Moni Maker.

A win in the Zweig Memorial and a proper showing in the World Trotting Derby refueled their hopes.

Running Sea would not lose another race. As the harness world focused on Lexington and the final stage of the trotting triple crown, several dramatic events occurred. Personal Banner beat both Act Of Grace and Continentalvictory in the Bluegrass Stake, a traditional filly prep for the Kentucky Futurity. Continentalvictory would not race again, and the scramble for position among the colts to seize control of top dog status began in earnest. Running Sea romped in the colt division of the Bluegrass Stake.

The Kentucky Futurity was all Running Sea. Sylvester had honed the medium-sized colt to razor sharpness, and Hennessey helped him control and use his best feature -- quick gate speed -- to his advantage. No challenge materialized from Lindy Lane in their Futurity elimination, and the final was a two and a half length jog, a perfect present for Hennessey on his 40th birthday, in the midst of the best year of his driving career. As for Sylvester, he took his seat in the floral Futurity chair for the fourth time.

The Breeders Crown saw a dozen trotters flood the entry box, vying for the last big purse of the season. If Running Sea was going to make voters forget the spectacle of August and the dominant Meadowlands performance of Lindy Lane, a Crown win was a must. First, Hennessey guided Running Sea through the elimination at Vernon Downs, sitting carefully in the bike as if the trotter were made of spun glass.

“I just didn’t want to anything stupid and not make the final,” Hennessey reported afterwards. This horse is so sharp now I just didn’t want to make any mistakes.”

Hennessey did let Running Sea open up four lengths at the wire in his elimination, thinking ahead to the next week and hoping to quell any thoughts of Running Sea being open to challenge, He wanted the others to recognize him for what he’d earned -- the title of the favorite and the best horse in the race. The eternally smiling Hennessey also marked a second personal milestone with a Running Sea victory, chalking up his 4,000th victory in the Crown elim.

Running Sea had no trouble in the Breeders Crown final, winning comfortably in 1:55.2, hardly blowing as the exuberant crowd of owners joined him in the winners circle. Caretaker Krista Williams steadied her charge as a stream of people caromed about him. The only member of the winning team missing was the coach. Sylvester’s wife Sharon had been hospitalized with breathing problems and he had decided to stay by her side, leaving son Troy in command at Vernon.

Another son of Supergill, Super Grit, was also improving his sire’s credits, with six wins coming into the Breeders Crown. John Campbell deftly steered him to a second place finish, and Ron Gurfein’s second-stringer Score A Success, who’d won the Founders Gold Cup at Vernon earlier in the season, was third. With the scratch of Lindy Lane, Edge of Glory moved into the final and picked up the fifth place check.

Supergill lost this event to Firm Tribute in 1988, in one of the closest finishes in Crown history. Vindication came from both Running Sea and Malabar Man, winners of both the freshman and sophomore trots. Supergill would lead all stallions in Crown earnings for the year.

Guggenheim and French were almost speechless. At the beginning of the season they’d hoped to have a solid competitor, a horse who would make a good showing and they ended up with the star of the show. A win in the Matron in Florida, in front of their hometown crowd, capped the year. Nearly the entire staff of Smith Barney crowded the winners circle. The title of three-year-old trotting colt of the year was imminent. Running Sea was an outstanding investment -- the $8,000 he cost turned into $686,338 in purse money and a sale price of $750,000 to Swedish interests and Finnish trainer Juoko Parssinen. The three partners had agreed to dissolve their interests win, lose, or draw, and kept to their agreement when the buyers came calling. Though the financial rewards were vast, the real return came in the thrills department for Guggenheim, French and Johnson, who realized the experience of a lifetime through Running Sea.

It started out with a group of eleven three-year-old sophomore pacers forced to bide their time for two days after a Nor’easter caused the cancellation of their Breeders Crown elimination. And it all ended with a short field of seven going postward in the final just five days later. What made the final field unique was that trainer Brett Pelling had the responsibility of training three of the entrants, and each had their own merits on which they could stake claim to the championship.

Pelling’s night was set into high gear earlier on the program, as his trainee Mystical Maddy won the Breeders Crown Three-Year-Old Filly Pace. And his chances in the Three-Year-Old Colt Pace looked extremely promising, as he was sending out Little Brown Jug winner Armbro Operative, Adios Pace victor

Electric Yankee and Nude Beach, who outperformed his stablemates the week before when he finished second in the Breeders Crown elimination. Electric Yankee and Armbro Operative didn’t fare so well in the elim, finishing sixth and seventh, respectively behind Oye Vay. The Pelling Stable came up all smiles after the post position draw, as Armbro Operative, Nude Beach and Electric Yankee, in that order, drew the inside three post positions.

