One For Canada

August 5, 2000
East Rutherford, NJ
The MeadowLands
Purse $1,000,ooo

The 75th anniversary of the Hambletonian was a celebration of the rich history and tradition of trotting's greatest race, but there was nothing conventional about the colt and trainer who brought home the 2000 trophy. While many trainers believe the only way to prep for the Hambletonian is to race at the Meadowlands, Doug McIntosh opted for the road less traveled with his striking chestnut colt Yankee Paco. The Wheatley, Ontario native prepped Yankee Paco for the Hambletonian in rather unusual fashion staying in Ontario for Sire Stakes competition. Yankee Paco did not see the Meadowlands surface until he arrived for the eliminations on July 29. The son of Canadian sire Balanced Image entered the Hambletonian eliminations with a four-race win streak, and made it five straight under the patient hands of driver Trevor Ritchie in the second of the three eliminations. The victory was particularly speical for McIntosh and his wife, Carrie, as it came on their son Dylan's second birthday. "The birth of our son was the greatest thing in my life," said McIntosh just before the eliminations. "Winning the Hambletonian is the only thing I can think of that would come close." A week later, McIntosh could compare the two feelings as Yankee Paco became the first Canadian sired horse to win the Hambletonian, bringing him the highlight of his career at age 57. "It's a great thing for my career and a great thing for Canada," he said. The 1:53.2 mile was a season record for a three-year-old colt and Yankee Paco's mile was all the more impressive by the fact that, leaving from post position seven, he was parked out the entire race, first-over after the half in 55.2. It was probably the first time a horse had won the Hambletonian without seeing the rail at any point in the mile. When Legendary Lover K cleared the lead along the backstretch, Yankee Paco was suddenly left uncovered. In a display of gritty determination, Ritchie and Yankee Paco pulled away midstretch. Mike Farrell of The Record wrote, "For any standardbred, that represents the moment of truth, leading to two options: press on for the glory, or fold and try again another day. On a glorious sun-splashed afternoon, Yankee Paco opted to fight." In many ways, Doug McIntosh has been a man ahead of his time in the harness racing industry. The older brother of more heralded conditioner Bob McIntosh, Doug was a pioneer in communicating with owners and prospective owners. He advertised his services when that was considered "taboo" by the old guard. He was one of the first to publish a monthly newsletter, detailing the accomplishments and progress of his equine pupils. He hopped aboard the Internet explosion in the early stages, developing a comprehensive website and using e-mail to communicate with his clients. Yankee Paco was a modest $30,000 yearling purchase by McIntosh from the Yankeeland Farm consignment at the 1998 Kentucky Standardbred Sale at Fasig-Tipton in Lexington on behalf of longtime clients Harry Ivey, a retired pharmacist, and his son, Dr. Tom Ivey, a heart surgeon.

