Karl and French Champagne emerged victorious in their respective $240,000 New Jersey Sire Stakes finals for 3-year-olds on the trot Friday night at The Meadowlands. Karl was his usual dominant self, crushing his foes by seven widening lengths in a 1:51 lifetime-best clocking in the split for colts and geldings to complete a three-race sweep …
East Rutherford, NJ — Two weeks ago, a national television audience was introduced to Karl, the current early favorite to capture the 99th edition of the $1 million Hambletonian on Saturday (Aug. 3) at The Meadowlands. On Friday (May 31), Big M fans will be able to head to the track and see the colt …
Trenton, NJ — Having a trotter among the favorites to win harness racing’s biggest race is nothing new for Crawford Farms. But the gender of its latest star is. After co-owning the most recent two fillies to win the Hambletonian — Ramona Hill and Atlanta — the Crawfords now co-own Karl, the early pick to …
In 2011, Nancy Takter was the caretaker of Metro Pace Champion Simply Business, while still working for her father, Jimmy. A few days before Christmas, 2023, Kimberly Ann Hale of New Start Standardbreds discovered that the very same horse, now 15 and in a killpen, needed help if he was going to survive. Michelle Crawford, …
Awash in soothing Lexington autumn sunshine, the incomparable Atlanta was greeting well-wishers Tuesday morning on the backside of the Crawford Farms shedrow at Fasig-Tipton with the air of class befitting a Hambletonian-winning queen. The look in her eye suggested the intense gameness that was the hallmark of a career that has earned over $3.4 million …
Hightstown, NJ — If actions speak louder than words, Karl’s performances to begin his career virtually shout. The 2-year-old male trotter has won all three of his races, by a total of 15-1/4 lengths, and his 1:52.1 triumph last month at Lexington’s Red Mile is the fastest of the season for freshman trotters. On Sunday, Karl …
Avacakes, a half sister to the fastest two-year-old trotter of 2023, fetched a six-figure sale price on Monday afternoon (Sept. 11). Avacakes brought a winning bid of $140,000 selling online via onGait.com. Sold by Steve Finkelstein’s Jesmeral Stable of New York, the four-year-old Father Patrick-Avalicious mare was purchased by Doug Paul of Delaware. Read more
Tioga Downs hosted two divisions of the New York Sire Stakes (NYSS) for 2-year-old pacing colts & geldings on Saturday (Sept. 2). Vandiemen Bluechip (Jason Bartlett) captured the $51,500 first division. Darius (Mark MacDonald) went to the front and led to the quarter in :27. He slowed things down with a :30 quarter to be …
Hopefully Buffalo Raceway officials have fast drying ink for the record book. After Deswanslittlelorie set the all-aged trotting record at Buffalo Raceway this past Saturday night with a 1:55.3 time, Wild Bill Kelso came to town on Wednesday afternoon (July 19) and tied that mark with a length victory in a New York Sire Stakes …
Come spring, this scribe’s thoughts tend to focus on yearlings, likely in part because beginning each spring I spent decades traveling to various parts of North America to evaluate those yearlings that had been consigned to Harrisburg. It was a chore that took a lot of time, a lot of hours and close to 20,000 …
Karl and French Champagne emerged victorious in their respective $240,000 New Jersey Sire Stakes finals for 3-year-olds on the trot Friday night at The Meadowlands. Karl was his usual dominant self, crushing his foes by seven widening lengths in a 1:51 lifetime-best clocking in the split for colts and geldings to complete a three-race sweep …