America has been called “The Land of Opportunity” and Pelling, a native of New Zealand, certainly agrees. Using many training tactics from his native land, as well as the techniques adopted in the United States, Pelling found a combination that gives him his characteristic method of training for toughness rather than speed on the racetrack.

Pelling refined his knack for winning. In 1988, his first full year of training a public stable, he took the training title at Freehold Raceway. From 1990-92 he was untouchable at The Meadowlands, winning the title all three years. In 1995 he captured the Meadowlands Pace and the North American Cup, a pair of million dollar races, with David’s Pass. Until this evening though, he had never won a Breeders Crown, but before the night was through, he would have two championships to add to his laurels.

When the wings of the starting gate unfolded, Jack Moiseyev showed no respect for the strong contingent inside of him, as he sent Oye Vay to the front from his number five post position. Along the inside Armbro Operative, under the guidance of Mike Lachance, comfortably sat in second, with his two stablemates right behind. Things began to change though, after a 28.1 first quarter.

Joe Schwind pulled Electric Yankee at that point, followed closely by Ross Wolfenden and Nude Beach. With Oye Vay and Armbro Operative on the inside, the top foursome began to draw away from the rest of the field, while passing the half in :56.2. The field closed ranks approaching the 1:24.4 three-quarters, but it was there that Electric Yankee and Nude Beach began to tire and fall from contention.

Lachance’s patience with Armbro Operative along the pylons paid off, as he had clear aim at the leader turning for home. With relative ease, Armbro Operative drew clear to win by three and onequarter lengths, stopping the timer at 1:54.1. Oye Vay was game in the stretch, but a furious rush by Jac’s Choice, handled by Peter Wrenn, made it too close to call with the naked eye for place honors. In fact the camera couldn’t tell either, and the two were declared in a deadheat for second.

For owners David McDuffee and Tom Walsh it was a delightful sense of deja vu watching Armbro Operative capture the Breeders Crown. In 1994, their pacer Magical Mike was successful in the Crown Final after a victory in the Little Brown Jug. Two years later, Armbro Operative took the same route to the top of the class.

Though Armbro Operative went on to demolish the remnants of the sophomore pace division in the Progess Pace at Dover Downs, but year-end honors went to Hot Lead whose prolonged streak at the Meadowlands kept him focused in voter’s eyes.

Armstrong Bros. was rightfully named “Breeder of the Year” by Sports Eye racing paper for the strong showing their performers continue to produce on the racetrack. They rank second in earnings in the Crown standings, with purse numbers of $4.2 million and 11 trophies won by the “Armbro” army.

Cam Fella has been an outstanding sire in the sport of harness racing, but medical difficulites caused his retirement in 1996. In the Breeders Crown series, Cam Fella has sired, with Armbro Operative’s victory, the winners of six championships, and, as a broodmare sire, he has four trophies to his credit, all from the offspring of Beach Towel - three from Jenna’s Beach Boy and one trophy earned by Paige Nicole Q. Though he will be missed from the stallion ranks, his legacy will live on long after his last crop races.

When amateur driver Mal Burroughs won the Hambletonian Oaks behind his top notch trotting filly Gleam, he was a curiosity, a story angle, a hook and an inspiration to all those armchair drivers and trainers out there.

After 1996, Burroughs can only be described as an amateur in the same way Carl Lewis’ performance in the 1992 Olympics could be called amateur. He holds an amateur license, but there the definition ends. He may not accept his driving percentage, but he proved himself on equal footing with any of his “A” license peers after the handling of the year’s top freshman colt, Malabar Man.

More impressive is that he bred the colt as well as drove him to each of his 13 victories. Malabar Man was the first foal born at Burroughs’ New Jersey farm, also called Malabar Farms, a combination of Burroughs first name and his wife, Barbara.

Burroughs can claim familiarity with three generations of the pedigree that went into making Malabar Man. He raced Fickle Yankee, and bred her, and one of her resulting foals was named Lady Love McBur. That filly showed tremendous trotting ability, but suffered a tendon injury that ended any hope of a racing career. Burroughs subsequently bred Lady Love McBur to Supergill, hoping to infuse a large dose of Super Bowl blood. And so Malabar Man was born.

Though Burroughs thought well of the colt, it was trainer Jimmy Takter who harbored big aspirations for him. There was something about him that earmarked him in Takter’s mind, and Takter’s had his share of good ones.

Malabar Man qualified in late June, like hundreds of other two-year-olds, and though he won his qualifier, the time of 2:04.2 was not an attention-getter. From there, Burroughs and the colt went to the fair. Though the New Jersey fairs today bear little resemblance to the primitive circuit it once comprised, it is still considered an easier path for a youngster than to be thrown immediately to the pari-mutuel wolves.

In his first four starts Malabar Man raced for a purse of $3,000 and did not crack 2:00, while his peers took down the big dollars offered in the Peter Haughton Memorial and other stake events. Malabar Man did win each of those four starts, and the New Jersey Futurity, which carried a respectable purse of $14,244 before trying open stakes competition. According to Burroughs this was a valuable learning experience, not only for the freshman, but for Burroughs himself.