Yankee Paco was the easiest of winners in his elimination by a length and a quarter. In each of the four years since the eliminations were scheduled the previous week, the winner of the Hambletonian also won his elimination. Yankee Paco is only the second chestnut to win the Hambletonian; Blaze Hanover (1960) was the first. Doug McIntosh may be the first Canadian-based trainer to win the Hambletonian. His brother Bob also had a horse in the final, Berndt Hanover, but was pulled up and did not finish the race. A number of Canadian horseman (such as Nat Ray, Ben White, Ralph Baldwin and Joe O'Brien) have trained the winner over the years but after they had emigrated to the U.S. Trevor Ritchie may also be the first Canadian-based driver to win. It was Ritchie's first drive in the Hambletonian. To date he is the 16th (including Nat Ray who won the first edition) to win the race in this first try. That list includes: Bill Leese, Dick McMahon, Will Canton, Lee Smith Harrison Hoyt, Harry Harvey, Ned Bower, Flave Nipe, Howard Beissinger, John Simpson Jr, Ray Remmen, Ulf Thoresen, Bill Fahy, Jack Moiseyev. It was also the first Hambletonian drive for Dave Magee, who finished fifth with the favorite Dreamaster. It was noteworthy in that Magee had driven in more than 48,000 races, winning more than 8,300, but had never driven in the Hambletonian. He said it was an opportunity that he had dreamed of since growing up in Illinois while the race was at DuQuoin. Of the 10 horses in the final: 14 out of the 25 individual owners were in their first Hambletonian; six of the 10 trainers and five of the 10 drivers were also making their first Hambletonian appearance. It was the second Hambletonian winner in three years bred by Yankeeland Farm. Operated by Charles E. Keller III and his family, Yankeeland was founded by Keller's father, baseball and harness racing hall-of-famer Charlie-Keller, who played for the N.Y. Yankees from 1937 to 1952. Keller was a member of one of the Bronx bombers' greatest outfields with Joe DiMaggio and Tommy Henrich. Yankee Paco was the ninth Hambletonian winner in 16 years (1983-1998) sold as a yearling by Kentucky Standardbred Sale Co. John Campbell drove in his 18th consecutive Hambletonian. The 10 horses in the final were by 10 different stallions: American Winner, Armbro Goal, Balanced Image, Chief Litigator, Garland Lobell, Incredible Abe, Pine Chip, SJ's Photo, Valley Victory and Victory Dream. Not since 1931 - a six-horse field bested by Calumet Butler - were all the horses in the final heat by different stallions. Yankee Paco is the fist Canadian-sired winner of the Hambletonian. He is the first by an Ontario sire. Just five states were responsible for the sires of all the other winners: Kentucky (31), Pennsylvania (30), New Jersey (10), New York (3) and Michigan (1). Speedy Crown got his sixth broodmare credit and tied Peter The Great as the leading broodmare sire of Hambletonian winners. The last dam of a winner by Peter The Great was Elizabeth, the dame of Yankee maid (1944). She also produced Greyhound (1935). All six of Speedy Crown's credits are from different mares. Thirty-one winners, including Yankee Paco, traced their paternal line directly to Volomite (second to Walter Dear in the 1929 Hambletonian). Volotmite was the great-great-great-grandson of Hambletonian 10. Yankee Paco was the 63rd of the 76 winners to trace their paternal line directly to Peter The Great, a great-grandson of Hambletonian 10. DeWayne Minor, the driver of Legendary Lover K (finishing 6th), was the first African-American to drive a horse in the Hambletonian. From 1926 through 2000, 1,088 horse have declared in the entry box for the Hambletonian. With 10 scratched, 1,078 horses have started the first heat or in their elimination. This includes 161 fillies that have faced the starter. Only one filly started in 2000, Ava, who finished 6th in her elimination. She is the first filly to have started since Continentalvictory in 1996.

Media

2000 media guide file

Champions | 2000-2009

Yankee Paco

2000
Scarlet Knight

2001
Chip Chip Hooray

2002
Amigo Hall

2003
Windsong's Legacy

2004
Vivid Photo

2005
Glidemaster

2006
Donato Hanover

2007
Deweycheatumnhowe

2008
Muscle Hill

2009

2001- Scarlet Knight

Smile For The Camera

August 4, 2001
East Rutherford, NJ
The MeadowLands
Purse $1,000,ooo

Hollywood's best scribes could not have written a more fitting conclusion to the 2001 Meadowlands harness meet as renowned Swedish Swedish racing photographer Stefan Melander fulfilled a lifelong dream of winning the Hambletonian with Scarlet Knight. After 20 years of capturing the sport's most prestigious events on film, Melander, known as "Foto Tarzan" around the world, was finally on the other side of the camera in the winner's circle on Hambletonian Day, August 4. The colt's trainer, driver and owner, Melander made the trek from his home in Enkoping, Sweden, overcoming the obstacles of distance, climate and time, to give Scarlet Knight the chance to prove himself as the world's top three-year-old trotter. And the son of Pine Chip, who entered the race undefeated in eight starts, lived up to his reputation. After Banker Hall took the field to the three-quarter pole, Melander and Scarlet Knight roared to the front and muscled their way to the lead and a one and three-quarter length winning margin, timed in 1:53.4. Melander turned to face the cameras as he crossed the finish line, his whip raised in victory. Every summer Melander makes the trek from his home in Sweden to the Meadowlands Racetrack for the Hambletonian, but his 2001 journey was quite different as he brought three-year-old trotting colt Scarlet Knight with him. Scarlet Knight was simply dominant in his U.S. debut as he cut the mile and drew off to a six-length victory in 1:54.1, the fastest of the three Hambletonian eliminations, with Melander in the sulky. And shortly after the race was over, Melander was back in the winner's circle snapping photos of the other Hambletonian eliminations and Breeders Crown events. Scarlet Knight entered the Hambletonian with a perfect eight-for-eight season record, posting victories in Sweden, Norway and the United States. Melander purchased Scarlet Knight for $17,000 in November 1999, but was unable to train him until January 2000 because of quarantine requirements, making his accomplishment even more remarkable. "It took a long time before I got him to Sweden," he said, "and I thought I wouldn't have enough time to get him ready. Normally, under the circumstances, Swedish trainers don't have enough time to prepare horses for the Hambletonian because of the long winter. I think it's amazing to be in this race. It is nearly impossible for a Swedish-trained horse to make it." Melander grew up near the Solvalla racetrack in Stockholm and began hanging around the stables where he became friends with veteran conditioners Hakan Wallner and Berndt Lindstedt. His passion for trotters led to his involvement in many aspects of the sport, including charting the races at Solvalla and selling handicapping tip sheets. Melander is known as "Foto Tarzan," a nickname given to him by Wallner, who combined Melander's interest in photography with his tendency to swing from job to job. Melander started his own photography business in 1980 that has prospered over the past two decades. He is also a racing columnist for Expressen, a top tier daily newspaper in Sweden. In 1990, he began to devote more of his time to training horses and took on more employees to help with the photography. Melander is assisted by his girlfriend, Catarina Lundstrom, a respected trainer in Scandinavia. They bought a training center in Enkoping and their stable has grown to be one of the most fruitful in Scandinavia. Melander is the first horseman to bring a U.S.-brd trotter trained and developed in Europe to the U.S. and win the Hambletonian. Two horses have tried before, the Italian-owned Top Hanover in 1971 (finished sixth and eight in the first two heats) and the Swedish-owned Easy Lover in 1995 (finished seventh in elim).