In their first departure from their home state, Burroughs and Malabar Man ended their six-race win streak by finishing fourth (placed third) in the Champlain at Mohawk Raceway.

They stayed at Mohawk for the Campbellville the next week, which Burroughs won -- while a colt named Meadowbranch Lou won another division. Meadowbranch Lou would figure largely in their future, but for now Burroughs was just concerned with not making any mistakes with his obviously talented colt.

It was back to New Jersey, where Malabar Man and Burroughs won the Sire Stake Final and their elimination and the final of the Harold Dancer Memorial at Garden State Park. Word spread slowly that the team of Takter and Burroughs had come up with another trotter deserving respect.

The Breeders Crown has been a definitive factor in year end honors for this group, perhaps more than any other. Of the 12 champions, eight have been named top of their class. So it was an important race for both Malabar Man and Meadowbranch Lou, and also the richest purse the two had ever raced for -- over $400,000.

A total of 15 trotters entered the box, though early season sensation Yankee Glide opted out due to illness. The group after the eliminations ranged from the serious contenders -- Malabar Man and Meadowbranch Lou -- to the inexperienced but developing fast -- Sand Chaser, Divinator, BJ’s Super Son and Victory’s Force -- to the comicallynamed but capabaly gaited -- Buttafuco and Oneacme Trotterkit.

Oneacme Trotterkit, in particular, was a crowd pleaser. The small son of Cumin was a bargain basement $6,000 purcahse for innovative trainers Bud Burke and Liz Quesnel. With his high-stepping gait and his tail tied in a knot and carried high in the air, Oneacme Trotterkit raced like the little engine that could. His third place finish in the $500,000 Peter Haughton was ten times his purchase price.

Malabar Man won his eight horse elimination, rather easily, by close to two lengths. Meadowbranch Lou won his too, in perfect fashion and the gauntlet was thrown down. The media made much of the “David -vs- Goliath” angle of the Breeders Crown. Meadowbranch Lou came from one of the most formidable owner-trainer-driver teams in the sport. Those involved, Chuck Sylvester, John Campbell, Lou Guida, along with coowners Neal Goldman and Gerry Donahue have been a part of 50 Breeders Crown titles. Burroughs on the other hand, owned one Breeders Crown winner, Gleam, and had been in the bike for one of the few defeats of her sophomore season. Gleam broke stride with Burroughs driving in her elimination of the 1994 Breeders Crown and did not advance to the final. That stigma was added to the already oppressive weight Burroughs felt the week between the elim and final of the Mohawk Breeders Crown when an even more pressing problem occurred.

Malabar Man suffered a minor infection in his hoof, but a painful one that made his racing in the final questionable. For two days he did not leave the stall, while caretaker Paavi Huuskonen soaked and treated his foot.

When Burroughs and Malabar Man took to the track on Crown night, the rain and wind were formidable. Malabar Man was second favorite behind Meadowbranch Lou in the wagering. The worry about the colt’s foot was momentarily alleviated when Jimmy Takter won the first Breeders Crown race on the card, the 2-year-old filly trot with Armbro Prowess. Takter barely had time to shower the mud out of his ears before Malabar Man went to post. Burroughs got away evenly, sitting third behind the sprinting Oneacme Trotterkit and a somewhat bewildered Buttafuco. As Oneacme Trotterkit tired, Campbell made his move with Meadowbranch Lou, a move he’s made many times in the past with success. Burroughs knew he was coming and refused to flush until it suited him, sitting coolly at the rail until the half mile marker. When he did pull, he refused to be hurried and confident of his colt’s ability, sat determinedly midtrack, and then began pass the leaders. Meadowbranch Lou, enjoying the best of trips, had him dead in his sights and was simply not good enough. No one was -- the Goliath was Malabar Man all along.

Malabar Man is a son of Supergill, who in one of the closest photos ever in a Breeders Crown, ended up second by a nostril to Firm Tribute. Another son, Running Sea, would win his Crown event a week later. Supergill would lead all stallions in Breeders Crown earnings for the year, his nine starters banking $642,893, with two championships. Ironically, Supergill had already been exported to Italy when his sophomore crop exploded on the scene.

Despite a loss to Allison Hollow in the Valley Victory final, Malabar Man went home with all the marbles at season’s end. Besides a healthy $464,041 in the bank, 13 wins in 15 starts (the two losses were a second and a third) add the fact that Malabar Man never, ever, went offstride, as a testament to his ability. Burroughs firmly established himself as a professional in every sense of the world, one regarded as an equal by Hall of Fame drivers and trainers alike

Last at the half. Those words can chill the spine of the staunchest owner, especially when pertaining to an important stakes race on your home turf, with half a million hanging in the air. The eight hole, the last slot on a gate stacked with inside speed, was bad enough. The gusting wind, rain-puddled track and zero visibility had to be dealt with by all the freshman Breeders Crown colt pace contenders, but only the 10 people comprising the Mattduff Group had to force hopeful smiles when their colt His Mattjesty came up last at the half at Mohawk Raceway on a night not fit for man or beast.

Getting there was hard enough. The top colts throughout the country gathered at Mohawk in mid-fall, with the Crown title and $700,153 on the line. To survive the eliminations, the 24 juvenile pacers, the most ever entered in a Breeders Crown event, had to be first or second. Metro winner Gothic Dream squeaked into the final as the third place finisher with the fastest time.

That the final field contained Carl Gregg’s Arturo was no surprise, as the first-crop son of two-time Breeders Crown champion Artsplace had just reeled off a three-race win streak that included the Garden State Pace and the Lou Babic. With Luc Ouellette driving, Arturo was rightfully made the favorite after a strong elimination win. Next closest in the wagering was Gothic Dream, whose length victory over The Big Dog in the Metro Stake still had trainer Jack Darling and his co-owners Dan and Audrey Smith floating on air. The Big Dog had been felled by a virus and did not enter the Breeders Crown, giving Gothic Dream one less obstacle in his path to bolster his chances for divisional honors.

The expertly managed Megamind from the Joe Holloway stable was also accorded some respect, as was Stone Dragon, a son of 1984 freshman Crown champ Dragon’s Lair, whose big floating gait matched that of his sire. Arlene and Jules Siegel saw both their entrants, Ramses Two and Park Place, miraculously make the final, as did Instant Offense from the Greg McNair stable.

Jack Moiseyev wasted no time in hustling Stone Dragon out for the lead, and he appeared unencumbered by the sloppy footing. Though it took a :27 quarter to defend the lead, Moiseyev then put his colt on idle, stealing a :30 quarter in an attempt to force the challenge of whomever felt brave enough under the circumstances.

The bid came from the favorite, Arturo, but it was not a confident one. He seemed to have trouble with the footing and his threat to Stone Dragon grew non-existent as they cruised past the three-quarters in 1:25.

Gothic Dream, driven by John Campbell, had worked out a decent journey with cover from Park Place. His Mattjesty was last at the half. And going nowhere. A desperate Doug Brown sought some reaction from his colt who was some three lengths off the cover being offered by Gothic Dream. Brown missed his chance and Megamind snapped up the proffered cover and the car ride back home was beginning to look long and dreary to the Mattduff Group.

Champions overcome obstacles. And His Mattjesty began to answer the call. He swooped past horses on the backstretch, and in the final turn his dramatic four-wide move may have been overlooked, as Arturo finally broke stride as he’d been threatening.

Moiseyev was counting the money. Stone Dragon had skipped into a three-length lead, and Moiseyev was confident no one would emerge from the sloppy tiring track and collar him, especially not after Arturo took himself out by galloping. But His Mattjesty had just overhauled Gothic Dream and had his sights dead on Stone Dragon, who wilted immediately at the challenge. Those anxious frowns worn by the owners and trainer Stew Firlotte became yelps of joy and encouragement as His Mattjesty skated under the wire a length ahead of the valiant Gothic Dream.

Though the time was a creditable 1:54.4, it belied the effort of the mile that had just unfolded. Horses do not come from last at the half, under adverse weather conditions, from an antagonistic post position, and win Breeders Crown races.

The Mattduff Group, consisting of principals Claude Incaudo, Scott and Clay Horner and Firlotte, were no strangers to frustration. Thrilled with the promise shown by their lateblooming two-year-old of 1995, Mattduff, they’d combed the sales to find a sibling only to discover a full sister had been withdrawn from the sale. A second choice was a threequarter brother to Mattduff, but a confirmation flaw (they’d been advised His Mattjesty stood slightly “back” at the knees) allowed them to purchase the son of Matt’s Scooter for a mere $31,000. His Mattjesty did not offer up delusions of grandeur in training. But he showed enough for Stew Firlotte, who knows promise when he sees it, to never lose faith in him. In fact it was Mattduff who could not regain the form of his freshman year, and ended up the disappointment.

Bill Perretti’s standardbred nursery annexed a fourth breeders credit; premier stallion Matt’s Scooter his first crystal trophy, with Mystical Maddy making it a pair before the Crown series was over. The team of Doug Brown and Stew Firlotte recorded their fifth win as a duo, and His Mattjesty was chosen as the O’Brien Award winner for the year.

His Mattjesty was inexplicably slighted by voters when divisional ballots were returned. Though he finished second to The Big Dog by three-quarters of a length in the Governor’s Cup, his trip in the Breeders Crown was easily one of the five most impressive miles of the season.