Exported as a yearling, raised developed and trained in Europe, Scarlet Knight is the first U.S.-bred trotter to come back to win the Hambletonian. Melander was the first driver-trainer-owner to win the Hambletonian since Stanley Dancer did it in 1975 with Bonefish. Melander was the first driver-trainer to win it since Dancer won with Duenna in 1983. Melander trains some 70 horses with partner Catarina Lundstrom. He rarely reads the pedigree page but instead measures yearlings and enters all pertinent info in a detailed data base, consisting of over 60,000 horses he's measured. The Hambletonian Final was Melander's third drive in the U.S. He won the 1995 Yonkers International with His Majesty and his Hambo elim a week prior to the final. In each of the five years since multiple heats were replaced by eliminations the previous week, the eventual winner of the Hambletonian has also won his elimination. Scarlet Knight is only the fifth Hambletonian winner (since 1945) to come into the race with an unblemished record as a 3-year-old. The other four: Titan Hanover (1945), Sharp Note (1952), Mack Lobell (1987) and Malabar Man (1997). Scarlet Knight flew over and back on the same plane as international trotting superstar Varenne. The two returned to Europe having won the only two $1 million races for trotters offered in the world. Scarlet Knight was the fourth European-conditioned horse to take a shot at the Hambletonian: Shatter Way (1966), Top Hanover (1971), Easy Lover (1995). Scarlet Knight was probably the 40th favorite or co-favorite to win in the 76 years of the Hambletonian. Remarkably six out of the last nine years, the public's choice has prevailed. The three beaten favorites were: Lindy Lane (1996), CR Kay Suzie (1995), and Dreamaster (2000). Scarlet Knight is the 28th winner who paternal line traces directly to Scotland (third to Spencer in 1928). Scotland was a grandson of Peter The Great whose prodigy has won 63 of the 76 Hambletonians, including both dead-heat winners in 1989. Scarlet Knight was the 13th Hambletonian winner sold as a yearling by Standardbred Horse Sale Co. in Harrisburg, PA., since it offered Ashley Hanover (later renamed Bill Gallon) in its initial 1939 session. It was the Harrisburg sale's 1st winner since 1989 which now equals Tattersalls' record as the leader in that category. Additionally one more winner, Green Speed (1977), was catalogued at Harrisburg but withdrawn prior to his sale. Scarlet Knight, was the 32nd winner sired by a Kentucky stallion, a record by a state breeding program. The winners of the first 15 consecutive Hambletonians (1926 to 1940) were by Kentucky stallions. He was the 8th Hambletonian winner produced by a Castleton Farm stallion. His sire Pine Chip was exported to Sweden in 2000 when Castleton was disperssed. Five of the 10 starters were trained by Swedish trainers; four driven by Swedish reinsmen. To add to the Scandinavian flavor, a sixth was trained by a Norwegian. Brooke Nickells was the first female trainer to advance to the Hambletonian final with Lavecster. Both Anna-Lena Ljunggren (Baltic Baby, 1993) and Ann Wheeler (Speedy Big Boy, 1994) started in the eliminations but did not go forward to the final. Lavecster finished fourth in the final. Total harness handle was $8,028,480, the highest handle in the history of the sport, breaking the previous record for the 3rd consecutive year on Hambletonian Day. On-track attendance was $26,569 a record for the Meadowlands season. On-track harness wagering was $3,675,779, the highest at The Meadowlands since 1995.